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Back to Fattoria Giobbole
Dear Alessio,
We had a wonderful time at your farm and hope to return soon and stay longer. Maria was a delight and very helpful. Thank you for your hospitality and I hope that your wife is home from the hospital.
K. Biava
Dear In Italy,
We thought we had found heaven when we pulled into the driveway of the hotel. It is nestled in the heart of Chianti. It was a dream. We liked staying in a farmhouse-type hotel. We shared two bedrooms, and it felt like we were really staying at someone's home. It was clean and peaceful. Eating breakfast on the veranda was a real treat. The views out all windows were breath-taking. There was a fabulous outdoor restaurant at the top of the hill toward Strada-in-Chianti. The bus stop to Florence was right outside the hotel entrance. I highly recommend the bus trip into Florence rather than trying to drive in. (Bus tickets can be purchased in Strada-in-Chianti at the Bar. Also, it is a good idea to ask for a printout of the bus schedule. There are two routes to Greve on the way back from Florence so care must be taken to catch the bus that goes through Strada.)
HELPFUL TIPS:
It took us a while to understand the custom of tipping in restaurants. At first we tried to add a 15% tip on the Mastercard receipt. Wrong! In Italy, it is customary for the restaurant to charge $1 or $1.50 per person cover charge. This, we figured out must be the tip. We were told that Italians typically do not leave anything extra, although a nice gesture is to round up the total and leave it on the table for the waiter. We found that the waiters, for the most part, were very friendly toward us Americans and appreciated the tips we left.
We also had trouble getting our waiters to bring us our bill at the end of our meal. We couldn't figure out if we were supposed to go get it or if we were supposed to ask for it. It seemed like the waiters put the focus on serving us, but once we had been completely served, they forgot about us. We figured the Italians are more accustomed to lingering at the table and, therefore, are usually not in a hurry to get their bill like we Americans are used to.
I would recommend for anyone driving in Italy, study up on the autostrade, buying gas (senza piombo), and road signs. I did some research and was very glad I did! I still don't know what a lot of their road signs mean but I managed to drive there without any incident. Driving in Italy was actually quite easy (outside the large cities, of course!). The roads are very clearly marked and the traffic circles found throughout Italy are a breeze. Also, I got a International Driving Permit from AAA before I left. I never had to show it, but I was glad I had it.
When touring large cities (such as Florence, Venice, and Rome), leave the car behind and take the bus or the taxi. We took the bus and vaporetto in Venice, the bus in Florence, and taxis in Rome. Taxis were expensive, so we picked up a Green Line Tour Bus at the Terminale for 18 Euros per person. We found that we walked to most of the sites, but having the bus was convenient in the heat of the day.
Once again, thank you, Initaly, for helping to make our trip a successful one. We had a fabulous time. Italy is a most beautiful country.
Sincerely,
Valerie M.
Our last visit was a perfect location, because we were flying home from Florence. And Fattoria Giobbole was only 45 minutes from airport. Fattoria Giobbole had a pool and that was a big hit for us all. The temp. had begun to come down a little, but it was still in the 80's.Fattoria Giobbole was, however, a little disappointing. I guess that they had not been open for business too long. Everything that was in the colorful brochure was there. However, they did not serve dinners in the restaurant. In fact, one of the workers told us that they did not even have a staff to prepare the food for dinners. There was a pool table in the brochure. And, we did see a pool table. But, from the time we checked in on Friday evening, the building was only open in the morning for breakfast. After breakfast, the place was locked up. There was no one there to show us around the grounds. The pool had algae on all 4 corners of the bottom of the pool. The grass looked like it had not been cut for over a week. The only person that was on the property was the sweet little lady that served us breakfast. However, she did not speak one word of English. On the morning we left for airport, the owners still had not arrived. Even though breakfast was served at 8:30 in the morning, the day we left for airport, we got the impression that the bread truck was late and breakfast would not be served until at least 9:00. We had a glass on orange juice and left for Florence airport. Fattoria Giobbole would be one of the places I would not recommend. At least not until they had a few more guests visiting each day and they could hire a staff that spoke just a little English and could live up to the things they talked about in their brochure! BUT....all in all, it was a wonderful trip. And, I can't thank you enough Julie for all of your patience with me over that last few months. Oh yes, one more thing...If I plan right, next time we take an International flight, we are going to fly in the Business Section of the plane.
