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Back to Villa dell'Artista
Dear In Italy,
We just returned from our wonderful honeymoon in Italy and could not have been more pleased with the hotels we booked through your site. All three hotels knew we were honeymooners and treated us to some treasures during our stay.
We stayed for two nights at Villa dell'Artista which was a great find. We were the only guests there one of the nights and the staff was very nice. Our room was La Rosa and was HUGE. We dined one night at the hotel’s restaurant, and this was the BEST meal of our trip. We wished we had dined there both nights! The waiter gave us complementary champagne and a wonderful soup upon seating at our table. We both ate great meals of true Tuscan food and the price was VERY reasonable, even with our delicious bottle of wine. The reception staff was very helpful and we found that it was easy to travel into San Gimignano for day trips. The breakfast buffet was more than sufficient: croissants, cold-cuts, yogurt, fruit, toast and a terrific caffe latte. I would stay here again in a heartbeat.
Upon your recommendation, we booked a car for a whole week while we were in Italy and found the driving to be very manageable (minus some minor scares in La Spezia). The price was excellent even when we had to pay for an additional day as we were late returning the car to the downtown Florence office as the location had moved.
Thank you so much for making our Italian honeymoon exceptional!
Kate and Chris L.
Hi Jessica,
Villa dell'Artista, was a lovely hotel. It was very difficult to find and although attractive was too isolated for our liking. We were also the ONLY guests there which made it awkward for dinner reservations. It is also primarily a restaurant. Would not stay there again.
Thanks again,
Mary Ann K.
Hello Cynthia,
I'm sorry this has taken me so long to write. I've been back from Italy for several months now and would love to share a little about my trip. The two places I booked from In Italy.com were Hotel Ponte Sisto in Rome and Villa dell'Artista in Tuscany.
The hotel was in Tuscany located in a little town called Gambassi Terme. We found the hotel to be very charming but a little remote. Once we got our bearings down it wasn't all that bad but the little town that it’s in is very small about one to two blocks with not much to do. We did find a great restaurant a half block from the hotel. I actually found it on your web site from someone who had stayed at Villa dell'Artista. I can't remember the name but if you went down the driveway and made a left it’s less than a block up the hill on the left side. The location of the hotel was about 30mins. from San Gimignano and maybe a little under a hour from Siena. Easy to do both in a day. The ride to San Gimignano is all through the back wine country..quite beautiful. We never ate at the hotel, but our room was very large with beautiful outlooks and the bathroom was very nice. The pool looked inviting but we were never at the hotel long enough to enjoy it.
Thanks again for all your help.
Carla from Northern California
Dear All at Italy on Line,
Just a quick email to give some feedback as I am sure that you don't get the whole picture from people and it's nice to be able to say thanks whilst offering constructive criticism. First of all - thank you for making the investigation, information and decision process so easy, my lack of effort before hand made your help necessary and your speedy, efficient and polite responses were just what was needed.
Generally speaking Italy is wonderful, reasonably prices in places and everywhere friendly and beautiful. I have to say that it appears as if Tuscany is or is in danger of being ruined but Umbria, Abruzzo & Marches unspoilt, the most beautiful and friendliest areas.
Villa Dell'Artista: Friendly and beautiful, again can't do enough for you however the town of Gambassi Terme is a dive and a dodgy walk down bust winding road without footpath. A great restaurant is just up the hill very reasonable, again good fun and safer walk. In house restaurant is excellent but pricey. The only failure of your paperwork and this place is at checkout we were told that the minibar is not complimentary and were asked to pay for it which we politely declined to do. Everything here is charged including a welcoming of would you like some tea and sandwiches in your room to which we replied - wonderful thank you until again checking out we found that we had been charged for all and room service to boot. All in all a lovely place we enjoyed.
Thanks and kindest regards,
John & Jill M.
Dear In Italy,
My husband and I have traveled extensively throughout Europe for the past several years. I write that only to emphasize that we have stayed at a wide range of accommodations in those travels.
I do all of the travel booking for our family, so I am always nervous about how it will turn out. I can only say that each of these two places exceeded our expectations. They were very different experiences, but each one very special.
The Villa dell'Artista was so great in the Tuscany region. I hope we can return some day. The location, the view, the terrace restaurant, the service, everything was wonderful! The train at the next town is a 55-minute ride to Florence, and on and on about the nearby walled villages, olive and wine vineyards.
The only problem we had was that the air conditioning didn't work in the room we had the first night. We opened the windows for the cool outside air and were bitten by mosquitoes. They gave us a new room for the next two nights and everything was great.
I will whole-heartedly recommend you and these hotels to anyone who asks.
Diane P.
Dear In Italy,
Just got home and the trip was great. Villa dell'Artista was great as was the staff. The rooms were better than we expected -- the place was very high end.
Regards
Trevor C.
Hello Jessica,
We're still savoring the enjoyment of our trip -- a very successful one, in no small part due to the help of InItaly. Thank you so much!
Every one of the three hotels we booked through you turned out very well. The room at Villa dell'Artista was palatial. It seemed to be an odd hotel -- very new and a bit garish, with few guests, but the owner was very kind and welcoming, and the accommodations, for the price, outstanding. We tend to prefer the older/more charming accommodations, but as a change of pace it was excellent.
The car booking worked fine, as well. We would recommend InItaly heartily -- and have -- to anyone we come in contact with!!!
Thanks again...until next time,
Ann C.
Dear In Italy,
Our trip was great, thank you for all of your help. As you've requested, let
us comment on some things:
We chose this place to stay at because we had wanted to rent a car and drive
the Tuscany countryside, so we thought that a hotel out in the countryside
would be perfect. Reaching Florence, Pisa, Lucca, San Gimigniano, and Siena
wasn't bad at all, so the location in that respects is nice. Giambe Terme,
on the other hand - the little town its actually in – is a pretty sleepy
place. It is home, however, to one of THE best restaurants we visited during
our entire 2 weeks in Italy. It is less than a mile up the road from Villa
dell'Artista and is called La Montagnola. No one there speaks English but they
are extremely kind and very accommodating. The steak and the "cooked whipped
cream" desert are great. The hotel itself is very well kept up - seems
like a pretty new establishment. It was very clean and the room was fairly
large, and had a nice mural covering the walls. Some downsides include: the
shower, which sprayed so hard that it hurt (no bathtub); the restaurant was
closed when we were there (this was during off-season, though) and this may
have been the reason the only breakfast that was offered was a couple of rolls
and a glass of orange juice; and the directions on how to get there were good
until you get past Poggibonsi, when you should head towards Giambe Terme and
then Castelfiorentino.
Jamie O.
Jessica,
Villa dell'Artista was fantastic. Our hosts were most helpful when they could
understand us. LOL. I would highly recommend this Inn to anyone. The location
was pretty good. We were able to find our way around pretty well. We look
forward to using your web site again in the future. Thank you for your help.
Leslie L.
David,
My wife and I both had a wonderful time in Toscana. Both hotels were excellent, but I have to say the Villa dell'Artista is a true treasure and find. The renovation that they concluded last year is truly first class all the way. All of the guests that we met at the hotel had booked on-line and they all commented that the hotel was much more than they were expecting.
As far as finds or hidden local treasures, I would say that the entire region is a wonderful place to visit, every dining experience was thoroughly enjoyed by all, and of course the regional wines are excellent. We visited several wineries and wine shops. Our favorite winery on the visit trail was the Rocca delle Macie. We had a few of their excellent wines in restaurants prior to the visit but were really pleased with the winery, staff, view of the vineyards, tastings, prices, etc.
Roger P.
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