Case Vacanze I Chiari

The setting and location are beautiful, with splendid Tuscan countryside views. It’s also conveniently not too far from the motorway. The house itself is lovely, with very large, rustic rooms and full air conditioning, which we needed. The service, though, was strange. We arrived late and were told we could use the pool until 8.00 pm, perhaps a bit longer, by someone I assumed was the owner. Then at around 7.45, a worker rudely told us to leave. Breakfast wasn’t great either, especially the dry croissants, which felt disappointing in one of the world’s most famous food regions. It’s a beautiful house on beautiful grounds in an outstanding location, but it needs better management.

The pool was a great way to get out of the sun, and it lived up to my expectations. The hotel has gorgeous, very spacious rooms with a little kitchen and a large bathroom. Breakfast is included and good, and the restaurant is nice for lunch or dinner if you’d rather stay in, though make a dinner reservation. One thing I hadn’t expected was the attached caravan park. It made things much busier and more oriented toward families and kids than I wanted.

We came back because our previous visit had been wonderful, with attentive service and excellent, authentic Italian food. This time was a huge letdown. We’d booked a table and arrived at 20:00, within the stated dinner hours of 19:30 to 21:00, but still waited at least 10 minutes to be seated. Drinks took half an hour, then after an hour and several reminders we still hadn’t managed to order food. The drinks had gone warm and our mood had fallen a lot. We waited another hour for the food, with two hungry children with us. Somehow the pizza took the longest, around an hour, even though pizza usually takes a minute to cook. The salad was just plain leaves, with no olive oil, which was “amusing” for a restaurant in the middle of Italy. The service was late and the pizza awful. I reckon the boss’s decision to open a caravan park has led to a massive drop in food and service quality. I wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone who has self respect.

We loved our 10 days on the campsite. The pitches were nice, with water and electricity, and each one had a place to wash dishes. Every morning, the bee-eater birds would be sitting on the wires! There’s a nice pool with loungers, and the restaurant was fantastic with friendly staff. It’s a perfect base for seeing Montepulciano and the Siena region, and don’t miss the Val d'orcia region! Thanks for a great holiday and the goodbye present!