Agritourismo, perhaps close to Siena

In the region, there are hundreds and hundreds of small olive farms and wineries. Virtually every farm has rooms and/or apartments as secondary income. You just have to figure out what area you'd like to stay in. Siena is very popular, but busier than I wanted and parking is difficult. We stayed outside San Gimignano and Certaldo in the countryside. We especially liked Volterra. We had the availability of grocery stores, but there were not as many affordable restaurants around as you'd think. And there's not that much English spoken outside the tourist cities in Tuscany (as if it mattered.) You've found a great website. Others are Booking.com, Hotels.com, Venere.com, AirBnB.com.

If you enjoy swimming pools, you might consider Il Mulino di Quercegrossa, an agriturismo just 5 km north of Siena. It is set in vineyards and they have turned some of the millrace and other features to a complex of six beautiful swimming pools, one with a waterfall. Nice place to spend an hour or two at the end of a day of sightseeing. We drove in to Siena for dinner and had no trouble finding parking for the evening. The pools draw a lot of day visitors but that did not interfere with our enjoyment of the place. There was a graduation party at night but the only noise that reached us was music at a very pleasant level. I would happily return. And we loved Siena.

Cat,
This may help http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/tuscany/hs_planning.htm

Thx everyone! What great tips. David, I wasn't familiar with venere or bnb site, I'll be peaking at those!! Thx! I really like the looks of Volterra as well. Great tip on the lack of area grocery stores, we'll heed that and be prepared if we stay around there. I've found a lot of very nice well priced ag's in the San G, Volterra area, my only concern is that it might be too much distance from Montepulchiano/Montechino which really attract me. (Still researching...) Lola- WOW! That place looks amazing. I just emailed about rates. :) I agree, I love having a nice dip, after running around all day, before dinner. Henry, what a great blog, thank you - anybody else reading this post should definitely check out that link as well, a 7 day road trip through Tuscany with lots of detail!
So appreciate all the help!

Cat, I sent you a private message. Post if you don't know how to retrieve it.

Cat, Take a look at: borgorapale.it The location is central to everything in Tuscany. The accommodations are first class at a reasonable rate especially in off season. The couple who own it are really nice people and know the area well. Have fun planning,
Gerri

Cat, have a look at Agriturismo Marciano in Siena. It's outside the city walls & while it's only a few minutes by car from the walled city itself, it feels secluded and peaceful. You can look at the ratings on Trip Advisor; it's highly rated and for good reason. We had a fabulous experience there a few years ago and we still talk about it! The rooms are comfortable and very clean. A nice breakfast is served every morning around the farmhouse table giving you an opportunity to meet the other guests. The owners are available every morning to give suggestions and draw out maps, etc. The best part of the experience are the optional dinners all made from fresh ingredients from their own garden or from the local market. Each course is paired with their own wines from their vineyard. The 2 dinners we ate there were the best meals we had in all of Italy! The rates are very reasonable (both for the room & the optional dinners) & we would not hesitate to stay there again. They book well in advance though, so if you're interested, you should inquire asap. Have a great trip!

OH NO, Sheron! Not YOU, too! As you can plainly see from Andrea's response, I've successfully placed an arrester on her iPad that prevents her from ever again publicly mentioning Agriturismo Marciano. It's MINE, ALL MINE!!! (calming down) I can see I need to make a little trip to Alta Loma... ;-) (in my most sugary voice) Cat, I'm sooo sorry - I have no idea where you could stay in a really great agriturismo in Siena... ;-)

You all are too funny! Thanks for the tips :) I'm checking out both borgo rapale, and the other, un-named one!! They look fantastic. I'm torn between staying right outside town, versus a little further in the oountryside. Maybe close is better for a first timer... Also torn between private kitchenette versus prepared breakfast...
As we say in Hawaii, Many Mahalos!! You all make planning so much fun!!

We stayed at the Il Canto Del Sole just south of Siena in 2011 for 3 nights. I would go back in a heartbeat.

Sorry Eileen...you did tell me that once before but I'm a slow learner! I promise I won't let it happen again! Cat, you know that Agriturismo Marciano is a special place worth keeping secret if Eileen is threatening people to not speak of it!! You can't go wrong if you stay there. If you have any questions about it, let us know! By the way, we stopped in Paia last year on our way to Hana! You no doubt live in paradise; I'm so jealous! Have a great time in Italia.

, I don't want to get in a Cat fight with Sheron but I agree with the choice--Marciano is great location for Siena and for touring the countryside.

Oh Skip, wait until Eileen gets wind of your recommendation. It won't be pretty. :-) Eileen stayed at Marciano after I did, but now she wants to be selfish and keep it all to herself. I don't blame her...

If you'll look in Rick Steves' Graffiti section, you'll find Heroic B&B stories. Many area agriturismos are mentioned there. Rick also has another bigger section on Italy with much information. His travel book on Italy also has a whole lot of information on the region.

Hi we have booked Agriturismo Marciano for late april, very much on the recommendations here. check their website , very close to town. we'll let you know our experience when we get back. Ps we are taking the dinner option as well. regards

Gerard, I'm SO jealous!! I know they don't usually offer dinner every night but I recommend eating there as many nights as possible. You won't be sorry...it's truly an experience!

Gerard, I am confident you will be pleased with Agriturismo Marciano. And as Sheron says, be sure to participate in their optional dinners. We were there for 4 nights and had dinner there twice. The best food we had in our 3 weeks in Italy. The dinners were a real highlight of our trip, not just for the quality of the food and wine, but for the experience of dining with interesting people from all over the world.

OK - now we're ALL going to meet Gerard at AM...well, everyone except Skip ;-) Cat, wherever you end up, please post here and let us know how you liked it!

My sisters & I stayed at Poggio Salvi which is about 6 miles out of Siena. It is beautiful and the owner couldn't be nicer. They have a web site and you can read reviews on travel advisor