hotels in rural tuscany/umbria
Feb 16th, 2001, 08:57 AM
#1
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hotels in rural tuscany/umbria
In June I will be driving from Florence to Naples and would like to stop along the way at a couple of small hotels in Tuscany and Umbria, outside of the towns. Maybe within a vineyard and perhaps with a pool. I stayed at one near San Gim last year called Il Pescille which was fab. Any suggestions? Scenery and atmosphere are important, price is less of an issue. I would be interested in particular in any vineyards that also run hotel rooms and do winetasting.
Feb 16th, 2001, 01:05 PM
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Kate: I, too, stayed at Il Pescille and LOVED it. For ideas of small town inns/hotels, see if you can get a copy of Fodor's/Rivages Hotels and Country Inns of Character and Charm in Italy; I have 3rd edition and it has photo and description of all they list. You might try locating a copy of it through amazon.com. It's a great guide and lists places in many small towns and even in the countryside. Let me know if you cannot find a copy, however, it is a a European "guide" developed by the French Co. Rivages and published in US and elsewhere by Fodors, if I'm not mistaken. Good Luck and let me know if you find any other quaint places like Il Pescille, as we want to return to Italy in the fall. Regards, Sally
Feb 16th, 2001, 04:10 PM
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Hi Kate, <BR> I just booked a room at La Suvera in Tuscany - can't personally recommend it because I haven't been there yet. That said, they have vineyard and an olive grove, so you can do wine tasting. They also offer cooking classes. The rooms look very nice - you can check their website at www.lasuvera.it. I think we got the last double room for the week of June 4 - 9, but they may still have the suite available. The place used to be the residence of a pope. <BR> Another option we looked at was La Massa, which looks absolutely beautiful. Unfortuantely, just out of our price range. They are a Relais & Chateaux property, so you can look them up on that website. <BR> <BR>Happy Hunting! <BR> <BR>PS You may want to get moving on booking a place, a few places we called were already sold out.
Feb 25th, 2001, 04:38 AM
#6
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I used www.knowital.com to rent an apartment in a vineyard near Florence. They have an extensive list of everything from villas, to apartments to small hotels. Knowital is just the organizing site. You get to click on a page that gives you photos and discriptions of each place individually and e-mail to contact the villa yourself. I found the site tremendously helpful.
Feb 25th, 2001, 04:59 AM
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The best site for finding rural accomodations in Tuscany is with "INITALY". Here's the URL - <BR>http://www.initaly.com/agri/agri.htm <BR> <BR>On the other hand, don't use INITALY to make the reservation, as they charge a at least a 30% markup. After you find something useful, call the place directly. <BR> <BR>As for a wonderful B&B in Tuscany, I highly recommend "le Traverse" near <BR>Pienza. They have a home page, which when I checked about 5 minutes ago, was not responding. Anyway, here's the URL: http://www.nautilus-mp.com/agrituris...rse/index.html. <BR> <BR>Enjoy! <BR>
Feb 25th, 2001, 07:47 AM
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This is a case of a circular coincidence; I just stumbled across Locanda dell'Amorosa - - www.amorosa.it - - as a result of snopping on the www.amicidellatoscana.it site mentioned here earlier this morning. It does indeed look terrific! <BR> <BR>coco: if you come back to this thread, could you mention if you have actually visited there? (it sounds like you have, though you do not specify). I am recommending this place to someone (based solely on the web site). <BR> <BR>
Feb 25th, 2001, 08:00 AM
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My husband and I stayed at a charming little bed and breakfast - but not rooms in someone's house - last June. I can never remember the full name, but they have a sister hotel in Florence called Torre Guelfa which is definitely searchable on the net. There's a link to hotel in Tuscany from there. It was in Chianti, just outside Panzano and you could take a wonderful walk in the morning on a Roman cobblestone road, through vineyards to Panzano, where there is a tiny 12th century church. Great location for doing the Chianti triangle and the hosts offer a meal at night sometimes - two of the rooms have terraces and we payed, last May, somewhere around $120 per night for their nicest room. They also have a pool in a gorgeous setting. We would look forward to going back and I can't recommend the place highly enough. Speaking as bed and breakfast owners, which we are, it was clean, comfortable and offered the views and charm that you would expect of Tuscany.
Feb 25th, 2001, 08:02 AM
#11
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My husband and I stayed at a charming little bed and breakfast - but not rooms in someone's house - last June. I can never remember the full name, but they have a sister hotel in Florence called Torre Guelfa which is definitely searchable on the net. There's a link to hotel in Tuscany from there. It was in Chianti, just outside Panzano and you could take a wonderful walk in the morning on a Roman cobblestone road, through vineyards to Panzano, where there is a tiny 12th century church. Great location for doing the Chianti triangle and the hosts offer a meal at night sometimes - two of the rooms have terraces and we paid, last May, somewhere around $120 per night for their nicest room. They also have a pool in a gorgeous setting. It was clean, comfortable and offered the views and charm that you would expect of Tuscany.
Feb 25th, 2001, 01:31 PM
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We have stayed at Locanda delle'Amoroso twice and it is absolutely charming and everything it looks like on the website. A bit pricey but well worth it. The food is great too. Another lovely little place is Tenuta di Ricavo near Castellina in Chianti. I think they have a pool but I never swim when in Italy--too much else to do. From Ricavo you can drive the Chianti Road and visit Badia al Coltibuono to taste their wines and have a meal. Verrazano winery is another tasting room in Chianti. Most wineries in Italy do not taste at the winery but instead at the office of the wine growers association in one of the towns--called an enoteca. Two very good ones in Montepulciano which is close to the Locanda. My third recommendation would be the little Villa Pambuffetti just outside Montefalco in Umbria. They have a pool and the views of Umbria are extraordinary from the town. Very few tourists!
Feb 26th, 2001, 03:23 AM
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We stayed at a delightful hotel near San Gimignano for three nights while we explored the Chianti Region. It is Hotel Villa San Paolo and their website is www.sangimignano.con (their card says "con but might be typo for "com) Think it was about $150/night and had no restaurant other than breakfast but I would return there in a minute. <BR>You do need a car. <BR>This is a completely modern "converted" private old home. <BR>Everything is impeccable. <BR>Richard
Feb 26th, 2001, 07:58 AM
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One of my favorite towns and hotels in all of Italy is the Hotel Gattapone in Spoleto. This is a four star property. It sits on a hillside with one of the most spectacular view of a valley and the Ponte della Torri. June will be great, as you will be looking over fields of poppy and flowers. The town is small but amazing, with wonderful restaurants. Classic Umbria hilltown. The interior of the hotel is amazing, and you can not go wrong with the staff's restaurant recommendations. DO NOT MISS THIS PLACE. We have met people from all over the world who come back to this hotel again and again. <BR> <BR>John
Feb 26th, 2001, 09:53 AM
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To: Rex <BR>I have been to the Locanda dell'Amorosa numerous times over the past 10 years to dine--lunches and dinners/the food, ambience, staff all wonderful (I've seen the restaurant called "overrated" but not in my very picky book.) The entire property is stunning, starting with the drive up one of those picturebook cypress lined lanes. On several visits they have allowed me to peek into unoccupied rooms (this is one of my favorite travel past-times!) and I was drooling. I have occassion to need to spend the night near Asciano this June so guess where I'm staying, at last! I was pleasantly surprised by the rates on the website as I would have expected to pay more.
