Villa Le Barone

The villa itself has some distinguished history and we were pleased to meet the Count who owns the property and was very friendly and welcoming. The view from the pool is spectacular and it is a lovely spot to relax and to take a walk through the gardens to enjoy the Tuscan countryside. There are some nice restaurants not too far away - we were huge fans of La Cantinetta di Rignana, which is a 15min drive and which we liked so much we went twice. We did not eat at the hotel restaurant as the set menu at 45 euro per person was pricey and we didn't need three courses. The room itself is ok. We were in a standard room with old brick floors with no floor coverings. This meant constant brick dust and brushing off of feet before climbing into bed. The bathroom was the biggest we came across in Europe, but the shower is poorly designed, resulting in pools of water on the floor. There is an honesty bar by the pool and in the main house, which we thought was a nice touch, but at 8 euro for a self-service beer we found the prices insulting. There are also a lot of rules or expectations about dress code, no outside food or drinks on property, etc. All of this is ok, but for a place advertising itself as 'luxury' accommodation, we found it a bit out of touch with what is on offer elsewhere for less. Either the accommodation needs an upgrade or the prices need a downgrade as our expectations were disappointed.