I recently returned from a wonderful trip to Italy. One week of my visit was spent at Cretaiole, outside of Pienza. I had read about Cretaiole in RS books, and have a few friends that have stayed there on different occasions. I have to say, it is a magical place! If you are going to be visiting this area, I highly recommend you stay at Cretaiole. In fact, once we arrived, I regretted it took me so long to get there. It is in a wonderful location for visiting the area, close to many towns and villages you have read about. The accommodations are wonderful. The apartments are beautifully decorated and spacious, with everything provided for your stay. The bedrooms are spacious and the beds very comfortable. The bathroom in our apartment was beautiful with a rain shower head. There is a common washer and several clothes lines for you to use. In our apartment, we had a large kitchen area and were able to cook meals if we wanted to. Isabella, Carlo, Luciano, and Carlotta work very hard to make sure your stay at Cretaiole is perfect. Their attention to detail is fantastic. In each apartment, Isabella has provided a wonderful detailed guide of things to see and do for your use during your stay. There are many activities set up for you to participate in, or you can just hang out at Cretaiole and relax outside and enjoy the magnificent views. If you are there at the right time of year, there is a garden for your use. Some of the activities while we were there were a couple of wine and food pairing dinners, a winery tour, a tour of their private Etruscan tomb, working farm tour that children would love, an Olive oil tasting class, a pasta making class with a cookout Italian barbecue afterward, a tour of Pienza and many other activities. Isabella and Carlotta can assist with making arrangements for you if there is a restaurant you want to try out, or go for a bike ride. They even provide a cell phone (you purchase the minutes) for you to use in the area if needed. We chose the "Dolce Vita" option, which included all kinds of meat, cheese, toasts, juice, milk, cereal, eggs, fruit, honey. It was enough food for breakfast every morning and a delicious picnic during our travels every day. If you are going to spend a week in Tuscany, I highly recommend Cretaiole. I will be going back there again, and again, and again. When you go, you too will wonder what took you so long.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16893 posts
Thanks for sharing!
Posted by
1 posts
We stayed at Cretaiole in June 2014, and the whole experience was delightful. Our apartment was spacious, the setting was gorgeous, and the activities were terrific for our three generations of travelers. The Dolce Vita package provided abundant fresh food and Carlotta made all the activities fun, in addition to giving us insight into the people of the area. Isabella's book of additional destinations with detailed directions made driving easier than we expected. Monks chanting at the abbey, yoga in a monastery, mud baths in a thermal pool, bike rides on the white roads were all extra adventures that we might have missed had we not had gracious assistance from the Moricciani family.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
41 posts
Returning next month for two weeks with friends who've had to listen to me rave about it since my first visit. I traveled solo on my first trip during the rainiest May in memory, but it was still a wonderful week: the Moriccianis were welcoming, the other guests were interesting, the optional activities were very enjoyable (watercolor lesson, wine tastings, and organic farm visit and lunch). After learning how to roll pici I even tried it at home. I love the Val d'Orcia. You absolutely need a car and it's 1.5+ hours to Florence, but only 20 minutes from Montalcino or Montepulciano, and 5 minutes from Pienza. Plus their family-made soppressata is outstanding. I tried to find something close stateside with no success. Go - you won't regret it.