Torre di Baratti Bio Resort

The view over Golfo di Baratti is hard to beat. With so few cars and no houses around, it feels like stepping back to what Maremma might have been like in the 80s. There’s a special, almost magical atmosphere here and in the bay, unlike anywhere else we’ve stayed. The staff made us feel at home from the moment we arrived, as if we were regulars. The rooms, location and hospitality were all so good, and breakfast was a delight, served by the restaurant staff, who were always smiling and welcoming.

We stopped here with our bike tour group and had a great meal. The hilltop views over the Mediterranean bay were spectacular. I loved the fish pasta, the salad with flowers and fresh olive oil was delicious, and the gelato was a perfect finish. Excellent service too. A really nice spot for a meal, recommended!

I’ve never felt the need to review a hotel before, but my wife and I had such a poor experience that I felt I had to write this. We booked a suite for two nights to celebrate our first wedding anniversary. The reviews looked good and the photos were beautiful, but the problems started almost immediately. Our suite wasn’t ready until an hour after the 1400 check-in time. I might usually let that go, but with everything else that followed, it’s worth mentioning. The room itself was stunning, but unbearably hot, like an oven. I tried working through the air-conditioning controls, which showed “Freddo (Cold)” and “18 C,” but no air came from the vents. We repeatedly asked management for help. Each time, they seemed surprised it wasn’t working and told us to give it more time after adjusting the settings. I’ve lived in Rome for two years and know hotel and B&B air conditioning there can differ from what you find in the U.S., but this room was still too hot to be comfortable. We had to take two cold showers during the night to cool down. A few hours and several failed attempts to fix the A/C later, we went to the restaurant for a drink before our dinner reservation. A large truck pulled onto the grass about 5 meters from our table. Workers unloaded big wooden logs with a small crane, then started cutting them up with a chainsaw right beside us. During that, a very pleasant waitress moved us to the other side of the terrace. About 15 minutes later, another waitress told us that table was reserved and asked us to move again. We went to the table reserved for us at the back of the restaurant, only to find it covered with hundreds of ants crawling over the plates, flatware and everywhere else. Not just a couple from the garden. I pointed them out to the same manager handling the A/C and said we needed a table without an insect infestation. He looked visibly irritated, walked away without acknowledging how absurd the situation was, and left his staff to set up another table. The dinner itself was delicious, which I really wanted to like, and afterward the same irritated manager walked back to the suite with us for the third time to check the A/C. On the way, he asked my wife and me, “it's nice outside your room. Why not sleep here in the garden tonight?” I’d had enough and told him we were paying a lot of money to sleep in the room. He didn’t answer. Once inside, he finally acknowledged how warm it was, said “the system is not working,” and told us to “just open the windows.” We then said we’d leave in the morning and expected a refund. They agreed to refund the second night. After he left, we took another cold shower, and around 2am the bedroom finally cooled enough for us to fall asleep. This was our anniversary.

Beautiful setting and really good food. Don’t miss it if you’re in the area.