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to Asntica Torre Toscana
Dear Kristin,
Our trip was wonderful. Thinking back on 2 weeks in Italy, one of the greatest highlights of the trip was our stay at Antica Torre Toscana. We stayed there 2 nights, but wished we had a week! It far exceeded our expectations from the breathtaking views from their balconies, to the large size of the rooms, to the additional amenities like a nice sitting room outside our two rooms, to the almost private bar and refrigerator area, to the nice breakfasts and finally to friendliness and helpfulness of both ladies who were our hosts (at different times of day). The little town of Casole d' Elsa, though very small, had a couple of good restaurants (a combo wine shop/restaurant with fixed daily menu and a pizzeria). Both were very good. There was a grocery-type store and one or two other shops that had essential items. This is a great base for exploring the Siena area. It is only about 10 miles from San Gimignano and about 12 from Siena.
Vernon C.
Dear Kristin & all;
We wanted to send a few comments about our recent trip to Italy. The accommodations were wonderful and perfectly located for all the sites and day trips. It is difficult to pick favorites since each one was special. We couldn't have imagined a better experience while staying at Casa Firenze in Florence, located in a special neighborhood within walking distance of historic downtown and restaurants. The hospitality was 5-star. We picked up our car in downtown Florence and it was a easy drive over to Sestri Levante. We enjoyed our stay in a balcony room at the Riviera Vistas Hotel high on a hill overlooking the quaint seaside town. The hotel has an open air bar, perfect for an evening drink while watching the sunset. A short walk into town and you can catch the 1x daily, inexpensive, "tourist ferry" for a cruise along the Cinque Terre. If your time is limited the ferry is a great way to see all the towns in a relaxing way. The Cruise stops at one of the Cinque Terre towns and a lunch stop in Portovenere. We drove to Lucca next, driving through the narrow streets inside the city walls was easier than expected. We found our room at Palazzo Alexander comfortable. They offer a wonderful breakfast and free Internet which was greatly appreciated. We parked our car for our entire stay and walked this very special walled treasure. We took a short train ride to Pisa one morning, very convenient, worry free and inexpensive.
From Lucca, we drove into the heart of Tuscany and stayed in Casole d'Elsa at Antica Torre Toscana which is the most delightful, magical place. We loved this little hilltop town and enjoyed our evening walks, relaxing. One night we enjoyed a wonderful dinner at the "Wine Bar" (reservations a must, set menu prepared by "mama"). (Kristin you were right!!) This little town is perfectly located for day trips to the hilltowns Volterra, San Gimignano & Siena. (If you go to Siena in September or October you can see the "Marble Pavements" in the Cathedral...these are so treasured they are covered most of the year.) After Casole d' Elsa, we drove the back roads and the A12 to Leonardo Da Vinci Airport (FCO) to avoid Rome. If I would make one suggestion....don't be afraid to drive A12...it's great, fast and the toll is less than $5 USD. Everyone recommended the A1 but we took the chance driving A12 and glad we did....so if you are returning a car, bypass Rome and go straight to the airport to return your car, carts are available for luggage. Arrange a shuttle service from the airport to your hotel. We stayed at the River Palace Hotel. The price and location were great!!! This hotel is located close to the Metro and within walking distance to so many of the sites. The hotel offers a "happy hour," free Internet, helpful staff and a wonderful breakfast -- what more could you ask for.
Thanks In Italy. We had a wonderful trip.
Linda S.
Dear Jessica,
In general all of the arrangements InItaly had made for us went off without a hitch. We loved the Antica Torre Toscana accomodations although the breakfast was nothing to write home about but the location was fantastic and rooms were fine. We were very happy with our tour guide through the Vatican museums and he was very accomodating to our needs. We would definitely use Initaly for future trips to Italy and would recommend them to our friends.
Thanks so much.
Judy M.
Dear Kristin,
OK, we just got back yesterday so hopefully this email won't be filled with delirious comments. If you remember, we didn't book everything for our trip through "In Italy". Everything we did use your service for turned out great. We stayed at Antica Torre Toscana. We got off on the north exit instead of the "Sud" exit so our journey was a bit more exciting. We had no complaints about the place at all. Previous posts mentioned that its location was far from everything but we had no problem with that. We explored the west side of the Autostrada this trip so Chianti was not on our list. There are buses that take you to Siena and I recommend that. We drove on a Wednesday. That is Market day and we couldn't find parking within miles of the old city. We actually (accidentally) drove through the old city up to the church through the people and out again. Pretty interesting!!! Getting back to Antica Torre, we stayed in room 5 and did not experience ANY of the issues mentioned in previous posts. And it is a great room. The views are absolutely outstanding. Our ristorante tip is in La Grasie. I forget the name but it's the only one there and it's only a 10 minute drive in the direction of San Gimignano. Really good food and great service with most of the waiters at least bi-lingual. My wife is fluent in Spanish and several there spoke that, too. I would avoid the Restaurant in Il Merlo. It's just down the road but the owner tries to do everything himself and excels in little.
