Okay, so I want the world. I would dearly love to stay at Villa San Michele or Il Pellicano but at $750 a night and up, they're both out of the question. We don't really want to stay in Florence because we'd prefer to stay someplace out in the country.<BR><BR>I have never been to this area before so I'm not sure how big Siena is. If it's a relatively small town we'd certainly consider it. <BR><BR>Can someone recommend a really nice home base (4 stars or so). We'll be there for 4 nights so a lot of villas are out of the question since many require a 7 night minimum stay. This trip is for our 1st anniversary so we'd like our hotel/inn to be nice. We traveled to southern Italy for our honeymoon so now we're tackling the northern part of the country. <BR><BR>

When are you going? If it's off-season, you may not have to be concerned about the 7-day requirement at a lot of places/

Howard,..I'll be in Tuscany July 14-18.

Annie, <BR><BR>Here are four places that are very nice, very romantic and not $750. They are more like $200 to $300 a night. I'll list the websites, but you should search on this board on each hotel because they have all been written about on this site. <BR><BR>La Chuisa (My all time favorite hotel and I had the best meal of my life here. Our room had a jacuzzi with a fireplace in the bath)<BR><BR>http://www.ristorantelachiusa.it/it/it-home.htm (sorry their website is only in Italian, but you'll get the idea)<BR><BR>Castello di Spaltenna<BR>http://www.spaltenna.com/_uk/saluti.htm<BR><BR>Relais La Suvera<BR>http://www.tuscany.net/suvera/index.html<BR><BR>Locanda l'Elisa<BR>http://www.tuscany.net/locandaelisa/pages/profile.htm<BR><BR>Also, Tuscany is pretty big, so you might want to decide what you want to see and then pick your hotel. <BR><BR>Happy Anniversity.

Try Villa la Massa or Villa Fontelunga. Villa la Massa belongs to the Villa d'Este group and may be a bit pricey, but is worth checking out. Villa Fontelunga is part of the Design Hotels group, a consortium of boutique hotels throughout the world. They have a great location and fantastic property that is accessible for most parts of Tuscany. It should also be a bit more economical. The website is at www.designhotels.com

Villa Vignamaggio and Locanda dell'Amorosa are often cited as properties in Tuscany which might meet your criteria.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

Casali di Bibbiano was wonderful. www.albertowinery.com<BR>Incredible villa including gourmet 5 course dinner on the terrace each night and breakfast. Swimming Pool (which is needed in the heat of July, many activities, and nearby to many great towns (montalcino, Siena, Pienza, etc). Only 20 minutes south of Pienza and an hour drive to a beautiful Tuscan beach (castiglione della Pescaia), 1.5 hours from Florence, 50 minutes from San Gim. It is truly breathtaking and luxurious. I think it was around 400 a night per couple, including meals, drinks and local Tuscan wines. It could be negotiable though...<BR><BR>Best of luck.

Is tuscany a good place to hike. I would like to see little towns and how real people live. I have nothing against some luxious places, but mostly I would like to hike a few hours a day. Anybody interested.

Stay in San Gimignano because you will want to be there at night when the tourists leave. Stay at La Cisterna in room 58, take day trips to the countryside. Skip Siena. Too big. Cortona and San Michele is also fabulous. Then, there is Il Casal de Cotone or Malvarini in Assisi. Try KarenBrown guides. You can't go wrong. Mus, must, must have dinner at La Cisterna and in Cortona at La Buccaccia. Tell Aya, the wonderful server, and Romano, hello. So romantic. Enjoy.

go to parkercompany.com<BR>They will send you a 300+ page catolog for free. It is awesome...

I agree with Zack on staying in San Gimignano and skip Siena. After the tourist leaves, San Gimignano becomes a tranquil village where you can enjoy the beautiful views and experience the local life.

Is there any actual local life in San Gimignano? I mean, anyone who lives there is connected to tourism for their livelihood, right?<BR>

I second the recommendation for Relais La Suvera in Pievescola. It's only an hour's drive from the Florence airport, and convenient for Siena and San Gimignano and Monterrigioni, etc. -- even Chianti. The setting is very tranquil, the food and service are lovely, and rates start at about $300. We spent two nights there a couple fo years ago and didn't want to leave!

Is guess my question is, do you go to Italy to stay in a posh hotel or do you go to Italy to get a taste of everything she has to offer? There are plenty of very nice places to stay where you will get a real slice of this wonderful country. I'd suggest something in the Chianti area.

Dee, don't be hostile to people who can afford better hotels than you. It is very unbecoming.

Annie,<BR>We recently stayed in Radda in Chianti at Relais Fattoria Vignale. This 4 star hotel cost approx 130-150 euro per night. It is a fabulous stone hotel with tons of character, balconies with awesome views, very friendly warm staff, and excellent parking. We found this great place by chance and we were very pleased. Radda is a quaint town with wine shops and a few nice restaurants. We would recommend Le Vigne. I had the best pasta with a sage butter sauce. Coupled with a 1997 Chianti Reserve... Yummm. Sorry, I'm digressing!