My wife and I ended our 17 day European vacation with a 5 day stay at Guardastelle. We stayed in the Settimio room, which was very comfortable with a small living room area, and our own private patio. Fausto and his staff went out of their way to may sure our stay was enjoyable. And, the location provides an excellent base from which to explore the hill towns (we took day trips to Volterra, Siena, and Lucca.) We had dinner each night in San Gimignano, and found that it was preferable to drive there and back rather than walk in the dark (although we found the walk very enjoyable during the day -- about 25 minutes for us.) Beautiful area and property, which we highly recommend. We hope to return sometime soon.

On our trip from Rome to Umbria through Tuscany and to Florence, this was my favorite inn. We stayed at other very nice agriturismos and hotels, but this one was outstanding in every way.

The postcard-perfect views of the rolling vineyards and the medieval towers of San Gimignano were spectacular. The service was warm, friendly and helpful. The breakfasts were fresh, delicious and extravagant, with an array of meats, cheeses, decadent pastries and cooked-to-order bacon and eggs. The palatial room was gorgeous and exquisite - it was like staying at a very wealthy relative's house. After enduring several hard beds at other inns and hotels (common in Italy), the bed here was perfect (I have a bad back and am VERY picky about this).

I can't emphasize enough that you must try Fausto's wines and olive oils. We sampled them one sunny afternoon with a spectacular lunch on the terrace overlooking the vineyards. We loved them so much, we had several bottles shipped home.

Even if San Gimignano itself were not that great, I would highly recommend going out of your way to stay here. But it was wonderful! We did the short, pleasant uphill walk into town one day and took the car the next. Parking was relatively easy to find and not too pricey. We loved the shops and restaurants. One day, we went to a meat and cheese shop and brought back wild boar salami, pork salami, three kinds of Pecorino cheese, a mozzarella and tomato panino and chocolate almond bark. We opened a bottle of wine on the beautiful second-floor patio and had a romantic picnic under the stars for dinner. It was absolutely magical!

We travelled through Germany and Italy, and spent 1 week here. We did not have a car, are not wine afficiandos, and still found this amazing even though it is in the country and isolated from most things. a 20 minute walk to San Gimignano gives you options with the bus to Poggibonzi, and then trains or bus to Florence, Pisa, Venice, etc..Breakfast daily was wonderful, eggs or bacon to order, and lots of fresh fruit and continental options. Our apartment was made up daily first thing in the morning by very quick housekeeping. Scenery is amazing, surrounded by hills of Tuscany, vineyards, and San Gimignano. Have the wine tasting tour, as it also included lunch, education, and is great value. When we arrived Barbara upgraded us per Fausto and Susanna to an apartment which in hindsight was a very good choice. The apartment gave us a fridge, our own privacy to come and go, and a loft with a TV. We will definitely travel back here some day, and next time I will rent a car for our stay here. I should mention the pool was closed for season now but that made no impact on our stay. Taxi ride from here to Florence to catch our 6:30 flight was arranged by Fausto at a great price of $120 euros, and left at 4:00 in the morning. Thank you very much for helping arrange that, we should have booked later flights but didn't realize our location relative to the airport as we travelled by train to Italy from Germany. One thing we enjoyed was our daily walks to San Gimignano, a 2.2 km walk up hill which helped burn off all the pizza and spaghetti calories we had accrued in Venice. Be sure to know hours of ristorantes and stores before walking to them, they run their own hours and close different days. Some restaurants dont even open until 7 PM, which is normal for Italy. Buy groceries at the Coop right outside the front gate of San Gimignano. We also loved watching them pick the olives, and came back with some wine and olive oil purchased right from Fausto. Shop for clothing and jewelry in Poggibonzi, located 5 minute walk from Bus station, immediately WEST across the road and about 1 block more west and to the north. Lots of great stores their, much better selection and pricing compared to San Gimignano which is mostly tourist trap stores but has some good quality stores too. Know some Italian if you go to Poggibonzi, they don't speak english there. Best food I had was the Pollo Vinsanto with Grapes at Hotel Sovestro just down the road from Guardastelle, we ate there several times. If you want agriturismo with authentic Tuscan environment, this is the place. If you are not fit and capable of walking long uphill distances, rent and travel by car.

Beautiful farmhouse property, surrounded by vineyards and olive groves. We were only able to spend one night there, so we didn't get to enjoy the wine/olive oil tastings, but we felt very welcome. Also, visiting in October, some of the other benefits the property has to offer (like the pool) are not open, so I'm sure it is much more enjoyable in the summer season. The staff was great, the breakfast is one of the better spreads we had in Italy. Overall it was one of the most peaceful places we visited. The WiFi is only available in common areas, and it is a bit of a hassle to login (you must log in using Facebook or other social media).