Our taxi driver dropped us off outside of town center, but we were able to find the hotel since…read morethe City is small. Fortunately we had our previous hotel call to let them know we were arriving or we wouldn't have had the code to get our key. We opened the front door to find a steep set of stone stairs going straight up. We closed the door and were in pitch black. We felt around in the dark to try and open the door again and then found a light switch. The door is the first on the left, and after struggling up with our suitcase, the lights went out and we were in the pitch black again. Trying not to panic, we found a light switch and were able to get in the suite. The set up is a shared common room and 3 bedrooms. Not knowing Italian, we had to figure out which room was ours since there is nobody on site to help. The rooms all have a color outside in a frame. The keys only have words on them. We figured out that ours was lilac. Would have been easier to have the color on the keys to match the room rather than words. Typical of everywhere we have stayed, 3 keys....front door, suite door and bedroom door. Our room was cute, with a nice size bed, and a large bathroom. The bathroom was very cool with great stonework. Our biggest concern was to not drop anything down the sink drain as there was no stopper. Breakfast was served the next morning and was a typical breakfast of coffee, pastry, and fruit. We had asked them to get a taxi for us and it came in a timely manner.

Stayed here in May 2007 during honeymoon trip to Italia, visiting Venezia, Firenze, Sienna/ Tuscany…read more& Roma over 2 weeks. The planned stay was for 2 night at this Villa, though little did I know it will be the best part of the whole honeymoon, even so that we extended the stay by 2 nights. Luckily it was right before peak travel season and we were able to; missed using their pool, since it was too early for the season. Host Franseco was amazing, really warm, welcoming and friendly. He showed me around, walked us through the legendary history of this castle through World Wars, his mother's amazing story of first ever woman to compete in the local horse race competition (forgetting the name), he even shared some especial local desert liquor with us one night... he made us feel at home, we even played with his pony (Jimmy?), his cat & he dropped us off the last day to the city center (he was going to watch a big club soccer match). Place is amazingly beautiful, small village, 2 restaurants (we loved the family run place- don't miss their ribolita...yum!!), very charming villa. We rented a scooter and rode around Tuscany/ Chianti region, checking out various villages in the area. Hands down, my best foreign trip ever, and the highlight was the stay at this villa & exploring Tuscany. I've been itching to go back since... hopefully some time soon, and this time- I'll make sure to go later than early May, so I can enjoy their amazing pool with a scenic view of the mountains, overlooking Sienna valley! Oh I'm getting the travel bug as I right this. Franseco was awesome!

Awe inspiring rooms with fantastic service. You feel like you are royalty in your own palazzo in…read morethe center of town

Cannot say enough good things about Palazzo Tolomei and the lovely staff there. The space is…read moremagnificent - truly fitting the ambiance of Florence. Many of the rooms have incredible frescos painted on the ceilings and the room I stayed in could more accurately be described as an apartment with more space than I had imagined. All rooms were spotless and charmingly decorated. The staff is availble to answer any question and truly make you feel like a guest in a dear friends home. Restaurant recommendations from Daniella spot on. Perhaps the best thing were the magnificent breakfasts with authentic sweets baked by local woman. There is an elevator which makes most but not all floors easily accessible...would warn those with issues climbing stairs to simply request a room that you can reach via elevator. Palazzo Tolomei was the perfect place to stay in Florence...located on a historic street, minutes walk from Duomo and endless wonderful restaurants and shopping. Very reasonable rate. Truly highlight of my trip to Italy.

My husband and I were lucky enough to stay at Fonte Martino Guest House and Estate in October 2018,…read morebefore David and Toby began taking reservations. We stayed in the Montepulciano suite, which is in the main house, and were blown away by the amenities and care they took in making the room luxurious. The suite was spacious, modern, clean and had everything we needed to make us feel at home. The views from Fonte Martino of the Tuscan landscape, as well as a commanding view of Montepulciano, made down time at the Inn a pleasure and eye candy for my soul. The location of Fonte Martino was also ideal. A quick 20min walk or 5min drive, made excursions into town easy and fun. In addition to Montepulciano, Fonte Martino is also a easy drive to Cortona, Florence, Siena, Arezzo, Pienza and many other small towns that are nestled in the Tuscan countryside. I would highly recommend visiting Montepulciano and staying at Fonte Martino Guest House and Estate. I'm excited to go back!

