My husband and I wanted to do Tuscany for 10 days. We were looking for a luxury hotel that had…read moreeither separate villas/apartments, but also have the facilities and amenities of a hotel which had restaurant, bar, spa and activities. We also needed a place that was dog friendly, but didn't have a high daily pet fee since we were staying for 10 days. When you put all of those requirements together there aren't that many places to choose from, but we were lucky to find Il Borro checked off all of our needs...and the property is owned by the Ferragamo family so you know it's going to be top notch.
Location:
Very central overall in Tuscany with Florence (50 mins away) and Siena (30 - 40 mins away).
Arrival: To go to the main reception you drive up to these very grand gates. You drive along a tree lined dirt road with horse stables on both sides. You pass the stables, the winery and then you come to the main reception on the right.
Bellman: The bellman greets you upon arrival. After check in he takes you to your room.
Parking: We had parking for free in front of our farmhouse (Casa di Piano).
Reception/Front Desk: Very friendly and thoughtful. They walked through everything we needed to know about the property and farmhouse.
Lobby: The main reception lobby is small with the reception desk and three couches. This is not a lobby where you would sit and chill.
Room/Apartment: We stayed in the farmhouse Casa Di Piano in the Alloro apartment. In the Casa di Piano farmhouse there are four apartments (two on the ground level and two on the 1st level). It had two bedrooms, two bathrooms, living room and a kitchen.
Outside space: There was a large garden, covered parking for 3 cars and other uncovered space for 2 others. There's also a play set with a slide and two swings. There was another building on the property next to the pool which had a large long communal table, kitchen and bathroom to entertain. There was a nice size swimming pool with chairs to sunbathe.
Bedroom: Two good size bedrooms: one bedroom with a king bed and one bedroom with two twin beds. The beds were comfortable. There were also A/C units in the bedrooms.
Bathroom: Two bathrooms: one with a bathtub and one with a stand up shower. Both had sinks, small mirrors and were a bit outdated. Hairdryers are located in the closet of the bedrooms.
Products: All Ferragamo Tuscan Soul products - shampoo, conditioner, body lotion and shower gel are provided.
Kitchen: The kitchen had all of the basic essentials such as plates, cups, silverware, small pots, one grill pan, cutting board, and cutting knives. There's a table in the middle of the kitchen to eat with four chairs.
In the kitchen there was also a microwave, toaster, dishwasher, refrigerator, freezer, and washing machine. All functional, but a bit outdated. There is also a closet in the kitchen which has an iron, ironing board and drying rack for your clothes.
Coffee Maker: Old school coffee maker that you brew on the stove. You need to buy coffee grounds.
Minibar: You need to bring or buy all of your food and drinks to put into your refrigerator.
Living room: There was a two person couch, two separate chairs, coffee table and TV.
Housekeeping: Hit or miss. Sometimes the housekeeping would do a full clean and sometimes not.
Wifi: Spotty out in the farmhouse.
Dining: There are three dining spots on property:
1) Bistro: Yum! The bistro is traditional Italian food promoting local Tuscan products and ingredients, good and friendly service and overall great meals. It's also where the breakfast buffet was located.
2) Osteria (fine dining): Delicious! For the price and the quality of dishes you get is very reasonable. The service is top notch and very friendly.
3) Vin Cafe: It's a nice quiet spot to have a quick lunch or a glass of wine to watch the sunset.
Spa: Good. We both got treatments and enjoyed the facility.
Gym: Good for a hotel gym. They had everything you need and all high quality machines and gear.
Pool: Since we had our own pool at the farmhouse we didn't use the main pool on property. The pool at the spa area was very nice.
Concierge: Very helpful with all of our requests.
Style: Classic Italian
Service: Overall the service was fantastic from the front desk/concierge, Luca our chef who did our cooking class, to everyone in all of the eating outlets, to the spa.
Other: I know the hotel can do nothing about this because it's due to the area, but the mosquitos are nasty and aggressive here. If you know mosquitoes like you then bring repellent and cream with you. Note: We stayed in August (summertime).
Cooking class: Excellent!
Wine Tour: Good!
Dog Friendly? YES - Dogs are free and can go anywhere on property! They provided a bed and a bowl in the room.
Would I go back? ABSOLUTELY even with the mosquitos. Next time we would like to experience being in one of the hotel rooms in the village.
