Lodging near Siena, Italy

Have you checked out the Slow Travel website? You might find it helpful:
http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/tuscany/index.htm

Hotel Minerva is actually at one of the city gates of Siena but it has covered garage parking for guests (I think it's 10 euro per day to park). Some rooms have views of Siena's skyline, but this may be too close to the city for you.

Have you considered an agriturismo? We stayed at Agrit. Marciano in Siena & enjoyed it immensely. Our only regret was that we weren't able to stay there longer. You can read the reviews on TripAdvisor but it was a wonderful experience. They've renovated an old farmhouse & the rooms are very quaint, clean & comfortable. The rate includes a nice breakfast & you can opt to take part in the dinners that they offer several times a week. The dinners are reasonably priced & are an incredible experience. The ingredients are all farm fresh & they pair each course with their homemade wines. It is an event not to be missed. We would stay there again in a heartbeat. You have to reserve well in advance though because they book up fast. Have a wonderful trip.

I l-o-v-e-d staying at Agriturismo Marciano. It was not only my favorite place to stay during our 3 weeks in Italy, but may be my favorite place I have ever stayed. The dinners were fabulous and we really enjoyed talking to people from other countries that were staying there. I can't wait to go back to Italy some day, and when I do, I will definitely work it into the itinerary to stay there again. It is only a few kilometers from Siena's city center and they have plenty of parking.

Thanks. Agriturismo Marciano sounds great. I will look into it. It sounds like just what we are looking for.

Blast it, Andrea! We aren't supposed to talk about Marciano!!! Now EVERYONE will go there, and we won't be able to make a reservation!!! Sheron, you get a pass...THIS time LOL! Marciano belongs to US! Ellen - shhhh...Don't tell anybody about Marciano ;-) Just read the TripAdvisor reviews, though...

@ Eileen - I didn't mention it until Sheron did. You've been so quiet lately I didn't think you'd see it. Whoops! :-)

We stayed in Greve in Chianti at this place: http://www.greve-in-chianti.com/casanova.htm It was within walking distance of Greve (which has a great Saturday market. We used the 2 bedroom apartment (but there were 4 of us.) We had a car, but we rode the bus into Florence. Very convenient. This web site would have more ideas for that area: http://www.greve-in-chianti.com/

We spent one night at this agriturismo, about 5 km north of Siena right off the Chianti Highway: http://www.mulinodiquercegrossa.it/ As improbable as it sounds, it is a complex of 6 or 7 swimming pools surrounded by vineyards. We used it for a relaxing break from cities and museums, spending an afternoon in the pools. I especially liked "the River" which has a current and ends in a pool with a waterfall. There is also a saltwater pool, as well as a large one for swimming laps. It might be crowded with teens some days, as lots of local people come there to swim. Our room was a 2-room apartment (there were 4 of us) and while the kitchen area was pretty spare, the upper bedroom had a nice balcony looking out to the vineyards. Breakfast was included so we didn't really need to cook, but it was nice to have all the space. There is a restaurant on-site but we went into Siena for dinner.

Staying close to Siena appeals to me. The info about Agriturimsma Marciano is fabulous. What rooms would you recommend and why?

I don't think Marciano has a bad room and I believe they are similar in size. We stayed in the Grande room. To the best of my knowledge there are 5 regular rooms with en suite baths and an 'apartment' with a separate bedroom and cooking facilities. Eileen stayed in the apartment, so she could give you better information than I can.

(everybody else except Ellen go away...nothing to see here...) Okay, we can begin... We loved the 'depandance'/'suite' (they call it different things)! If you Google 'Agriturismo Marciano Flickr photostream', you'll get several 'albums'. Look to the right for three photo collections; pick 'indoor'. The apartment/suite is in three photos titled "suite, suite photo 1, and suite photo 2". It's as large as it looks! Lots of windows for cross breezes and views. The bathroom was nice; the walk-in shower was tub-sized! We'll work our schedule around getting to stay in the suite in the future. Literally. Let me know if there's anything else you'd like to know! Okay - come back, everybody! ;-) EDIT: Book ASAP! Trust those who have gone before you...

We just returned from a month in Tuscany and Northern Italy and stayed at Tenuta la Santissima for 7 nights while taking day trips to those areas that you have mentioned. Only opened since May, this is a fabulous find and I cannot say enough good things about this wonderful place and the family that runs it! Therese, the owner fixes a breakfast that is killer, including souffle, quiche and frittatas. Much of what she fixes comes straight from her garden! We were treated like family!

We stayed at the Il Canto del Sole last year and found it to be amazing. It's about 12km from Siena. Laura and Luciano are terrific hosts that really make your stay incredible. Laura is a magnificent cook as well, and the nightly dinners are not to be missed!

Seven days with a car at your disposal, an agriturismo is the way to go. You can follow the suggestions of some of the posters above or you can search your own: Agriturismo.net
Agriturismo.it According to the Regione Toscana (Region of Tuscany) statistics, the number of Agriturismos in the Region totals now over 4,000. Almost triple the amount available at the start of the XXI century just 12 years ago. So you have plenty to choose from.

Sorry Eileen...I do want to keep Agrit. Marciano all to myself but I just love it so much that I can't resist talking about it! I love it so much that even though we're not going anywhere close to Siena on our trip to Italy next year, we talked about changing plans just to stay there again! My mouth waters just thinking about their wonderful dinners. That's where I first tried stuffed zuchini blossoms & they were to die for! Sorry to digress Ellen. Like Andrea, we also stayed in the 'Grande' room. It was very cheerful, bright & comfortable. I'm sure all the rooms there are similar. I don't know when you're planning to be in Italy but it does book up well in advance so if you're interested in staying there, I'd book asap. You really can't go wrong there.

We spent a week at La Falconara in Montepulciano. It was the perfect location to travel to other towns. The owners, Alex and Ingrid were the best hosts, and gave us many suggestions of places to visit and eat that we may have never found on our own. All three of the apartments have cooking facilities. I am helping my sister-in-law arrange her trip to Italy in December and she too will be staying with Alex and Ingrid. http://www.lafalconara.it/?lingua_breve=en

Ellen, You must, must, must check out Il Canto del Sole!!!! (near Siena) Laura and Luciano are fantastic hosts and the accomodations are lovely. You will not believe the quality of their breakfasts. We easily visited loads of hilltowns from there in October.

Ellen: In case you haven't noticed, virtually every farm in Chianti has rooms (apartments) and are agriturismos. Craigslist.com, Hotels.com, AirBnB.com, Villas.com and Venere.com are great places to look for these facilities. Tripadvisor is another place to get advice. It's best to just pick a town and book accommodations there. Apartments start @ E70 for the most part. You cannot go wrong with any of the small towns. The area north of Siena is preferable, as it's closer to Florence but yet still rural. Chianti is NW of Siena and SE of Florence. I found Siena a little hard to deal with, as parking is terrible and it's a rather congested city.