Philip

My wife and I just returned from 3 weeks in Tuscany ~ wanted to try something different ~ stayed one location with day trips. In preparation, I read website after website, Fodors’ post after Fodors’ post, the Parker “Encyclopedia”, etc. We like restaurants, hotels, etc. that are unique to locale (no Holiday Inns in Tuscany clothing). I would say that most of the places we stay are equivalent of four stars. Having said all of that, let me tell you about Tenuta di Lupinari.

This is definitely a commercial but it was not solicited nor were we paid. Lupinari is in Chianti about 40 miles south of Florence west of the A1. They are just outside of Bucine. It is about an hour drive (off peak hours) from the Florence airport. Their website is www.lupinari.com and email is [email protected]. This is a beautiful place. It sits high on the side of a hill overlooking a valley with mountains on the horizon. You are surrounded by 2,200 olive trees and acres of wine grapes. We brought home several bottles of their own Chianti. The owner’s castle and adjacent remodeled units were originally build hundreds of years ago. They were turned into apartments about 7 years ago. We stayed in the Il Poggio (The Knoll) unit. It has 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, separate kitchen, living dining combination. We also had a private balcony. The place has a huge swimming pooling and impeccable landscaping.

The owner/managers could not have been more helpful. They arranged for us to have a private cook come in two times and prepare typical Tuscan meals. They took our son to the train station (no taxis in Bucine), answered all our questions, recommended restaurants, modes of transportation (took train to Florence after driving the first time ~ parking is miserable), etc. We enjoyed playing with their dogs and Claudia, their baby daughter. We shared the loss of their dog, Theo, that had been Marco’s pet for 14 years. Marco, Marianna and Antonella all speak English very well.

We made easy day trips to Siena, Pisa, San Gimignano, Volterra, Radda, Montalcino, Montepulciano, Arezzo, Assisi, Cortona, Florence, Arezzo, etc. We had an excellent list of restaurants before we left and added L’Antica Portale (near Bucine for patio pizza), Enoteca Osteria Osticcio in Montalcino (if you are wine lover) and Olio & Convivium (in Florence). Probably the best food (and most expensive) was Osteria le Logge in Siena (about €125 for luxury lunch). The best experience was Cane e Gatto also in Siena (less expensive than anticipated). The best restaurant views was a tossup between Caffe Poliziano in Montepulciano and Enoteca Osteria Osticcio in Montalcino. The overall best setting was a Ferragamo restaurant called the Osteria del Boggo in Il Borro, San Giustino Valdarno. The nice thing about Tuscany, you have to hunt for bad food.

suziem

Sounds like a great place. We stayed in a villa just outside Bucine last August. I thought the location was very convenient, especially with a train station right in town. Did you see the old guys sitting in front of the gelato shop in town? They were there every afternoon. We would buy wine from the Enoteca down the street and groceries at the Coop or the 'big' Iper-Coop in Montevarchi. This was our 3rd trip to Italy but 1st in a villa. We loved it. So much better than a hotel, even a 4-5 star hotel. Good times, can't wait to go back!

wren

Hi Philip, that is an amazing place. We would be interested in one that sleeps 2. Do you have any idea what their price range is?

rsb99

Sigh....

Michel_Paris

Hi Philip,
Out of curiosity...what are the rates? I don't see them posted....which to me measn, if you have to ask, it's $$$$

dwzemens

I, too, am interested in their rates ----

Eloise

Sorry, folks, but unless you "Contact Us", you will not find out the rates.

This normally raises a red flag for me, but my favourite agriturismo doesn't post its rates either. So call me schizophrenic...

Philip

We paid E4,884 for the three weeks plus a cleaning charge that averaged about E110/week. The cleaning charge is based on occupancy so the two bedroom would be less.

suziem ~ wow, so similar experiences. Yes, the guys are still there. The coop in Bucine had one "sorta" English speaking worker. She helped us a lot. Did you buy the fruits and vegetables? You have to put on plastic gloves to handle the fruit. I have never tasted better strawberries and watermellons (so sweet). We never went to the big Iper Coop. We did drink alot of wine (so inexpensive). We just received our case of Brunello we order while in Montalcino. Although we had a car, we took the train to Florence and Arezzo (for monthly market).

They have smaller apartments but I never asked the price since we had so many friends and family joining us.

I own a business and don't post my rates on our website. There is no reason to help the competition.

grandmere

I went to the site and clicked on Il Poggio, and the rates appeared; however, it was the only apartment for which they were listed.

suziem

Philip-shopping was always a hoot. Yes, we put on the plastic gloves, didn't want frowns...also ordering meat by weight was challenging. The first time we paid we didn't realize they don't bag your stuff and you have to buy the bags in advance. We were always buying too few or not enough. We did get some good (free) boxes there for shipping purchases home. We never found anyone who spoke much English.

The Iper-Coop was amazing. A huge place, even had a multi-level parking garage, kinda like a Wal-Mart with very good food. You could buy just about anything there, even a cell phone. One of the teens in our group bought an inexpensive AND cute bathing suit there.

It almost made you feel like a local. Oh the memories....

grandmere

It really looks beautiful; forgot to mention that in my last post--I was so surprised to find the rates listed.