ssdssi

Has anyone stayed at this hotel in Montepulciano? It has good reviews on another site but I read nothing about it here. We are flying into Rome the last part of April, picking up a car and driving into Tuscany. We want somewhere to stay that will be relaxing so we can get over jet lag before attending a wedding in Cortona. We do not want to stay in Rome. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

annhig

is this it:

http://www.locandasanfrancesco.it/index.php

looks lovely, but quite pricey. the reviews on TA are excellent.

google maps says that it's about a 2 hour drive from Rome to Montepulciano, and another 45 mins to Cortona. will that work out ok with your flight and the wedding?

goldenautumn

Have you considered landing in Rome and taking a train to Orvieto, which is one hour beyond Rome? Already that is more relaxing than driving a rental car for several hours when you are jet-lagged.

You sleep and rent a car the next day in Orvieto if you like, but Orvieto is only 30 or so minutes by train from Cortona. In fact, Cortona is still a fairly quiet place in late April. But if you would rather put a little distance between yourselves and the wedding preparations, Orvieto might work out for you.

For maximum relaxation entering Rome, have a taxi/limo meet you at the airport and drive you to the Rome train station. Then take the one hour train ride to Orvieto.

There are many beautiful lodgings. Personally, I don't use message boards for reviews. I use Booking.Com or Venere.Com, because the reviews are all very recent and the only people allowed to publish reviews are people who booked through those websites and the hotel confirmed they showed up and stayed. On Tripadvisor, anybody can register and post a review whether they have actually stayed in the hotel or not. On other message boards, the same happens -- people recommending places they've only "seen" or who stayed there years ago.

Montepuliciano is a lovely town of course, but I think Orvieto is simpler, and your budget can give you very lovely accommodations.

annhig

http://www.booking.com/hotel/it/la-locanda-di-san-francesco.en.html#hash-blockdisplay4>>

that was a useful exercise - they all love it too.

Jean

We stayed a week (month of October) at Locanda di San Francesco in Montepulciano. Although the hotel has no outdoor space of its own, the town is very relaxing with a 'small town' feel. Our room had a wonderful view to the east, and it took the changing light for us to realize the sliver of silver in the distance was Lake Trasimeno. There is no view from the lobby which doubles as the breakfast room. Breakfast offerings were more than I expected for such a small property (4-5 rooms). The hotel's wine bar is a popular spot in the evening, and the restaurant recommendations given us by the owners were very good. Driving ingress and egress were easy, and parking was available in the small piazza facing the hotel.

FWIW, we thought Orvieto was very interesting, busier, and had more to see/do, more shopping, but Montepulciano was quieter and more relaxing. IMO the wine's better in Montepulciano, but I suppose that's personal preference.

We would stay at this hotel again in a heartbeat!!

Elisa21

My husband and I travel to Tuscany several times a year and have found Pienza to be the perfect small Tuscan village to make our home base. I suggest you hire a driver from Rome (FCO airport) to Roma Termini and take a train to Chiusi-Chianciano train station. We have used the same driver now for about 8 years. If interested, I can give you his email/number. He is very prompt and professional. He will even walk you to the ticket counter to purchase a train ticket. Once you exit the Chiusi train station (very small station), walk across the street to the car rental office (Aesse Rent, [email protected]) and drive to the beautiful town of Pienza. Take the road past La Foce towards San Quirico d'Orcia to get to Pienza (this is a much more scenic route, is only approx 35-40 minute drive). There is a wonderful B&B in Pienza called Camere Andrei. My husband and I have stayed here MANY times. The rates are excellent and the rooms are spotless. Montepulciano is a 20 minute drive in one direction ...opposite direction is San Quirico d'Orcia, Bagno Vignoni, Montalcino, Sant'Antimo Abbey, and more. Sant'Anna in Camprena (where English Patient was filmed) is approx 5 minutes from Pienza. We usually explore during the mornings and afternoons, return to Pienza to enjoy a delicious meal and wine at the many restaurants, all within the walls of this medieval village, and not have to worry about the drive back to our room. Pienza has a scenic wall that many locals and tourists gather in the afternoon for an 'apertif' and for the view of the Val d'orcia valley. There are many other lodgings available in Pienza if you prefer a larger hotel instead of a B&B. Pienza is a relatively flat village whereas Montepulciano is very steep.

Jean

I just looked at the link provided by annhig. The photos reminded me that there is a small outdoor deck off the wine bar, so the hotel does have an outdoor space. The temps were a little too chilly for us to appreciate it in October, but it's on the west side of the hotel and would be lovely on a warm afternoon.

ssdssi

Thank you all so much for your information, especially you, Jean. Since we have made reservations at this B&B it is nice to hear someone else has stayed there and enjoyed it. I hope it is warm by the last week of April, but I am preparing to layer!

We considered taking the train further inland, but since we will need a car and our flight arrives about 7:30 am, we have all day to make the two hour drive. We have done this in France, stopping along the way for lunch and arriving by check-in time.

We have no particular agenda, just to relax, enjoy the scenery and wine, and get over jet lag by the following weekend for a family wedding.

If anyone has any other suggestions, they will be much appreciated.

Jean

ssdssi, unless you arrive on a Sunday, I think the drive will take more than 2 hours, but you do have loads of time. Be sure you get the instructions from the hotel for driving into the town. Don't be surprised when you drive right through the main piazza! We were able to park in one of the hotel's few parking spaces in the small square opposite their entrance. I don't know where the alternative parking is.

As I mentioned earlier upthread, we liked all of the restaurant recommendations given us by the hotel, but I recently found this website and now realize how many other apparently good spots we missed.

http://www.naviquan.com/page/montepulciano/3/ [this is the 3rd of 3 parts; be sure to click on parts 1 and 2 at the bottom of the page]

I'm envious! I want to go back to Montepulciano!

LocandaSanFrancesco

I know this is a forum for travellers and not for business owner, so I apologize in advance for taking some space in that discussion. I just would like to thank Jean for the kind words spent about our property and for the report on the blog Naviquam, I really hope to welcome you again at Locanda San Francesco in a next occasion. Also, thank you to Ssdi for choosing our property: please feel free to contact me if you should need any assistance in planning your stay in Montepulciano, or if I can be of some help in suggesting local activities, restaurant or itineraries in our area.
I would consider 2 hours 30 minutes drive from Rome airport to Montepulciano along the "autostrada".
If you have a GPS , you could also consider the "slow and scenic option" (SR2= Cassia) with a stop in Viterbo and passing near the Lake of Bolsena. In that case, because of the low speed limits and the traffic, I would consider at least 3 hours driving
It's very important that you do not use GPS once in Montepulciano ( we sent you driving directions by e-mail): in the no-traffic area, each hotel has only one and specific itinerary that is allowed by local police.
Ciao to all, Cinzia (Owner of Locanda San Francesco)