From the owner: Exclusively situated 5 minutes from historic Montepulciano, Fonte Martino is the ideal destination…read morefor your Tuscan adventure. It's easy to understand why Rick Steves said, "Montepulciano is one of my favorites for exploring Tuscany and its wine country." Upon your arrival, you will be greeted with panoramic views of Montepulciano and the Tuscan countryside. With the most perfect weather, you will find yourself immersed in our beautiful gardens and relaxing suites. Designed to accommodate a limited number of guests with all modern comforts, Fonte Martino will provide lasting memories for your Tuscan holiday.

Excellant Accomodation great position and lovely staff beautiful well equipped rooms and very…read morecomfy beds awesome place to stay.

From the owner: Camere doppie molto confortevoli con bagno privato, aria condizionata, connessione wifi gratuita,…read moretv, in centro storico a firenze, a pochi passi dal Duomo e dal Mercato di San Lorenzo e solo 10 minuti a piedi dalla stazione ferroviaria di S. Maria Novella. Per lunghi o brevi soggiorni alcune camere dispongono di angolo cottura.

I've stayed here twice. Once was 20 years ago and once again last month. This time it was a…read morefamily trip. We stayed in one of the family rooms and it worked out nicely for the four of us, including two teenagers. Breakfast was great - there was lots of variety. The staff keeps the breakfast room tidy and interacted with us in very friendly ways. This place drips with charm. The staff is friendly and helpful (and spoke English). They have a great big lazy dog who loves attention. The furnishings are old but charming. I like the public spaces such as the terrace and the sitting rooms. The location is picturesque but outside of the city of Florence. If you come and are planning on tourism in the city, please understand that Bencista is a charming retreat outside the city. I recommend this place highly.

This review is on the restaurant only…read more Recommended by the Michelin Guide, we were eagerly anticipating our 11th Anniversary dinner at Pensione Bencista's restaurant. Arriving by bus (€1.20/person each way) from our apartment in Florence, it was a short walk down the road from Bus #7's stop "Regresso" following the signs. The pensione is a beautiful 14th Century villa, overlooking the valley and Florence below. The Duomo and other landmarks are clearly evident from the terrace where we were taken and our reserved table awaited us. The tables were a bit too close to one another and the back of a chair from the table next to us made it awkward to sit comfortably. One of the owners finally moved the table when the guests arrived and it became clear that it was not going to work very well for either party. A nice young lady took our order from the fixed-price (€25 per person) menu with just four primi (pasta) selections and three choices of secondi (meat), including the tagliata (sliced steak - €40/kilo with one kilo minimum). The wine list was reasonable and we ordered a Syrah (€32) from northern Tuscany which was very good. Wine is extra, but water, dessert, service, and coperto are all included in the fixed-price. The Syrah was good, a robust, deep red with hints of berry, complimenting the meal very nicely. For our primi (first course), my wife had the penne con zucchini and I had the penne al ragu (meat sauce). They boast about serving only De Cecco pasta on their website which I found a bit odd because De Cecco is good pasta, but it is mass produced, not locally produced or handmade. My wife's pasta with zucchini was swimming in olive oil, a bit off-putting, but otherwise the dish was fair, nothing special, with small chunks of zucchini, onion, and little else. She had to add grated cheese to the dish to give it flavor, something she almost never does at her mother's house in Napoli or in restaurants. My ragu was very good, but like my wife's dish, there was very little pasta and it took little time to consume. Not overly impressive, after all De Cecco is not expensive pasta. While eating our pasta, the family next to us received their secondi (main courses), porchetta, which is one of my favorites and not offered as an option by our server. They were also served their contorni individually by the waiter whereas ours arrived on our plates from the kitchen. Maybe they were French celebrities, the King of France perhaps? I am joking obviously, but I thought it a bit odd in any case. When our secondi arrived, there were the potatoes, peperoni (sauteed red bell peppers), and a small portion of melanzane alla parmigiana (eggplant parmigiana) even though I had specified in my reservation that my wife was allergic to tomatoes. We pointed out the faux pas, they apologized, and her plate was removed. My tacchino rollatini arrived shortly thereafter, but we waited and waited, seemingly forever, until her veal sans tomato finally arrived. The owner also asked if we were having the porchetta, but I told him that the server had not given us that option, so he promised to bring a few slices as a courtesy. The tacchino (turkey breast) was rolled with ham and cheese inside, then lightly pan-fried. It was delicious, but extremely small once again with just one little rolled breast. The potatoes, melanzane, and peppers were all very good as you would expect at any decent restaurant in Italy. The scaloppine was also quite delicious, a reasonable portion, not small, not huge, white and tender as real veal should be. It is just a shame that we could not enjoy our anniversary main courses together. For dessert we were offered a choice of plum cake, torta di mele (apple pie), or biscotti (hard cookies with almonds) and a small glass of Vin Santo. We shared the torta di mele and biscotti con Vin Santo. The apple pie was simple and tasty, an Italian version slightly similar to American apple pie but drier. The biscotti were good, looking store-bought, and the glass of Vin Santo, a sweet white wine famous in this region, was very small, but big enough to dip the three cookies in as is the tradition. Again, the French family received dessert and something we were not offered by our server, fruit and cheese. Why our server failed to tell us about the additional options for secondi and dolce (dessert) is still a mystery. For the price, the meal was good and a fair value in Florence where comparable fixed-price meals start in the €30 to €40 range (including wine however). The setting idyllic, a beautiful ancient villa with an incredible view, the experience was better than the meal alone. The food was very average, with very few basic selections and small portions. The service was very friendly and punctual, but the numerous mistakes detracted greatly from our overall experience, particularly being our wedding anniversary. CombatCritic Gives Pensione Bencista 6 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Went for the cooking class- had so much fun! Learned so much, and the food was so great, got to…read moreenjoy all the food we made and lots of wine. Our host and chef were great. We went with a group of family and friends and had a great time!