My only car renting tip (OK 2 tips) are
1) try and rent as small a car as you think will work. We rented a "Mid size wagon" because I'm
6'7" and I wanted to have a little "Insurance". We got a Passat Diesel Wagon that was literally
brand new. The thing is, some of the places we took the car to had very little side clearance. Some roads
gave me only several inches left and right of the mirrors. The Monaco train station parking ramps are unbelievably
tight!!!!! The service was great though and I those are the only suggestions I can offer the next people.
2) The second tip is...Avoid driving or even attempting to pick up a rental car in Florence. WOW!!! besides the one way streets, EVERYTHING is under construction right now. So some of the one way streets are closed. It took 2 1/2 hours to get to the hotel with the car after our stay in Tuscany. We parked the car in a garage and never pulled it out until we left Florence.
In Florence, We used the Guided Tour service listed on your website. Our Guide was Valeria. We had problems finding each other because that Saturday was the annual reenactment of the famous "Mille Miglia" race. The square was blocked for the tour of 1950's Ferraris, Astons, and others. We finally hooked up and got the tour started. I will say that the info you get from the guides is invaluable to you understanding the work on display throughout the Uffizi. The guides can't cover every piece of art but Valeria showed us all of the important works and described their importance and technique. We had time to go back and admire other works after the tour with Valeria had ended. I highly recommend the service. Our lucky break was that the middle of May is "Cultural Week" in Italy. All of the state run Museums are FREE. The Palazzo Pitti is outstanding. We opened the place one morning and had the place to ourselves for quite a while.
Our favorite town was Volterra. Buy the combo pass and hit everything. Outstanding art, Churches, and Museums. We actually went there 2x because we got there late in the afternoon and didn't feel we saw enough.
We had a great trip with our only bad experience being at a laundry place in Florence. Ristorante tip for Florence is "Il Grillo" near the Santa Maria Novella Square. This was the best restaurant we found during our trip, which included Italy, Menton France, and Monaco. You can walk there from the train station easily. I don't feel I need to return to Venice or the South of France. I will return to Florence and Tuscany, which seem to be the areas your website/service specialize in. I'm sure our paths will cross again.
Thanks For Everything,
Brian P.
Dear Julie,
Everything went great! Antica Torre Toscana is charming and Casole d' Elsa is ideal. I’ve been to Italy many times and had settled on Impruneta for my “home” near Florence, but this one beats it out for atmosphere, even though it’s farther. I stumbled on your website by accident and am glad I found it. Planning to go back again soon and next time I will go into Siena since it’s so close.
Bruce S. T.
Julie,
We just returned to the US last night. I must tell you, every hotel we booked through InItaly.com was wonderful, especially Antica Torre Toscana. We were very impressed with the service, cleanliness and staff at each hotel, and would certainly recommend them to our friends. The pictures on your website were accurate and not at all misleading. Thanks to you and the rest of InItaly.com's staff for all your help!!
Patricia R.
Dear Jessica,
Antica Torre Toscana was very nice, clean and spacious. My wife was impressed with my selection of both hotels. The people were very nice, and willing to help out at the front desk as well as the waiter at breakfast. We had dinner there one night and it was very good, relaxing atmosphere. The room we stayed in was not on the top floor like we thought it was on the 2nd floor, right above the dining room. If you want to sleep in past 8AM it is an issue if there are others staying there because breakfast is served from 8 to 9 am. Also the elevator shaft is next to the room and it has a shrill beeping sound when ever it goes from floor to floor. The hotel as well as our room was beautiful and we had a great time their, and our not only had a private elevator stop right to our room we had a private entrance too! The directions you gave were good we found it without a problem, however when you are coming up the road to turn in you drive between the two columns, not two towers.
Several suggestions on places to eat, Osteria Del Carcere Via del Castello 13, in San Gimignano , you made need reservations but it is well worth waiting we went twice but got reservations the 2nd trip their. It is a small place has 2 levels about 12 tables. In Volterra we had a great lunch at Don Beta restaurant in town, with local quality food selections, with excellent service.
Thank you for all your help in planning our special trip to Italy we had a GREAT vacation!