R.L.R.
Dear Julie -
Fattoria Giobbole was a good place to be for five days. As it happened, my roommate and I had the whole place to ourselves, including the beautiful pool, for the first three days, which gave us a great feeling of having gone to one's country estate for a while. We saw only Maria, who welcomed us and prepared the breakfasts for us, and a couple of men working on a new building, and then finally two other guests.
I had also been looking at staying at Castello Vicchiomaggio, but we had lunch there and I was quite glad with our choice of Fattoria -- much more welcoming and comfortable (and shady!), AND we got to pick cherries right off the tree next to the pool. I would say our only complaint was not about our care, but about the care of the poor dirty dog tied to her house -- she was very sweet, and quite cowed, poor thing.
I'd been in the area several years ago, so I had some idea of what to expect, but was still delighted with being in the countryside, and driving those twisty roads. The discoveries tended toward the gustatorial -- we had dinner twice in a very unassuming but quite good little local restaurant on the main road in Chiocchio (something Gallo) -- the waiter and possibly owner was animated and generous with English and with suggestions about the area -- and found two wonderfully obscure (or so we thought) restaurants with some of the best food we had the whole trip. One was (agriturismo) Vecchio Borgo di Inalbi (Impruneta), and the other's name has disappeared from my brain and notes. Each took the determined following of road signs -- suggestions, really, and were well worth it.
Thanks for everything.
Susan H.
Hi jessica!
We had a great time. alessio has done a great job with the place and fienile aia was terrific. it's probably not a good choice for folks who would be coming in the hottest months and just hanging around the apartment, since it isn't air conditioned. while a/c would have been nice at times -mostly because it would have kept the mosquitoes out because the windows would have been shut, we managed with the terrific fan in the bedroom. again, four people in the hotter months would also probably not be good for similar reasons.
A phone somewhere on the premises would have been convenient. most pay phones we tried didn't work for international calls. it was easy to use att or mci connection numbers to make credit card calls from hotel phones but there wasn't any phone we could use for that. for people with kids, like me, or family members who aren't with them who they want to keep in touch with (or business) this would have been helpful.
None of this detracts from the enjoyment we had. the place is beautiful, it's a great setting, the pool is fabulous, the vistas wonderful. the coop in greve down the road is very well stocked, as is the little fruit and wine store nearby. renters should probably know that fienile aia is right near the road, and on weekends there's a fair amount of traffic even late at night for country people like me, at least in summer when the windows need to be open at night. it wasn't a problem, but some people might think a farm is invariably set at the end of a long lane on a dusty road far away from everything. again, if you're just going to stay on the premises and need total quiet there are probably better choices.
But we'd go back again. it was a wonderful experience. if i think of anything else i'll let you know. take care,
S.
Jessica,
Fattoria Giobbole is a good base to discover the Tuscany area. Our apartment was detached from the main complex by about 100 yards. A very nice apartment on two floors. The living/dining area is on the bottom, and the bedroom/bath are on the top. The contact persons were there when they were supposed to be and were available by cell phone for problems. (Only one minor problem occurred during the week). There is a bus stop (bus schedule is posted at the stop) outside of the main building to go to Florence. Purchase your tickets in town (Greve) at the bar by the COOP food store 2.80 Euro each way per person. Do not attempt to drive into Florence. Must see in this area. Florence and the Uffuzzi museum (reserve a time or wait 2-3 hours to get in) and the Baptistery aside the Doumo, Siena and San Gimignano.
As a general note, use the autostrada's as much as possible. You can pay by credit card, prepaid cards, euros. Directional highway signage in cities is not always good. Have good maps for the larger cities you plan to visit. Parking in cities is nearly impossible. Prepare to be frustrated. A partner who can read a map is invaluable. Roads other than autostrada's are generally narrow and winding; especially in the hills and mountains. Have fun.
Bill D.
