Have 6 days for tuscany and umbria. plan to spend two or three in Florence.
Would like a very charming hotel with good restaurant, convenient to driving in the area.
Is Cortona a good location or Pienza? any help would be appreciated

Kate, I feel that Cortona is a bit far to see south Tuscany well. I do like these 2 hotels, both with good food options: www.lacosta.it & www.palazzodelcapitano.com Il Chiostro in Pienza is also good.

Thanks Bob. I see from reading on this site that you are an expert. Of the three hotels you recommend, which has the nicest location? town.life, other restaurants etc?
If you had to choose between seeing Assisi, Perugia etc, or chianti, sienna etc what would you recommend?
Thanks so much for your help/

I don't like being a spoilsport, but Il Chiostro in Pienza is overpriced and the food is mediocre.

Kate, we just returned from Italy and stayed at Palazzo del Capitano for 5 nights while in Southern Tuscany. We absolutely loved it, and it fit our specs perfectly: great central location for exploring the area, small town atmosphere, great restaurants to walk to in the evening, comfortable room, and wonderful hosts who were so hospitable and helpful. We would highly recommend it. Our room (the Scorpio room) was beautiful, comfortable, and spacious.

Another vote for Palazzo Capitano...we were there last October and absolutely loved it. It was our favorite hotel of our two week stay in Italy.

thanks for the replies on Palazzo Capitano. I am waiting to hear back from them. What sort of choices are there for dinner in the town. How big is the town? Thanks for your help

San Quirico d'Orcia is a very small town, which is what we liked about it. It is close to Montalcino, and less than an hour from Siena. It is a great location for exploring the whole area, and we loved "coming home" to our little town at the end of the day.

The restaurants we enjoyed were Al Vecchio Forno (which is owned and run by the same couple as the Palazzo, and has fabulous wines and the best pesto I have ever had), and Il Tinaio (which is just down the street from the hotel---great food, too, loved the pasta with truffles). The whole "downtown" is just a few blocks long.

When we were there, there were few tourists----just people going about their everyday business. There was a bar in the main piazza where every evening all the men hang out. Inside and out, it was all men. I kept teasing my husband that he should go "out with the boys" in the evenings. I also kept wondering what all the women were doing???

There is also an internet place in the middle of town (they are everywhere!). And a once-a-week market that is not meant for tourists, but for the townspeople. It is truckloads of the most God-awful stuff you have ever seen: clothing, shoes, kitchen utensils, linens, etc. Terrible quality, but the women were buying it. It is their traveling shopping mall. There was also fruit and veggies, which were great, and meat and fish.

If you are planning far enough ahead (unlike us!) you might want to request a room on the back, facing the garden. When are you going?

thanks that is very helpful. We are going to be there sept 6,7,8. They have two choices available, scorpio(2nd floor) and capricorn (1st floor)I am not sure which way they face. Did you have any trouble with parking? Thanks again.