My wife and I are traveling by car from near Siena to Rome at the end of our 14 day vacation in June. We are looking for a nice quaint B&B or small hotel somewhere on that route in southern Tuscany or Lazio to stay three nights. On the coast would be a plus. We are experienced active travelers and like small well run places with friendly owners. ($$$ is the middle of our price range.)
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Rick Steves' Europe
388 posts
Here are a few options for some nice agritourismos between Florence and Rome. Another area you might consider is Orbetello. We don't cover it in our guidebooks but several travelers have mentioned how nice it was. You can find hotels and b&bs online or in another guidebook.
NEAR ORVIETO
At [$$$] Agriturismo Locanda Rosati, you’ll be greeted by friendly hosts Giampiero Rosati and niece Cristiana, who rent 10 tastefully decorated rooms in a pleasant, homey atmosphere (Db-€110-140, Tb-€140-160, full traditional dinners for €35 on request with this book, air-con, swimming pool, 5 miles from Orvieto on the road to Viterbo, tel. 0763-217-314, www.locandarosati.it, info@locandarosati.it).
[$$] Tenuta le Velette is a sprawling, family-run farmhouse. Cecilia and Corrado Bottai rent six fully furnished apartments and villas scattered over their expansive and scenic grounds. They range wildly in size--accommodating from 2 to 14 people--but they all nestle in perfect Umbrian rural peace and tranquility (Db apartment-€90-110, see website for details on various villas, 2-night minimum, 10 percent discount for weekly stay, free Wi-Fi, pool, bocce court, 5 minutes from Orvieto--drive toward Bagnoregio-Canale and follow Tenuta le Velette signs, tel. 0763-29090, mobile 348-300-2002, www.levelette.it, cecilialevelette@libero.it). They also offer wine-tastings (see listing on page *TK).
[$$] Agriturismo Cioccoleta (“Little Stone”) has eight rooms with cozy country decor, each named after one of the grapes grown in the agriturismo’s vineyards. It’s family-run and offers sweeping views of Orvieto and the pastoral countryside (Db-€75, Tb-€96, Qb-€110, 10 percent discount with this book--mention when you reserve, includes breakfast, free Wi-Fi, 3 miles north of Orvieto at Località Bardano 34 in Bardano, tel. 0763-316-011, mobile 349-860-9780, www.cioccoleta.it, info@cioccoleta.it, Angela Zucconi).
[$$] Agriturismo Poggio della Volara, 12 miles southeast of Orvieto, has seven apartments (sleeping from two to five people) and seven rooms in two buildings overlooking a swimming pool (Db-€100, Tb-€120, smaller apartment-€100, larger apartment-€160, room rates include breakfast but costs €8 extra in apartments, air-con in all but four rooms, free Wi-Fi, tel. 0744-951-820, mobile 347-335-2523, www.poggiodellavolara.it, info@poggiodellavolara.it, Marco).
NEAR MONTALCINO
[$$] La Crociona, an agriturismo farm and working vineyard, rents seven fully equipped apartments. Fiorella Vannoni and Roberto and Barbara Nannetti offer cooking classes and tastes of the Brunello wine grown and bottled on the premises (Db-€95, or €65 in Oct-mid-May; Qb-€130, or €95 in Oct-mid-May; lower weekly rates, metered gas heating, laundry-€8/load, covered pool, hot tub, fitness room, La Croce 15, tel. 0577-847-133 or 0577-848-007, www.lacrociona.com, info@lacrociona.com). The farm is two miles south of Montalcino on the road to the Sant’Antimo Monastery; don’t turn off at the first entrance to the village of La Croce--wait for the second one, following directions to Tenuta Crocedimezzo e Crociona). A good restaurant is next door.