Tuscany, Italy

Villa Sassolini

Price per night from$250.30

Price information

If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (including tax) available in the next 60 days.

Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (EUR230.30), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.

Style

Contemporary country house

Setting

Tranquil Chianti

A boutique hotel in Tuscany, Villa Sassolini is the perfect marriage of contemporary chic and historic charm. With heart-stopping views over the Tuscan hills from its village perch, bright and spacious rooms decorated with precision and attention to detail, it is a tranquil hideaway in the heart of Chiantishire.

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Facilities

Photos Villa Sassolini facilities

Need to know

Rooms

10.

Check–Out

11am. Earliest check-in, 2pm.

Prices

Double rooms from £216.63 (€253), including tax at 10 per cent.

More details

Rates include a Continental breakfast. Guests can help themselves to free soft drinks and bottled water from the minibar.

At the hotel

TV, free WiFi throughout. Guests can use the villa’s mountain bikes for excursions.

Our favourite rooms

The Marrakech room has fantastic views over the pool. The A Caccia suite has its own balcony and is decorated with hunting prints and has views of the wild hills of Chianti.

Poolside

The 10-metre unheated outdoor pool is on a panoramic terrace looking out over formal gardens. A light lunch is served by the pool between 12.30pm and 2.30pm.

Pet‐friendly

Dogs are welcome for €20 a day. See more pet-friendly hotels in Tuscany.

Children

Little Smiths will have to stay at home as Villa Sassolini is over-14s only.

Food and Drink

Photos Villa Sassolini food and drink

Top Table

In good weather, it's hard to beat a candlelit dinner on the terrace by the swimming pool.

Dress Code

Chianti chic.

Hotel restaurant

There are two, both with breathtaking views. La Cucina, headed up by chef Giuseppe Lo Presti, overlooks the Valdarno valley and serves a menu where fresh seafood (among other local produce) shines – try the mojito prawns and the seabass with walnuts and vinsanto. The two tasting menus are by land and sea with delicacies to match. Vin Divino's window walls also capture the beauty of the verdant valley, and you can admire it while sitting on the restaurant's romantic terrace. Modern in style, it's a very upmarket pizzeria with toppings such as bresaola with feta and shallots or wild boar with porcini mushrooms, and it has a succinct and sumptuous menu of pastas, meat and fish. A light lunch is served by the pool from 12:30pm to 2:30pm every day; the menu includes salads, cuts of cold meat and cheese, and more substantial fare like juicy burgers and fries. The bar is open for business from 11am to 11pm every day

Hotel bar

Open from noon to 2am, the bar is on the pretty poolside terrace: sip on a refreshing Hendrick's and home-made limoncello with your toes in the water.

Last orders

Breakfast is served daily from 8:30am to 10:30am, earlier timings can be arranged upon request. La Cucina restaurant closes Sundays while Vin Divino opens from Thursday to Sunday.

Room service

The restaurant menu is available from 7.30am to 10pm. An early breakfast can be provided. Both the restaurant and the bar are closed on Sunday evenings.

Location

Photos Villa Sassolini location
Address
Villa Sassolini
Piazza Ezio Rotondi 17
Moncioni
52025
Italy

In the tiny, charming village of Moncioni, a 15-minute drive from Montevarchi, Villa Sassolini overlooks a picturesque valley of undulating Tuscan hills.

Planes

The closest airport is Florence, an hour away by car. For more choice, Pisa, Perugia and Bologna airports are only half an hour further. From Pisa airport, you can take a two-hour train (changing in Florence) to the nearby station San Giovanni Valdarno, from which a 20-minute taxi ride will take you to the villa.

Trains

Montevarchi-Terranuova Station is a 15-minute drive from the hotel, and San Giovanni Valdarno station is a 20-minute drive. Direct trains from both reach Florence in 50 minutes and Arezzo in half an hour. For information on trains in Italy, see Trenitalia (www.trenitalia.com)

Automobiles

Villa Sassolini is located 20 minutes from the A1, Italy’s main North–South motorway. You’ll need to take the Montevarchi exit and then follow signs for Pestello and San Tomme, continuing through these towns and straight on until you reach Moncioni. Perfectly situated between Florence and Siena (50 minutes by car to either), the hotel's within easy driving distance of several towns on the Tuscan trail; San Gimignano, Montepulciano, Pienza and Arezzo are all 45–90 minutes away.

Worth getting out of bed for

Villa Sassolini’s lavender-fringed pool and romantic gardens certainly have their charms, but if you'd like to pick up a little Tuscan kitchen wizadry, request cookery lessons with the chef (must be booked one day in advance, by 6pm). Held in the spa building, the two-to-three-hour classes start at either 10am or 11am (for up to four guests), and you'll learn how to craft Italian staples such as handmade ravioli and gnocchi, tomato and bolognese sauce and pastries. This tranquil corner of Tuscany has plenty to offer active types, too. Take a pleasant walk through the surrounding woods or borrow a bike to meander down country lanes. Nearby, the English-run Rendola Riding Stables (+39 0559 707 045) offers lessons, short hacks and Chianti tours; experienced riders can visit abbeys, vineyards and Romanesque churches on horseback. Further afield, the bucolic towns of Radda and Greve are a must-visit for wine lovers. Just under an hour away by car, the 11th-century Castello di Brolio is one of the oldest wine producers in the world; sample Chianti Classico and take a stroll through the delightful Italian gardens. Temptingly, the Prada outlet near Arezzo is just a 15-minute drive away; if you’re left with any spare luggage space after a jaunt there, Leccio’s sprawling The Mall is a good place to stock up on discounted Gucci, Pucci and Ferragamo.