From the owner: Nell'amabile campagna di Chianciano, adagiata tra vigneti secolari e meravigliosi ulivi, avvolto…read moredai colori e dai profumi delle valli toscane...sorge Palazzo Bandino. Palazzo Bandino: nove appartamenti, quattro camere con bagno, servizio di I° colazione, ristorazione tipica solo su prenotazione, con la possibilità di organizzare lezioni e corsi di cucina e di vino per individuali e piccoli gruppi; visita alle cantine con degustazione e spuntini di prodotti tipici. Di recentissima apertura l'Area Relax "Sensi DiVini" con tanto di piscina idromassaggio riscaldata per massaggio dorsale, lombare e idro a cascata per il beneficio di tutto il corpo, vasca idromassaggio esterna riscaldata, percorso kneipp, doccia emozionale, sauna finlandese e hammam ( bagno turco). Ma questo non è tutto! Nelle tue vacanze benessere in Toscana potrai rilassarti nel raxul (hammam munito di possibilità' di programmazione personalizzata) e ricevere massaggi in cabina su prenotazione.

We had Florentine steak four times while we were in Italy and this place was our favorite. The meat…read morewas tender and rich and flavored with plenty of garlic and rosemary. The tagliatelle with mushrooms was fresh and delicious. They don't speak English here but we managed with pantomime and the few words we knew! Super friendly folks. A highlight of our entire vacation.

Most amazing stay with them in 2017. Hope it reopens soon.! Can still get their wine (LaLastra) in…read moreupstate NY!

Just outside of Siena this place is a jewel. I hesitate to actually do a review because it will…read morebook up faster, however the owners deserve a great review. The couple that owns this vineyard is super sweet and the staff is really excellent. Everything, and I mean everything, was fantastic. We stayed one night but I wish it was more. The "light" dinner they prepared was one of the best meals on our recent trip, all was fresh, well prepared and the wine tasting to go with it was also very good. The room was a little slice of heaven and very quite at night which was a welcome change from the city. The views were stunning, I walked the vineyard early in the morning and loved it. Don't believe me? Check out the photos!