Ceylon and Karen
Hi Jessica-
Everything was wonderful! We especially liked the apartment in Rome, great location!!
Logistics went smoothly for each location so "Thanks" to In Italy, I would definitely recommend you guys!
The hosts at all three locations were very accommodating and helpful. The view from Antica Torre Toscana is to die for! Didn't know what to expect, the renovation is exquisite. Liked the idea of a small town to walk to/from.
One suggestion to future travelers, if you don't have to go in the summer, don't! Rome/Florence were very hot and crowded (didn't let it stop us but will pick the fall next time since our son won't be tied to the school year). If expecting to visit museums in Florence during the summer be sure to pre-book or expect to get in line by 7:00 AM. Also pre-book train travel if possible saved us time since (due to traffic in Rome) we nearly missed our train. Don't worry about bringing local currency, ATM's worked out wonderfully for us, no problem(s) at all. If you're one who likes to use a wash cloth in the shower/bath be sure to bring one, no such thing in Italy. I packed one and it was one of our most valuable items.
Thanks so much for your assistance - we truly enjoyed our trip.
Ruth S.
Dear Jessica,
I'd have to say my time in Tuscany was my favorite part of Italy and simply fantastic. Specifically my stay at the Antica Torre Toscana. This place was incredible, beautiful and historically rustic - just what I ask for. The room was lovely with picturesque views and charming, comfortable accommodations. The staff at the Torre was especially friendly and kind. They helped me with local recommendations and reservations and were just courteous and very pleasant to see everyday. The food there was the best I had on my travels! The in house chef really delivers a fabulous dinner. I would highly recommend this place for anyone who likes the unusual and off-the-beaten path. The tiny little town of Casole d'Elsa was terrific, the locals very friendly, and it was centrally located enough for great day trips into other towns and cities. I particularly enjoyed a trip into San Gimignano and would recommend it highly. I enjoyed my stay at the Torre so much it is one of the few places I may go back to some day.
Couple of side notes: Driving in Italy was everything I was "warned" it would be. Seems amusing now, but there were a few times in Florence, Pisa and some other cities I found it frustrating and a little tricky to safely navigate my way through. Managed to get lost one dark, foggy night heading out of Lucca... Definitely not for the faint at heart. Also, the directions to the Torre were a little weak at the end. The immediate right after passing the small towers is not quite so immediate and there were no signs for the lodging anywhere so I ended up just driving up and down every road until I finally recognized the building from the photo.
Besides my week in Tuscany, the rest of my trip was very enjoyable as well. Rome was pretty much what I expected and full of grand and interesting things to see. Venice was crazy and fun - I of course got lost in and amongst all the canals - but that was the best part. The people at the Hotel Abbazia were also very friendly and helpful and the lobby/bar area was very nice.
I look forward to another trip to Italy. There was so much to see and do, and great people to meet, it definitely deserved another visit. I would also gladly use In Italy again to plan another trip. Your site and services were very helpful (I met at least one other person on my trip who used your site and had been very happy with it).
Grazie infinite and Ciao for now
Dana
Hi,
We had a great time in Italy. Let's start with the car folks. Excellent service, great car, no surprises. The nightmare was the return spot in Florence. We had to hire a cab and follow it to the drop off point! It's funnier now than while in Florence.
Antica Torre Toscana was a very interesting and lovely place. It was just too
far from where we hoped to be especially for diner. We had dinner at Arnolfo
in Calee, which is one of your and many other tour and magazines suggestions.
Very expensive---no problem, but uninspired. The service was supreme as was
the decor and napery, china and silver. It is not and does not reflect Italian
regional cooking and was therefore a disappointment. It was the most complicated
menu and the most mediocre in taste, except for the desserts. We left Torre
one night early because again it was just too far from Siena or S. Gimignano.
One suggestion for your description is that some rooms have no or just very
tiny windows. We were the only guests that night so we had our pick. It was
a great room and a great bathroom. Leonardo the staff fellow was terrific.
The directions to the Torre could reinforce that the distances are a little
further than we expected or anticipated.
Thanks
Robbie R.
Jessica:
I cannot tell you enough of how much we enjoyed Antica Torre Toscana. Since the
moment we arrived it was just breathtaking! The staff was absolutely wonderful,
the service was great, the room was a dream. We booked for two nights and ended
up booking an additional day because we didn't want to leave! Our room was
beautiful with spectacular views from all the windows. The food was excellent
and the attention to details was beyond our expectations. The location was
perfect for getting around other attractions in Tuscany and the little one
street town was charming and lively. I must say that it was the best part of
our trip to Italy. From 1 to 10, I give it a 10+.
Carmen & John T.
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