podere Sanlorenzo

The cat, the countryside view and the lady cleaner that offered to take us to our bus stop on the day we left.

I feel like our expectations for this property were very high in the beginning. And as with anyone who wants to experience the tranquility of nature we initially thought this was a no-brainer. Unfortunately, we were very disappointed with both the lack of hospitality and care regarding the guests and their needs. First of all, once we arrived, we were met with the owner's daughter in law who very quickly explained everything and left a piece of paper with some restaurant names that were a 30+ minute walk from the house (this was at 7/8pm). And we didn't have a car. Our plan was to quickly warm up some food to eat. And she quickly told us we couldn't use anything in the kitchen. We had some quick pasta that just needed some boiling water and she didn't let us. So we asked if we could use the microwave and she called the owner, just to reluctantly tell us that she could but only if she did it herself. And that she wouldn't give us any cutlery to eat with (talk about customer service). And she told us we HAD to eat outside. Mind you this was late so there were mosquitos everywhere. We each got at least 10 mosquito bites before we decided to take the food upstairs since the lady had left with her son to grab dinner and left us hungry and exhausted, sharing a soup between the both of us that we ate using rice crackers because she couldn't give us a spoon! Then we went to the room and were even more disappointed to know that the WiFi pretty much doesn't work. We ended up just using mobile data throughout the whole stay. Furthermore, the property mentioned a breakfast that doesn't exist and that they will never serve you (This is lie that keeps being advertised by them and I will submit a complaint). Instead, they will always recommend places to eat that are far away. And it feels honestly like they don't care about you or how you feel in that place. Truly disappointing and a clear sign of poor hospitality and human compassion.

Ricardo and Carla were extremely kind, hospitable, and friendly. I was travelling with my mum and away for a couple of days for a friend's wedding and they really helped us out with organising transport links with local taxis. Very grateful to them for making our stay so comfortable! The room was very clean and cosy and the view is simply stunning.

We did get lost once getting back but it's the fault of the Google maps directions for showing a blocked road and the route hasn't been updated. No complaints whatsoever about the room though, everything was as advertised!

Great place among the hills, very nice, really! The owner is welcoming, the room and toilet are clean and warm, an inner space to park in. And silence, just the birds chirping, a soft wind. Far away the lights on the plains between Pistoia, Prato and Florence.

Just one point. Maybe a bigger sign of the Podere.

nice house and quality furnishings inside.

breakfast was advertised as available but in the morning I was asked if I wanted to be driven to a nearby location to get something to eat. If this was supposed to be pre-booked then it wasn't very clear from my side.

The room was nice and clean

I reached out to the owner to arrange breakfast beforehand and he said we can pay for it on the premises, but at the end he did not offer us any and we left without a breakfast. The room is located in a family home with lots of pictures everywhere which is a bit weird. When we arrived there was a party going on because the daughter had a birthday and she couldn't let us in with a car or even to wait in the house because she was waiting for her father which came late. They were nice an apologetic about it but the party continued even when we got to sleep and we heard everything through the window. Even if we closed the window there was still noice of cars going out of the property and driving on the road. I was cold the whole night and tried to look for a cover but in the closet there were some clothes and I didn't want to take it. Both the owner and the daughter spoke just a few words in english, the owner actually spoke better english which I think is weird for 2023.

The location is good if you’re going on an event in Villa Il Cerrentino, which we did. Apart from that, it’s in the middle of nowhere without restaurants close. Good aircon, clean room.

The room is in the owner’s own house, and they told us that all other rooms (including the kitchen) are private and we can’t be there. In other words, we were only allowed to be in the bedroom, but we were not allowed to eat there... And since there are no restaurants close by, it felt extremely weird to not being able to have access to any amenities. We’ve never felt so unwelcome in someone’s B&B. We’ve stayed in many places so far and being able to use a kitchen has never been an issue anywhere else, and in hotels you at least usually have a minibar and/or coffee offered. Here they offer nothing, except breakfast 08.00, 08.30 or 09.00 and if you want to have your own food/breakfast after that - it’s not possible. You get even better options by booking a room inside someone’s property with AirBnb since they in 99% let you use their kitchen. Also, the bathroom is not in the room but outside. We don’t recommend anyone to stay here. Luckily we had an amazing time at a weeding weekend in Villa Il Cerrentino so we didn’t have to spend much time in this B&B. If we wouldn’t have other plans/places to hang out in, we would definitely leave this place the first day.

The room is situated in the house where owners live. It has a private bathroom. The owners are super nice, very kind. They do not speak English well, but we managed to understand each other. The house is located in beautiful countryside, you park your car behind the fence. Would definitely recommend for a short stay 😊

GPS gets a little lost, the owner gave me other instructions but GPS did not find me the street he gave me, although the street actually exists. Weird GPS thing I think. Anyway, you will find it eventually.

No bathroom in the room as written. I sent my uncle there to see the location and then we asked for a refund because we didn’t accept the bathroom on the coridor… but we received nothing back… 2 nights paid in full for nothing… At least I can write this here.