Villa La Borghetta Resort

Romantic Tuscan villa with magnificent views of the valley and pool in an olive garden. You shouldn't expect luxury and impeccable cleanliness, but there is enough of a romantic mood. Everything is quite worn and many places could use some repair and updating, but overall it's still in tolerable condition. The pool is surrounded by olive trees. The pool is not very big, but big enough to swim a little. There aren't many sunbeds right by the pool, but there are plenty of sunbeds further out in the olive trees. From time to time, the horsefly attacked quite actively, especially when you got out of the pool while wet, but this problem is everywhere in rural areas. There is also a small SPA on site, with an indoor pool and saunas, but this indoor pool is not big enough to swim in. For breakfast, both salty and sweet food is offered, but the selection is quite small and the better pastries are only enough for the first ones, they are not brought any more later. Ready-made pot coffee is poor, but you can also order freshly made machine coffee, but it wasn't the best either. The dinner was good, but based on the previous very positive reviews, I expected more. The staff was pleasantly friendly. We didn't really like the first room, it was a good size and had a spacious bathroom, but compared to the advertised pictures it was rather modest in finish and I didn't like the handicap sink. The next day the room was changed and we really liked the new room, although the bathroom was extremely small. Parking is in the garden below, and it is very inconvenient to go up the narrow stairs on the hillside with suitcases, but for this, drive up to the reception door at the beginning and park the car downstairs after unloading your luggage. About 15 minutes drive from the highway. The famous The Mall outlet is also about 15 minutes drive away. As a compliment, drinking water in the room would have been very welcome. There was no possibility to make tea and coffee in the room.

As long-time Italophiles - we travel to Italy 3-4 times a year - we still like to shift locations for a while. Tuscany is our family's most chosen region. The people there are warm and friendly. So as a cold shower we experienced this wellness hotel. The receptionists and the maitre d'hotel of the restaurant were therefore as unfriendly as could be. The cleaning staff, the maintenance man and the lady at breakfast, were the only people who could crack a smile. At breakfast, there were not enough staff to handle everything. One staff member to serve drinks to a continuous 25-40 people was too few, resulting in long waiting times. In the evening, the food was nice but again there was a lack of warmth by the staff. By the way, I have never experienced having to pay coperto in the restaurant you already booked in the hotel as half board. It had an attractive wine list but a lot of wines were not available, so other more expensive wines were offered (sometimes from an older, i.e. more expensive year). These were then also charged more expensively but conversely younger wines were charged to the original year ordered. People eat from both sides in this hotel. A blot on Italian hospitality culture as far as I am concerned.

Nice property, but horrendous service level, fraudulent charges - can’t recommend - Avoid Stayed here in June with family as part of a wedding trip. Let’s start with the positives- room was larger than expected, the bed comfortable, and the property and pool area is quite nice. However, that’s where it ends for me. Service is not existing and one permanently thinks that staff is doing one a favor. In example, at breakfast no one will ever clean plates - after 2 hours we sat next to a mountain of plates. The pool bar is barely staffed, if one likes a drink it’s necessary to go to the restaurant, and stand 20mins in front of the kitchen and wait - and of course carry everything to the pool themselves. Could not provide ice cream for my boy - one can collect one only after 230pm. Reception staff does only the bare necessities, and especially the daytime guy is as unfriendly as it gets. Of course they are very motivated to enforce the 12 check out time. Wife had once dinner at the restaurant, had no reservation, and got the biggest s*** table inside despite on the balcony everything was empty - likely she was there with a toddler. The pool area is untidy and loungers need to be cleaned by guests. Pool towels need to be collected at the reception and no one would tell you where to find them beforehand. The property shows a lots of wear and tear and is some stuck in the 1990s design-wise. The breakfast selection is super small, even for continental standards. Coffee luke warm. Also it feels that kids are not welcome there, however they don’t have the balls to go adults only. Don’t order a taxi, they work with a taxi company (‚Franco‘) who sends unlicensed private drivers who try to rip off tourists- EUR 60 for 5 miles during the day (of course did not pay that). For the price point it’s simply not acceptable what is offered - this was the worst service level which I’ve seen in years. One pays Ritz Carlton prices but gets the value of a Residence Inn. We won’t be back, avoid this property. This is never a four star property and not worth the money. Also - they charged me for drinks which I not had, disputed with AMEX - they never provided a receipt. Says it all.