agriturismo il poderetto

The food was great and the surroundings cozy, and thank goodness there was a pool. But the stay was deeply disappointing. The cleaning standards were poor, and the bedrooms in the separate houses are on the top floor, where they got extremely hot. Nobody in our party slept for four days, and we left a day early because of it. When we arrived, the only fan, a ceiling fan in our bedroom, wasn’t working. The host fixed it that day, which was good, but once switched on it was loose, seemed ready to fall, and made so much noise that we couldn’t sleep with it running. That was a serious problem during what had to be the hottest European summer ever. I asked the host three or four times to fix it. The reply was arrogant, saying that it was normal, and it still wasn’t fixed. Family in the house next door had a perfectly working ceiling fan. I might come for the food, though it was very expensive, but I’d never stay here in summer again. The rooms were unbearably hot, the fan was lousy, didn’t work properly and seemed possibly dangerous, and the host was arrogant.

After more than 30 km on the first leg of our Via del Volto Santo hike from Pontremoli to Lucca, a swim in the pool was amazing. Alessio and Sara were brilliant, and dinner set us up perfectly for day two: ravioli with ragù, roast veal and potatoes, then a slice of excellent apple cake. A brilliant agriturismo.

Walking the Via del Volto Santo? The half-board deal is amazing value. This is a brilliant agriturismo with comfortable rooms, an excellent pool, and really good food.

Lovely staff, nice rooms, and a beautiful garden and pool area. The agriturismo itself is beautiful too, with delicious food and wine.