Castiglion del Bosco is one of the most beautiful and amazing country hotel resorts one could hope to visit. This 800 year old 4,500 acre Tuscan estate was purchased in 2004 by Massimo Ferragamo, who spared no expense in restoring and building an incredible resort... luxurious facilities with only 22 suites and 9 villas, in a setting that is nothing short of stunning.

Our Dell' Orcio suite was one of the most luxurious suites we've stayed at this side of Trisara. Even the jaded Mrs. simonsays777 remarked "this is amazing". Absolutely gorgeous... spacious (I'm guessing 1,500 SF), beautiful finishings, furniture, colors, decor and patio.

Service by a youngish staff was excellent.

We've been coming to CdB for the last 3 years. The first two years' experience was impecable! We considered it 'The Best Hotel in the World' - and we know what we're talking about!

But this year we've, sadly, noticed that the quality is starting to decrease.

Maybe they've changed the General Manager or the core concept, but the fact is: The quality is going down.

The views and panoramas opening from practically all the windows and balconies are fabulous! You can spend hours sitting on the balcony of your villa with a glass of wine and enjoying. I've got a passion for beautiful scenery and this is the only place on Earth, where I can't imagine that the views can't get any better!



For both of these years breakfast was always in Osteria La Cannonica with authentic homely atmosphere, which couldn't be replicated anywhere else in the world. Now, purtroppo, they've moved it into Campo del Drago (the gastronomic restaurant), where it lost its' originality and became just a standard 5-star hotel breakfast... It's impossible to order the same breakfarst selection as they had last year, because the products weren't 'Typical Tuscan'. But how are Cereals and Bagels a part of Italian cuisine at all?! there're also interfering nasty mouches there....

We initially have booked a suite with a connected double, but afterwards we decided to move into a villa. However, the hotel staff was more reluctant to show us all the different options, than to tell us that for everything that one orders one is charged additional 30 Euros for Villa Service (in other words, delivery from the kitchen to the villa. The distance is approximately 5 mins leisurely walking).

Also, room service isn't available until 12 am for the villas and pre-order isn't either. The only option is cooking breakfast yourself, which is quite weird for a hotel trying to create the best luxury experience in Tuscany. We asked for a chef to come and cook us breakfast, but he never arrived. (we had a fantastic time cooking breakfast ourselves and eating it afterwards).

When we asked the reception to organise fishing for us, which is suggested by their Official Activity Guide they said that they were 'doing it for the first time', thus they had equipment only for three, because they found out that fourth was 'not good'.
When we finally caught A vegetarian carp. La Cannonica refused continuously to cook it, not wanting to take the responsibility and proposing us to sign a paper, that we won't have any questions to the restaurant. In the end, we decided not to eat it.

The rooms and villas are very cozy and very well thought-out. But the level of service is now coming down, so that it's not so much of a pleasure staying here now.

However, it's SUCH a pity, that such an idea and concept is now being killed. It's SO difficult to create something and SO easy to destroy it...

Our recent stay at this property was the highlight of a top-of-the-line trip to Italy. While we stayed in 5-star hotels in Florence, Venice, Lake Como, and Milan, nothing topped the features of CdB. Our room, a suite just underneath the main building was one of the nicest rooms I've ever seen! Luxurious, inviting and comfortable, all exponentially multiplied! Forget the $$ and understand that you will likely never experience better for your buck anywhere.

The activities (we did a cooking class, golf, swimming, gym,bocce, hikes, and the infamous Brunch) were wonderful and had we more time, we'd like to have done many more. The food at each of their restaurants was among the best hotel food we've yet to experience. The Sunday Brunch is simply the best brunch we've ever had in our lives. In addition to every imaginable Tuscan treat, you are invited to walk into the kitchen and custom order from whatever they present.

Most importantly, the people, their attitude and service could not have been better. They were sweet, un-intrusive, yet ready to be helpful at any moment. I even left a pair of prescription sunglasses on the golf course that were later found and overnighted to our Lake Como hotel (hat tip to Michela!)

Our only regret was not carving out more time to spend at this special venue!

We have been to Tuscany several times and stayed at wonderful places, but none have compared to our experience at this elegant and relaxing hotel. We only wished we had more than two evenings here. From the moment we were greeted at the front entrance to our exquisite suite(upgrade), we were surprised and delighted. The dining room was overlooking the mountains, the waitstaff impeccable and the food delicious. Loved their continental breakfast, no buffet, they bring everything to you. The server from Genoa(can't remember her name) was just so lovely and helpful. She made our last moments there memorable.

I would return absolutely and highly recommend this resort.