My sister and I are traveling to Italy in May and are looking at Hotelito Lupaia. Has anyone stayed here and what was your experience? thank you

I would love the location---we just spent 6 nites in Montepulciano in May---but it does look a bit pricey.

www.booking.com has good reviews good deals looks pretty

new have never had the plaeasure but a super nice base

if you have a car... more cost-effective options there.

It is pricey but stunning.

How long are you staying in that part of Tuscany? For me, the rooms look too cramped for a stay of much more than a night.

For the same or less money per night, you and your sister could have a suite in that area of Tuscany with separate bedrooms plus a kitchen and terrace so you'd also have a private place to enjoy a cup of coffee or glass of wine while nibbling on the area's great cheeses. There are other lovely places to stay in that area with an on-site restaurant serving home-cooked Tuscan meals to their guests if you didn't feel like driving home after dinner and wine.

People like different styles for lodgings, and it is hard to locate "plush" or even psuedo-plush in Tuscany. But some of the rooms pictured have furnishings that I wouldn't find relaxing, in particular beds on raised platforms with steps to negotiate, stone hearths whose corners jut into already tight walking space, pint-sized scatter rugs. Many of the rooms appear to have little in the way of closet or drawer space.

You will need a car if you stay there.

Zeppole-
Do you have any specific recommendations for that area of Tuscany? We will have a car and we plan to be there 3 nights. It looks like Lupaia offers dinner if we want. Our plan is to take day trips to various towns and have lunch out then most nights just have wine, cheese, etc that we might pick up during the day.

I actually prefer different areas of Tuscany, either a bit north or west of Montepulicano --- but many people are extremely happy with the area where Lupaia is located. It is one of the most cherished tourist destinations in Italy, and understandably so.

The fact that Lupaia offers dinners would make it more attractive to me, especially if I could afford one of the more spacious rooms where I felt two people could move about comfortably.

I heartily endorse your plan for wonderful lunches and then wine and cheese for dinner, but can you do that at Lupaia without a fridge in the room? Is there a terrace with tables and chairs for that? An eating space indoors in case rain or bugs make outdoors undoable?

If you want to keep searching, I like to use this website to look for rural accommodations that offer both apartments and home-cooked meals on-site. It has an advance search feature, so you can look specifically south of Siena for places offering kitchens and a restaurant (or a pool or internet or whatever you want).

http://www.agriturismo.it/en/farmhou...et,agriturismo

There are user reviews on the same website, but I always try to hunt down more reviews on Tripadvisor or using Google.