Relais Castel Bigozzi - Monteriggioni, Italy 

We absolutely loved Castel Bigozzi when we stayed here last year and vowed to return to its wonderful seclusion, helpful staff, and memorable views. It still is wonderful, especially swimming in the pool surrounded by the Tuscan hills and listening to the beautiful birdsong... except this year there was competition from six very young children whose three families pretty well took up residence by and in the pool every day - so it wasn't the peaceful place any longer where you could read and listen to the countyside. I understand that the owners have changed their policy which is a shame for us city dwellers without children who crave the calm and peace that such a place can restore to one's soul.. I would still recommend Castel Bigozzi as a magical place - the Casalta restaurant in the village is excellent, walking back to the Castel through the olive trees (take a torch!), seeing fire flies and shooting stars is so romantic, and it's a perfect location for viewing more of southern and central Tuscany Tessa, East Sussex

We loved this hotel. It had great old world charm. Our room was very large with great views of the rolling hills. Our bathroom was as large as some of our other hotel stays in Italy. There were only 10-12 rooms so it never felt crowded. Our room had a kitchenette, but there was a restaurant downstairs. We never went there though. The grounds were beautiful. There was a nice place to sit on a bench and have a little picnic. This was a great location to be used as a home base while going to other cities like Florence and Siena or to some of the smaller majestic hilltop towns (Don't miss San Gimignano). The staff was the best we experienced throughout Europe. Most of our help came from Gabriele Bruni who provided excellent service. He went well out of his way to help us enjoy the area by offering detailed directions and recommendations for sites and restaurants. Even if the hotel ranked 2 out of 5 we would still come back for the great service Gabriele provided.