Pietralta

When we arrived on top of the hills, the birds' song and peace welcomed us. The host was kind and helpful. There is a wine shop at the location, where you can sample local wines if you like. You can easily access Volterra or San Gimignano, but Florence is not far away either. In case you'd like to enjoy the pool as well.

Time flew by fast...:)

-

Our stay at Pietralta was one of the most disappointing travel experiences we’ve ever had. We had been looking forward to a peaceful, relaxing holiday in Tuscany — but what we found on arrival was so far from what was promised, it felt like a bad dream. Despite giving advance notice of our arrival time (19:50 local time) after a long car journey from Austria to Italy, we were met without any warmth or welcome. In fact, to this day we don’t even know the name of the owner - she never introduced herself to us. I read some comments here about a nice welcome, with a bottle of wine - nope, not for us. The apartment itself was in a shockingly neglected state, a world away from their advertised photos on booking.com: - The terrace pergola was full of holes, and the garden was so overgrown that the beautiful view we had seen in the listing was completely hidden. - The windows to the terrace were filthy (you can actually see in the pictures) - Spider webs covered the dining table and chairs - it was clear they hadn’t been touched or cleaned in quite some time. - Inside, the coffee table was dusty, the couch was in poor condition, and its pillows were thick with dust. - The bathroom was dirty, with grime in the shower seams, fixtures that hadn’t been cleaned, and what appeared to be mould. - The kitchen was falling apart: broken fridge shelf, freezer door hanging off, and dirty utensils like the cutting board. - The overall smell in the apartment - horrific. Musty, mossy, rotting, moldy. We agree, things in the countryside can smell different due to humidity, but not like this. Adding to our frustration, the place is advertised as dog-friendly - but on arrival we were told off quite harshly that our small dog (a Westie, who doesn’t shed) shouldn’t go on the couch or bed for hygiene reasons.

Wonderfully located farm stay in Tuscanny , my wife and I stayed here for a couple of nights at the start of June 2024. Fantastic location super quiet and relaxing stay. The lady who runs , owns the place is very helpfull and friendly. Fantastic view from our house across the Tuscan vineyards. Enjoying a glass of wine in the evening sometimes hearing the wild boars honking around. If your looking for some peace and quiet then book this gem.

Nothing

The general location of the property but also the individual facilities and especially the pool are great. Since we like to cook, we were happy that all the necessary utensils were available and we often used the grill and enjoyed the wonderful view. Furthermore, the good wine is recommended.

We really had nothing to complain about

Amazing location, nice old fashion style, no TV, you can rest and feel slow life, highly recommended

Old style family driven wine farm; good location visiting nearby cities like San Gimignano, Volterra and others (car is needed of course). Very friendly and accommodating owner. Nice big pool.

The location was fantastic for us. The road was a dirt track that had suffered some damage but was being repaired when we left. OK for us but not good for a sports car. The pool was great although the filtration needed to be turned on as it accumulated debris floating on the water.

The flat/rooms were extremely dated and for self-catering, lacked usual facilities such as a washing machine, an iron, a hairdryer, a complete set of crockery. I don't think the utensils were clean enough. The kettle was broken. There were occasional cigarette butts outside which should not be there. The fly-screens covering the windows need repair so this prevents you from opening the windows as insects can get through. The kitchen cabinets need repair. The shower needs repair as the closing screen would fall out of the tracks. There is an aerial for a TV but no TV provided. The electrical sockets are very old and you have to ensure that "Southern Europe" adapters are used as new "European" adapters do not fit. The flat was a bit damp. The patio chair covers were faded and looked past their best. There are termites or something similar that created small piles of wood/plaster in various locations in the flat. Booking.com states their price includes taxes and charges but when I came to pay, additional taxes and charges were added.

It was very clean and close to San Giminiano.

This "farm holiday house" is close to St Giminiano and the pictures made it look awesome, but it wasn't. We received a cold reception and assigned to the apartment on the upper floor. Changing apartments was impossible, and we had paid upfront. We only chose to stay because it was very clean and we arrived too late to find something else. We were taken aback by the old furniture which gave it an eery atmosphere; it was like going to an old farmhouse decorated with furniture you can only buy at the fleamarket, probably belonging to the last people who had lived there? There was no TV nor sofa, so no place to relax apart from one chair the children were fighting over. The Wifi only worked in one half of the apartment; the kitchen area. No wine opener, no espresso machine nor salt to make pasta. Sorted garbage disposal and last day I had to go and throw the organic waste on the compost heap (worst service ever). Duvets in the kids' bed but only an old blanket in the double bed. Central heating worked but noisy since gas boiler is inside. The apartment was riddled with bugs; we caught about 22 bedbugs (the green ones that smell when you crush'em), some spiders and on the last day we saw a 4cm centipede. The terrace door was damaged. Frogs croak all through the night in the little pond nearby. Rustic shower with a curtain. Old towels we were supplied with made you smell like goat cheese if you used them. The front door had a 1 cm crack on the bottom half where the air could pass through. The nearest supermarket is about 6km away. We made a mistake by choosing this structure for our "Tuscan holiday". The apartment was far worse than our own flat so we hardly wanted to stay. We were sincerely revolted about what we ended up paying for since it was so far from what we had expected. Don't be fooled by the pictures, not all apartments are nice. Your money is better spent elsewhere.