Agriturismo San Leonardo

Two nights here were ones I’d rather forget. For €105 a night, the value was astonishingly poor. A few meters away, the services are much better, though you need to book well ahead. It felt as if this agriturismo only gets second-rate customers. I’ve experienced it myself and strongly advise against it. A friend and I stayed in the 'Torre' apartment and requested separate beds, but they were pushed together. We’d have had more room in a double room. The old, run-down house had a leaking bathroom sink, a very basic shower with a heater and curtain, crumbling plaster, confusing light switches, and a heavy iron front door that was hard to open. There were animals around the house, and my friend was bitten during the night, waking with a swollen wrist. The heating is controlled remotely. On the second night, the radiators were left on and we suffered from the heat. There was an abandoned car on the lawn where you park, and the 'Torre' is opposite noisy machinery from the Saturnia thermal spa that runs 24/7. We tried eating outside, but the table was so wobbly it put us off. Thank goodness Saturnia itself is beautiful.

I stayed at the Vignagrande farmhouse in November. The place is beautiful, but the farmhouse is badly maintained. During a storm with heavy rain and strong winds, water came through the ceiling into two bedrooms, leaving a puddle on one floor. I sent the manager a photo that day. The owner thanked me and said she’d deal with it, but nobody came. Two days later, it rained into one of those rooms again. Water also came through the kitchen window frames both times, and one shutter is literally rotten. I don’t understand how anyone can rent out a property in that condition.

The only good thing was being close to the thermal baths. We stayed two nights and were very disappointed. The apartment was badly kept and full of dust, insects, and other little creatures, on the sheets, in the shower, kitchen, sofa, and all over. The bathroom was filthy, with a yellow, crusty toilet. To get hot water, you had to switch on the heater, but the owner hadn’t mentioned that, so we had a cold shower the first night. Everything was old and dirty and needed a full renovation and a much better clean. I gave it one star because I had to, but it didn’t even deserve that.

We called before arriving to ask about the heat, and were told a fan would be enough. It wasn’t. The nights were so hot we couldn’t sleep, and the owner later told me by phone she’d have air conditioning installed. I’ve already raised this with her, and anyone planning to stay should check that it’s actually been done. The apartment is spacious and practically furnished, and it’s very close to the thermal baths, which is handy. We stayed three days in August.