Borgo Santinovo

The pergola house was tiny, damp and smelled bad. The smallest bedroom walls needed paint, and the little bathroom in the two-bedroom, four-person house had no window. The damp attracted so many mosquitoes that they were killing us, even with coils and spray every night. The house also wasn’t clean when we arrived. There were dead flies in the bathroom and kitchen, and spots all over the kitchen table from previous guests. We had to clean it ourselves, despite paying 70€ for cleaning. The strangest thing was that guests on summer holidays who wanted some sun weren’t allowed to use the poolside sunbeds or chairs. We were told to stay in the courtyard under the trees or on a small patch of grass away from the pool. We couldn’t even sit on a blanket by the pool because the owners didn’t want the grass to turn yellow. It was funny in a way, but sad too. Borgo Santinovo is 30 min. from Siena, and the location is okay overall. But the borgo felt dark, overgrown and poorly maintained, and needs a big upgrade. The Italian-style apartments are nice-looking but cramped. The kitchens badly need an overhaul and lack so much that cooking even a simple meal was difficult. There should at least be an oven. We were drawn in by the borgo style and the photos, but they’re old and look much prettier than the place does now. We’ve been to Toscana and Umbria many times, but neither this place nor the staff grew on us. We’ve never felt so out of place. We don’t expect anything special, just a clean place, nice staff and a great pool for swimming and sunbathing. For what we paid, we didn’t feel at home or welcome. We wouldn’t recommend it. See one of the photos that sold us on the place, where in reality we weren’t allowed to lie by the pool 🙃🤥

The location is fantastic and the hotel has a lot of potential, but our stay didn’t live up to it. Our group booked five rooms, and one had a bat flying around plus at least six spiders crawling in the bathtub. The rooms were almost unbearably hot, and Wi-Fi was nearly nonexistent in them. The pool was okay, though not especially well maintained. Our room had no hot water, and staff did nothing after we reported it. We hope to visit the area again, but we won’t stay here.

Charming place and good local olive oil for sale, but the Wi-Fi was unusable.

We loved celebrating our wedding at Borgo Santinovo. The apartments, swimming pool and whole property were a hit with all our guests, and the staff went above and beyond for everyone. The wine and food were wonderful too. We’ve decided to come back for our five year anniversary. Can’t wait!