Il Frantoio delle Grazie

We booked two nights at this guest house because the photos on Booking made it look atmospheric and pleasant, but the stay was stressful from the start. It’s about 20-30 minutes by car from central Venice, less convenient than we expected. When we arrived around 11 PM, the iron gates were locked. No one answered our calls to reception or the number listed on Booking, and we only got through the gate after asking other guests for help. Inside, we had no keys, check-in directions, or way to reach the host, despite having paid in full. We spent about an hour trying to sort it out with other guests, but our calls and messages went unanswered. We were shocked to hear that some guests had received no proper instructions either, and had found their keys left on a lemon tree. That’s unacceptable for paid accommodation. Late that night we had to leave and return to the city centre, where another hotel kindly found us somewhere to stay. The host kept the full payment, with no refund, and nobody contacted us the next day to apologise, explain, or offer a solution. I strongly don’t recommend this place. Locked gates, missing keys and instructions, and unanswered calls after you’ve paid can seriously ruin a trip. We’ll pursue the matter through Booking and the relevant consumer protection authorities.

Dear owners, administration, and team at Il Frantoio delle Grazie, calling our previous review false and blocking us on WhatsApp doesn’t address what happened. You should have responded to your clients or tried to fix the problem. My boyfriend, Evgeniy Shadrin, already described the truth in his review. We paid for a booking at your listed address, arrived, and tried to contact you by message and phone on check-in day, but received no reply, instructions, access to the room, or help. We had to ask other guests in the house for assistance. They saw us there trying to check in and reach you. We then had to urgently find somewhere else and pay extra for taxis. You still have not returned the money for accommodation we could not access. We have attached evidence showing the booking at your property, its confirmation number in your Booking.com host account, the dates, the amount paid, the card charge, and that the money has not been fully refunded. The screenshots also show our attempts to reach you that day. This is unacceptable conduct for a business hosting guests in Florence. It harms visitors’ impression of the city and causes serious problems during a trip. You may think ignoring us, blocking contact, and saying our account is false will end this, but we have evidence. If you don’t refund the money, we’ll share the situation on all available platforms and maps so future guests can consider the risk before booking. We’ll also complain to Booking.com, Airbnb, and the public authorities responsible for tourism and guest accommodation in Florence and Italy. An organisation that takes payment, gives no access, ignores clients during check-in, then calls a truthful review false should be investigated. We paid, arrived at the address, tried to contact you, and got no access, instructions, or response. This is the worst service we’ve ever experienced. We’ll seek a refund and compensation for our expenses. If this isn’t resolved, we’ll see what the court, Booking.com, Airbnb, the public authorities of Italy and the city of Florence, and the people reading this review and seeing the attached evidence decide.

The host tried to charge us extra for air conditioning without making it clear during booking that there would be a fee. That felt pretty ungentlemanly. Also, the kettle burned the marathon athlete staying with us!

The quiet setting, beautiful Tuscan countryside views, and lovely pool made this a fantastic stay. The pool was clean salt water, so we didn’t come out smelling of chlorine. We travelled with two teenagers. They had a nice twin room, while we had a roomy master bedroom and kitchen diner. The apartment was clean and secure, with comfortable beds, towels provided, a good shower, and a small hob, microwave/grill, toaster, and coffee machine. The air conditioning worked well for a reasonable 10E/night extra, which was useful in the August heat, it was 40deg C when we arrived. Simone was pleasant and easy to deal with, answered WhatsApp questions quickly, and came over to help when we couldn’t work something out. We managed without a car. The #14 bus stop was a 15-20 minute walk, with direct buses every 10 minutes to Florence centre, about 20 minutes to SMN station. Bus tickets were easy to get through an app. There are good local restaurants, including Pizzaman, and a large Esselunga supermarket about a 20-minute walk along a flat road. We felt safe walking around, the area was quiet at night, and we had no worries getting back late after day trips to Venice, 2hr 10s away, and Rome, 2hr 15. We booked train tickets through the TrenItalia app 36 hours ahead for the Freccafamily discounted tickets. The buses were clean and safe, and easy to figure out. We tried the local train station once, but it wasn’t straightforward. The apartment water was clean and safe to drink.