Relais San Bruno vs Castello delle Serre - Need help deciding
 

My family (7 adults) will be traveling to Tuscany next summer (4 nights) and we are trying to decide between the Relais San Bruno or the Castello delle Serre. The idea of staying in a castle is intriguing. On the flip side, the Relais San Bruno seems to be close to a village (to walk to) which is also appealing.

Just like most, this will be our base in Tuscany. We want to visit several villages, do wine tasting and hopefully a cooking class.

Any help would be much appreciated.

I prefer the landscape of le Crete Senesi (near Castello delle Serre) and others prefer the val d'Orcia (near Relais San Bruno).

I don't think Relais San Bruno is really walkable, especially at night. You would be close to La Grotta, which has a nice reputation as a restaurant, but it is also unlikely everybody will want that level of high-dining every single night. So you will end up need to drive someplace anyway. In summer, not everybody will enjoy climbing up that hill to Montepuliciano just to hang out.

Are you thinking of renting the villa at San Bruno, where you can cook some of you own meals or have some one cook for you? That might be more appealing. If you are not renting the villa, I would be concerned about weddings on-site.

Were it me traveling with 7 other adults, I would prefer to stay on a farm or a winery with a restaurant onsite and with 3 or 4 separate apartments, where some people would have the opportunity to make themselves a light meal if that's all that was wanted, while others went to the onsite restaurant or drive into town for a meal. If you think you all would prefer to hang out in a piazza at night and can skip the pool, there are some luxury accommodations in smaller Tuscan towns with beautiful views if you dig around.

Persoally, my feeling about Tuscany south of Siena is that it is farm country, and the simpler traditions of the land are part of the charm. There are many places that have opened up that cater to luxury tourism, and if your group is looking for that, they have great reputations for meeting international luxury standards. But if you would like a more intimate experience of the Italian traditions of Tuscany, you can find marvelously comfortable and friendly places, with wonderful food, wine and swimming pools, that are less distancing from the local history than the luxury experience.

I've never stayed here, but this is a place near Montepuliciano that would have everything I was looking for

http://www.tripadvisor.in/Hotel_Revi...o_Tuscany.html

I agree with much of what zepolle has said. Both places look beautiful and I am sure you would be happy with either. I think you will be more centered for what you want to do by staying at Relais San Bruno. Castello delle Serre will require more of a drive each day to explore villages and eating out (and possibly the cooking school).

Thanks for your replies!

Zeppole,
Thank you for the detailed information and your insightful perspective. I really like the idea of a winery or farm. The pool is not necessary for us.

I will look at the place you provided in your second reply. If you have any other suggestions, like a winery that would be wonderful.

Thank you both again!!!!

Here's a winery with apartments and a restaurant that was recommended by Matthew Fort, who writes a great deal about Tuscan wines. The wine produced at this winery is highly rated.

http://www.leragnaie.com/index_eng.html

http://www.bbc.com/travel/feature/20...trip-tuscany/1

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...o_Tuscany.html


If you don't need a pool, you can consider staying in right in town if you think your party would enjoy strolling around after dinner and enjoying the piazze. What you'd be giving up, however, is the chance to sit in the silence of the countryside on a private terrace. In summer, you'll be sharing your space with a lot of tourists in the more famous Tuscan wine towns. Depends on what you think your group would most enjoy. (Me? I'd go for the countryside.)

http://www.residencesantamaria.com/e...lcino-tour.htm

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_R...o_Tuscany.html

http://www.booking.com/hotel/it/pala...e53696dc0b1bX1

In summer, especially if you stay in town, you want to make sure you've got adequate air conditioning so you can shut your windows against noise. Most people find that the old stone buildings in the countryside stay cool without air con, but if you are a very light sleeper, a mosquito-magnet, or are very sensitive to hot weather, read reviews to make sure other summer travelers before haven't had big complaints about lack of air con.

Thank you Zeppole! Not to through things off, but we also were looking at the possibility of staying closer to Siena as we are planning to attend the Palio.

We liked your suggestion of a farm house and are considering "Aia Mattonata" near Siena. It has good reviews on TA. Do you know anything about this farm house?

No, I don't, but recent reviews are always your best guide.

Were I planning to go to the Palio, I would look at it from two ways:

If I thought I wanted to attend more than one event in Siena associated with the Palio, then I would want to stay quite close to Siena, because the events are extremely crowded, and I would want to know I could get in early to get a good spot, park, etc.

on the other hand:

If I only planned to be inside Siena for one Palio event, I would not want to be so close to Siena that it was my only choice for evening restaurants and hanging out. Siena is a wall-to-wall a crush of tourists during the days of the Palio, and I wouldn't want to constantly battling crowds just to get to a restaurant for dinner. In that case, i'd rather bite the bullet on the one day I planned to see a Palip event (get up very early to drive there and get parking ) but otherwise stay nearer a quieter town. There are many in within driving distance of Siena.

By the way, if you end up choosing someplace other than Aia Mattonata and want to reduce the parking hassles of getting into Siena on a Palio day, consider driving to the town of Buonconvento, which is just south of Siena, and taking the regular 25-minute train to Siena from there. There is a lot of parking in Buonconvento. But double check with the owners of wherever you stay and get their advice.

Zeppole,

Thank you, thank you for the great advice. As a result of your comments I did some research on the Palio activities and determined that we will probably only attend on the day of the race. Therefore, I plan to go back to your previous suggestions.

My husband's favorite wines come from the Montepulciano which was the huge draw to staying somewhere in that area.

Thanks again for your continued help!!!!