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Here at Pomalo, we have booked Tuscany trips for clients many times. My business partner, Rana has been before for a family trip and loved it. But I have never been.
It was too hot to return to Dubai after my Mykonos trip in August 2018, so 4 hours before my return flight I decided to spend time with my family in our house in Croatia. From there, my brother, his wife, their son (I think I need to write about traveling with a baby too, as it was an adventure), my mom, and I went on road trips, some were short and close, and some were far.
Again suddenly, I decided to pack and go to Tuscany for a couple of days.
I started talking to myself out loud after passing Florence and into the greenery “Its so beautiful”, “Love it”, “I need to extend”, “wow so beautiful”… well you get it.
Let me give you a few highlights of my trip!
So this is where I stayed:
Villa Sassolini Luxury Boutique Hotel & Spa: located in a small village (I walked around the whole village in 15 minutes!), so there is really nothing around, but still historically charming.
When you enter the hotel, you feel like you are the only one there. And the whole villa is yours.
The interiors of the hotel are contemporary chic, and I think they did a really good job.
Tip: request a room with a view of hills of Chianti. And try to book a cooking class with their chef
Eat: The food at the hotel’s restaurant was great; I could say it was one of the best truffle pastas I had ever.
For lunch drive to Badia a Coltibuono (30 min away) an old monastery and vineyard where we enjoyed a Tuscan lunch with a stunning view of the hills and valleys. The restaurant is housed in the original refurbished stables, but I thought a table in the garden is a must.
Castello del Nero, you will for sure walk around wide-eyed. The things I liked about this property are: the mediaeval frescoes, marble-and-mosaic bathrooms, spacious rooms, great dining, 740 acers of land, and you can borrow one of the red Vespas and vintage Fiat 500s to explore the Chianti countryside in classic Tuscan style. But I must say that the trek (there are four waymarked hiking trails) I did one late afternoon was my most memorable, I sat on a hilltop during sunset and just savored how sensual and green this place is, this is where I came up with the title. Everything was some shade of green; the landscape, the different vegetation, the bricks of the old buildings was covered in moss, the ponds reflected the color green, and I even saw a green sunset (ok maybe that was my imagination from the green-over-load).
Castello del Nero is our partner hotel, so when booking with us we will get you these special amenities:
• Upgrade At the time of check-in (upon availability)
• Early check-in (upon availability)
• Late check-out (upon availability)
• $50 F&B credit per room per saty
• $50 Spa credit per room per stay ( not valid on products and hairstyle)
Another hotel I visited was Il Borro. One of my favorite restaurants in Dubai is Il Borro so I had to visit the Tuscan property.
Il Borro is a restored medieval village and a Relais & Chateaux property owned by Ferragamo. The accommodation is spread throughout an ancient village and you can do a buyout for a special occasion.
Here we also get you our special amenities:
• Upgrade At the time of check-in
• Fresh fruit basket in the room upon arrival
• Visit of the Cellar
• Wine Degustation
• € 50 Voucher to use only at the spa
Ville La Marcellina
Another option, apart of staying at a hotel, you can rent out a private villa in Tuscany, our favorite is Ville La Marcellina, a big estate of 20 acres, consisting of three villas that can be rented all together.
Villa Delle Donne: 7 bedrooms – heated outdoor pool, indoor pool. There is a large living room, 2 sitting rooms, a dining room, a contemporary and very well equipped kitchen. The house consists of 4 levels plus the turret. There are different accesses to the villa: the main doorway can be considered the one on the second level.
Villa Le Scuderie: 4 bedrooms – indoor pool. It spreads on 2 levels and in its interior the villa has 4 en-suite double bedrooms, a large living room, a sitting room, a dining room, a contemporary and very well equipped kitchen.
Il Tinaio: 7 bedrooms with private pool.
The view of Ville La Marcellina is truly unique spreading over the typical Tuscan hills colored by vineyards, cypresses, olive-groves and woods. All along the villa, a pleasant walking runs through the property offering during the summer a fragrant blooming of rosemary and lavender plants.
One day was reserved for shopping at The Mall (luxury outlet mall), I have been there 2 years with my girlfriends and I must say I bought some really amazing pieces. After hours of shopping, we went to Florence for dinner.
Some of the restaurants I can easily recommend in Toscana are:
The Michelin star restaurant “La Torre“ at Castelo del Nero
Dinner at Villa Sassolini and make sure you order the truffle pasta, as it is surely one of the best I even had.
Badia a Coltibuono, have a traditional Tuscan lunchservedoutdoors under a bower of climbing roses and wisteria
La Giostra in Florence, this place is for comfort food. The owner-chef whom you will see for sure, is eccentric but happens to be a Hapsburg prince. Allow your waiter to pair your wine, as they are known for that and have a big selection of wine.
Or Il Palagio fine dining at Four Seasons Hotel Florence
And have gelato from Vivoli for dessert.
And finally, if you want to visit just one winery, make sure it is Antinori nel Chianti Classico vineyards with its impressive architecture.
My jaw dropped when I drove in, and stayed open for some time.
Finish is with lunch at their restaurant and ask for a table directly facing the vineyard, it is special!
I think my fantasy of Tuscany was fulfilled, my first trip to Tuscany but surely not the last.