Local restaurants

Osteria Locanda II Canto del Maggio in Terranuova (+39 0559 705 147) is a family-run restaurant set in a wild garden, famous for its goose pappardelle and home-made desserts. Fontebussi on Borgo di Fontebussi in Cavriglia (+39 055 916 811) serves traditional Tuscan dishes and has great views from the terrace. Osteria di Starda, in Starda Castle in Gaiole (+39 0577 734 100) is set in the vaulted cellars and has a traditional menu.

Reviews

Photos Villa Sassolini reviews
Casey Gorman

Anonymous review

By Casey Gorman, Luxury accessories expert

For the first time in my life, when I get off the plane in Florence, I walk through customs and straight past the baggage-carousel area. For a woman who loves and lives fashion, this is a great accomplishment – I have packed my whole weekend into a carry-on (ladies, take note: gold flip-flops will save you packing endless shoes in summer, since you can dress them up or down). I feel like my old, breezy Californian self once again, travelling short-haul for a relaxed weekend away, with few wardrobe rules to worry about.

It is 3pm when we arrive at the Villa Sassolini in the hills of Tuscany. The charming hotel manager, Andrea, comes to meet us at the gate of what appears to be a village monastery hiding behind a strong stucco façade. Mr Smith remarks that Andrea has an air of Lex Luther about him. It might be fair to say that his levels of passion are comparable to the comic-book villain but, rather than obsessing about global domination, Andrea’s focus is clearly to ensure the world is a better place – especially for guests at Villa Sassolini.

As we enter the lobby, it feels as though no one is home, and that we’re the only guests here. We tread the slate-coloured wooden floors that run throughout, past a spacious living room with a fireplace, books and oversized lampshades. The low yellow lighting enhances a pervading sense of calm. There is a small reception, but the greeting at the gate counted as check-in.

Andrea shows us to our room on the top floor, helping with Mr Smith’s bulky baggage while I saunter up the stairs with my carry-on. Mr Smith notes that, though we have a lounge and bedroom with beautiful old white-painted beams, what we don’t have is a bathtub. Without so much as a whiff of irritation, Andrea lumbers himself with Mr Smith’s luggage once again and takes us off to another room on yet another floor. Our new abode has a lovely four-poster bed, fresco-painted ceiling, grey walls and a bathroom large enough to house a whole family – with a beautiful, oversized bath in the middle of it.

With the heat absolutely scorching at 30 degrees, the pool beckons. I am reminded of my childhood in the Californian valley, where pools were more important than passports. Having had to adjust to leisure-centre versions in London, it is a joy to swim outdoors again. We’ve come straight from the airport, with no lunch pitstop, so we are starving: Andrea, who is nothing short of a miracle-worker, whips together a plate of cheeses, pears, honey and rolls, while we have a cooling splash about.

It’s such a beautiful night that we decide to eat outside again at sunset. There are two options at Villa Sassolini: inside is a softly lit dining hall near the tower, with a vaulted ceiling and a wine cellar; outside there’s a honeysuckle-framed garden full of overgrown rosemary and lavender bushes. We choose a garden table, where my handbag is even given its own pedestal – how nice to be in a hotel where the staff anticipate the whims of a fashionista. The food is gorgeous, but beware: don’t fill your belly on the tasty traditional Tuscan fare. Make sure you save room for the homemade puddings – namely the chocolate fondant and the cheesecake.

We’re back in the garden once more for breakfast and to plan our day out. Nothing is too far, but nothing is quite on the doorstep either, so a car is crucial; taxis aren’t really an option out here. We begin with a stop at the local Prada outlet. There are lots of charming hilltop mediaeval villages to visit, but shopping is taken just as seriously as heritage around here. (We pull in to a petrol station on the way to check where we’re going and, without prompting, a serviceman approaches us and says, ‘Next light, left and left again.’ Three shopping bags later, I realise my hand-luggage-only approach might not work for the return journey.

Our next foray is to Badia a Coltibuono, an old monastery and vineyard where we enjoy a light lunch with a stunning view of the hills and valleys. It is clearly marked on the tourist map, though, and in high season we feel like dots in the crowd, so we set off on a mission to seek out a rather more intimate wine-tasting experience. At our first stop, Monterotondo, the owner gives us a private tour of the cool cellar and a broken-English explanation of his wines. We’re no connoisseurs and, after several tastings, we have to confess that everything tastes like a glass of Canaletto Primitivo. When Mr Smith points out that a particular vintage tastes a bit like Um Bongo, I take it as a sure sign that it is time to go back to the hotel.

As we say farewell to Sassolini, I realise that the place has caused me to reconsider exactly what accommodation means. This is a small hotel with a relaxed ethos and wonderful service, whose atmosphere serves as a valuable reminder that a holiday in Tuscany is best enjoyed unhurriedly. I see the region as a little like my home of Napa Valley, but quainter and more personal. And I have yet to find a hotel as unique in style and personality as Villa Sassolini in the Californian wine country. Our break doesn’t end with the simple pleasure it began with: at Gatwick, I stand by the carousel waiting for my luggage, smiling in the knowledge that I am returning laden with rewards both sartorial and spiritual.

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Price per night from $250.30