Dear Julie,
Thank you very much for your email. As you can imagine the events of Sept 11th were very difficult especially being out of the country. We had a great time in Tuscany and especially enjoyed Fattoria Giobbole. The apt was a perfect size and was in a central location. This made it easy to get around by car to so many places. The owners of the farm and apt were quite wonderful. Though not speaking much Italian on my part and they not speaking much english we seem to get by just fine. My only (and very small) downside to the location was that the apt was located right off the main road making traffic a constant background noise. In the end it probably didn't matter much as we seemed to be gone most of the day anyway. In any case, it was quite delightful. Thank you for all your help.
Sincerely,
Sima D.
Dear Kristin:
We are back from our trip to Venice and to Chianti. We stayed in Castello in Venice and at Fattoria Giobbole in Chianti. Both places were wonderful! I loved being able to cook meals in very nice kitchens. The properties were in great shape and beautifully decorated. I would suggest to anyone visiting any of the farms in Tuscany to buy ant traps and/or plugin anti mosquito units at the local COOP if they visit the area in the summertime. We only discovered this treatment at the end of our trip. Maria, the housekeeper, used some bug repellent for the ants---claiming it was DDT--but it probably wasn't since it didn't work.
The hotel Astoria in Gallarate was fine and in a cute area for the last night prior to departure, but the air conditioning doesn't work well there. Thank you so much for your help. I will recommend your services to friends planning trips to Italy.
Sincerely,
Vivian L.
Dear In Italy,
Fattoria Giobbole was absolutely the best lodging of the trip. You're in the heart of Chianti country. The establishment is well-kept, used to be a monastery, but has been transformed into a "hacienda"....with all the trimmings....lovely courtyard views from the rooms, large pool area overlooking the vineyards and olive trees. You're only 30-45 minutes from Florence by bus (at a local's recommendation, we drove to the Holiday Inn (Firenze Sud), parked in their lot for free, and jumped on a bus to the Duomo. Bus ride gives one a nice sense of the surrounding Florence area, and takes about 15-20 minutes. Very effortless way to get to the city center, and back.
Side trips included Siena, Pisa (about 1.5 hour to get there). Lots of other small towns throughout the Chianti area. Very relaxful part of Italy.
Mike D.
Hello again, Cynthia.
I have all documents by my side and was planning to write you a summary of our great vacation in Italy. So now that I've received your mail here it goes...
First of all I must say that you were one of the greatest reasons for the success of our trip. It was really very nice. And believe me, we are used to stay in great places here in Portugal. And as our only guide was American Express "Italy", your detailed maps of Florence, Rome and Venice were a great help to enter in the cities with car for the first time.
There are those kind of things that I really don't understand in Italy (and that's not your fault) and the absence of bathtubs is one of them. In the 7 different places we had been, not even a single tub. In Portugal, every small 3 star hotel has the bathrooms equiped with tub. But that was not a problem.
Fattoria La Chantigiana was the best of the three we were in. Really nice and very friendly hosts, great places for jogging (I practice orienteering), and very pleasant accommodations. Only one inconvenient but it didn't spoil the magnificent atmosphere: the road that is really close to the rooms has a lot of traffic. But with sightseeings like that, Tuscany became my favorite region.
Luis S.
Dear In Italy,
Fattoria Giobbole was absolutely FABULOUS! What a gorgeous B & B and the hosts were a delight! I would like to take this time to mention that I although it is possible to stay there without a rental car, it is not easy. We arrived into Florence on Saturday evening only to discover that SITA bus service is very limited on Saturdays and nearly non-existent on Sundays. The location of the inn is stunning, however any restaurants are a few miles away. You really cannot enjoy the countryside and all the beautiful surrounding towns without one! We were finally able to rent a car a Monday. Availability of cars in the city of Florence and the airport was slim and extremely expensive ($100/day for a Panda + kilometers), so we rented from a small outfit in the town of Panzano, just past Greve. The rental company was Gemini and not only did we get a cheap rate (240,000 Lira from Monday PM - Thursday AM), the rental car was a new Palio wagon - a luxury in Italy!
Thanks for all your help in planning this fabulous trip!
Laurie de J.
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