Agriturismo Il Gelso

We had a large family gathering of 13 here, and it worked well as a base for seeing Tuscany and Umbria. There are lots of rooms and bathrooms, and the bed I used was very large and comfortable. The rooms are simple, though, and the kitchen is basic. We made good use of the garden BBQ and bought fresh local meat, cheese, vegetables, salad and wine at the CoOp supermarket about 5 minutes down the road. The garden and pool are very good and well cared for. The house faces away from the road, so you don't really notice it, and traffic isn't heavy. The view across the flat fields is pleasant. The property is close to the road up to Cortona, one of my favorite Tuscan towns. It's small, but has enough cafes, restaurants, shops and atmosphere to keep you interested over several visits, along with the usual medieval museum, churches and squares. Bring insect repellent and bite cream. That's been true for me throughout the Tuscan countryside, not just here. The rooms and kitchen are a little dated. Air conditioning runs for part of the night and there's little or no control over it. In ordinary Italian weather the rooms stayed cool enough, though the heat wave made them a bit hot. Only the upstairs rooms have air conditioning, while downstairs stays cooler naturally. The owner is a nice chap and speaks a reasonable amount of English, much better than my Italian. He lives nearby if anything comes up. He'll need to copy your passports and collect tourist tax. Wi-Fi is okay, with some interruptions in the garden, and not great inside. You can play Spotify outdoors, but bring a Bluetooth speaker.