Albergo Ristorante Portole - Cortona, Italy 

We booked last minute and arrived the day after. We weren't disappointed. The drive up along the winding mountain roads had us humming songs from The Italian Job (especially This is the Self-Preservation Society - you had to be there!!!) Franco and his staff made us really welcome and the view from our room was stunning. We spent the next two days walking and were amazed at the number and different types of butterflies we saw. The most bizarre thing was the plane perched on land across from the Albergo - ask Franco about this! The food was delicious and Franco's mama's pizza was lovely. His friend produces the local wine - and is well worth tasting. Local food made by friends and family, just as it should be. In summary, we stayed three nights and were sorry to leave. Franco even found us another place to stay near San Gimignano and rang ahead to book it for us. We would definitely go back - we slept like logs and were truly relaxed at the end of our stay. Well done to all who made us so welcome.

1) Room too cold (12/14 degree Celsius). 2) Spiders in the room. 3) The price of full board does not include water, wine, dessert, coffee.