To bobthenavigator:
 

Could you recommend a hotel in Porto San Stefano? I noticed you will be there in Oct.
Thanks.
Kay

I was going to ask him the same question. I hope the answer is Torre di Cala Piccola. We stayed there two years ago, and it is a wonderful hotel. Spectacular views of the sea and the island of Giglio, a great bagno down below, and a good restaurant, too.

We will be there at the tail end of our trip and have no reservations. If I did it would be at that one, but it can be pricey. We are there in late Oct. and plan to wing it. I have never seen the area and we may only spend one nite before departing FCO the next PM.

KarenW: I would love to know more about the property. The rooms appear to look like average/standard hotel rooms. Are they?
Can you recommend any good restaurants?

Bob:We fly out of Rome on the 22nd and are staying in Rome the 20 and 21st of Oct. I am trying to decide where to stay for the 3 nights prior. I may stay a night at Plazzo del Capitano and then stay at the hotel Karen mentioned. I know you have highly recommended Plazzo del Capitano. We are staying prior to this time in Bucine, so I hope that I can do some exploring of Umbria and southern Tuscany while we are there.
We really enjoy the coast so I might try to do both as we have the 17th 18th and the 19th open.
It appears as if it would be an easy commute from Porto San Stefano into Rome.
Thank you both for your replies!
Kay

Palazzo Capitano is a good choice--especially to day trip in the Val d' Orcia. Another good one near Orvieto is Locanda Rosati--we will stay there as we arrive for 3 nites and explore the Etruscan towns of south Tuscany.

Traveler2, The rooms we had were nice, bigger than others in Italy that trip. We paid a bit extra for the ones with balconies with a sea view, but I'm not sure I'd do that again, as we spent all our time outside anyway, enjoying the truly spectacular views from the public areas. On the other hand, these rooms might have been bigger, too. The bathrooms were, however, small, with tiny tiny showers. But it's the beautiful terraced grounds overlooking the sea, a spectacular pool, and of course the beach that make this hotel so nice. We stayed there two nights, eating one dinner at the hotel itself (very good) and one down at the bagno near the water (also good). We really didn't want to drive back along the winding Via Panoramica at night to go into town, so I don't have any other restaurant suggestions. I'm guessing the bagno complex might be closed by now, so you might have to drive if you don't want to eat every meal at the hotel.

Bob: I noticed you mentioned the Val d'Orcia as being one of your favorites places, so I looked on my michelin map and could not find anything. Is this an area around Quirico d'Orcia?

KarenW: You have given me very useful information.
Thank you both so much. I really do appreciate your comments.
Kay

Kay, The region is defined by the Orcia river and includes Montalcino, San Quirico, Pienza, Bagno Vignoni etc. Take your camera--we will return soon.

Bob: If it hasn't already been said, then I will be the first to say, YOU ARE TERRIFIC! What would we do without you! You give of your time and knowledge so freely and we do appreciate it.
We leave on our trip the end of this week, and I am looking forward to seeing the southern Tuscany and the area you mentioned.

Hope you have a wonderful trip!

Kay

Ah shucks--mille grazie !