Relais Villa Bianca

This hotel was arranged by the travel company on our recent walking holiday. A pre-holiday injury meant that I could not walk the first day and hence arrived early. Ambra on reception was incredibly kind and I was able to check into our room early. She made sure I was shown around and offered refreshments and (when she could fit it in) great conversation to keep me company. When my fellow travellers arrived we had a lovely drink and meal in the restaurant. The rooms were tastefully decorated and spacious.

I stayed here after my first walk from san miniato on the via francigena. The property itself is gorgeous as well as the rooms, super nice, no complaints around that or the breakfast. EXTREMELY DISSAPOINTED IN THE SERVICE 1) They list reception hours as 4-7 pm and 7-10 am , I did not see one receptionist the entire time. There was a wedding party but that is no excuse to just ignore the rest of your guests 2) when i arrived after 7 hours of walking, my bag was sitting outside in the rain with a key to let myself into the property. Again, not acceptable. This was during service hours and even though there was a wedding you should hire more staff 3) I had an included dinner , supposed to be in the resto for an authentic Tuscan experience, they sent me to a pizzarea off property. And i had to call to figure out where i would be going to dinner , they did not provide that info upon check in as there was no check in . 4) the next morning again there was no one at reception and I just had to leave my bag and hope it made it. Again, the property + rooms were nice but if I wanted to stay in an appartment I would book Air B and B, you need to provide the service you advertise Part of staying in a hotel is , you know, having a receptionist I have never experienced that before

Beautifully redecorated, very friendly staff, a very comfortable stay along our walk on the Via Francigena. Beautiful setting too. The hotel restaurant was not yet open, so the owners drove us to the fabulous Sant’Ilario restaurant, located a few KMs away.