Castello di Casole, Tuscany
 

Booking I booked the Classica suite. The package was 78 euro per night more than Virtuoso rate (which I believe was actually cheaper than the BAR on the website). <li>Upgrade on arrival, subject to availability</li> <li>Daily Buffet breakfast, for up to two in room guests</li> <li>Choice of a Painting class or Language class for two, once during stay (Day restrictions may apply)</li>It did not include the Virtuoso amenities which are: <li>Accommodation in a Suites of your choice all with breathtaking views</li> <li>Full daily breakfast at Ristorante Tosca</li> <li>Three course dinner at Ristorante Tosca including wines selected by our Sommelier</li> <li>Two 50 minute treatments at Essere SPA</li> <li>Bottle of Estate Wine upon arrival</li>I booked the <a href="http://www.castellodicasole.com/specials/simply-castello-di-casole">Simply Castello di Casole package </a>via a virtuoso agent. It included Pre-Arrival I corresponded with the hotel via their main email, <a href="mailto:[email protected]">re [email protected]</a>. All emails got forwarded to the appropriate person and I recieved a timely response generally within 24 hours. The spa sent me their menu and answered all my questions quickly. The concierge was very helpful in answering all my questions. Arrival/Location A car is a must here. We arrived after spending a day in San Gimignano. Castello di Casole is located kind of in the middle of nowhere on top of a hill, with the closest town Casole d'Elsa about 10 minutes away. Google maps brought us to the front door without any troubles. Siena, Volterra, Chianti are all very close by. We were able to make trip pretty easily. With it being our first time in the countryside, I was surprised at how curvy the roads were. When we arrived we proceeded to self park first. We then lugged our luggage up a series of steps into the main area. In retrospect, it is possible to drive to the reception where I think help would have been available. In addition there is also an elevator which connects the self park area with the main level of the hotel. Once we arrived at the reception, our were warmly greeted with a "Dr. FDW we were expecting you" and shown to the library for check-in. Glasses of prosecco were provided and our CC/passports taken for all the necessary documentation. AFter a quick tour of the grounds, we were shown to our room (upgrade to a 1 bedroom classic suite) where our luggage was waiting. Room <img alt="" src="/forum/hotelreview/uploads/userreviewimages/30345/images/user30345_pic6628_1382293546.jpg" style="height:600px; width:338px"><img alt="" src="/forum/hotelreview/uploads/userreviewimages/30345/images/user30345_pic6617_1382293368.jpg" style="height:600px; width:450px"><img alt="" src="/forum/hotelreview/uploads/userreviewimages/30345/images/user30345_pic6616_1382293368.jpg" style="height:450px; width:600px"><img alt="" src="/forum/hotelreview/uploads/userreviewimages/30345/images/user30345_pic6618_1382293417.jpg" style="height:450px; width:600px"><img alt="" src="/forum/hotelreview/uploads/userreviewimages/30345/images/user30345_pic6614_1382293317.jpg" style="height:450px; width:600px"><img alt="" src="/forum/hotelreview/uploads/userreviewimages/30345/images/user30345_pic6619_1382293417.jpg" style="height:450px; width:600px">Very very comfortable. The best bed we encountered in Italy. I believe that the hotel is a renovation of an existing old villa, so the windows were a bit small. Full proper living room with TV and couch. Minibar was located here, no fee for any of the non-alcoholic beverages. Bottle of house wine (literally made on the property) was waiting for us. Free speedy enough wifi, which was nice!. I do wish that there had been an espresso machine. The bathroom also was quite nice. Two basins. Bidet/toilet. Lovely tilework. Loved the fixtures. Shower with great water pressure. One oddity was the tub. It was very deep but short; designed for sitting I guess (similar to Japanese tubs maybe?) It is quite a challenge to get in and out of I must say. I didn't particularly care for it. Toiletries were self branded but I believe made by bottega veneta. Apparently the floors were radiant heated but I didn't see any evidence of that (maybe was quite cold enough...). My wife and I really really enjoyed this room; however, larger windows would have been nice to really soak in the countryside... Grounds <img alt="" src="/forum/hotelreview/uploads/userreviewimages/30345/images/user30345_pic6621_1382293448.jpg" style="height:450px; width:600px"><img alt="" src="/forum/hotelreview/uploads/userreviewimages/30345/images/user30345_pic6622_1382293448.jpg" style="height:450px; width:600px"><img alt="" src="/forum/hotelreview/uploads/userreviewimages/30345/images/user30345_pic6613_1382293317.jpg" style="height:450px; width:600px"><img alt="" src="/forum/hotelreview/uploads/userreviewimages/30345/images/user30345_pic6612_1382293317.jpg" style="height:450px; width:600px">Quite lovely views of the countryside. Great infinity pool that was heated, although is closed for the season the second day we were there. very pleasant to stroll around. We had considered renting bikes but glad we didn't considering how hilly it was. There's a main villa, and then a number of outhouses scattered amongst the 4200 acres. They did a fantastic job with the renovations in my mind, blending modern conveniences with the existing structures. Dining <img alt="" src="/forum/hotelreview/uploads/userreviewimages/30345/images/user30345_pic6624_1382293479.jpg" style="height:600px; width:450px"><img alt="" src="/forum/hotelreview/uploads/userreviewimages/30345/images/user30345_pic6623_1382293448.jpg" style="height:600px; width:450px"><img alt="" src="/forum/hotelreview/uploads/userreviewimages/30345/images/user30345_pic6626_1382293479.jpg" style="height:600px; width:450px"><img alt="" src="/forum/hotelreview/uploads/userreviewimages/30345/images/user30345_pic6625_1382293479.jpg" style="height:600px; width:450px"><img alt="" src="/forum/hotelreview/uploads/userreviewimages/30345/images/user30345_pic6629_1382293546.jpg" style="height:450px; width:600px"><img alt="" src="/forum/hotelreview/uploads/userreviewimages/30345/images/user30345_pic6631_1382293581.jpg" style="height:600px; width:450px"><img alt="" src="/forum/hotelreview/uploads/userreviewimages/30345/images/user30345_pic6632_1382293581.jpg" style="height:600px; width:450px">Breakfast was included and was a small buffet with made to order hot dishes. Nice meats and cheeses, fruits, and breads/pastries. Great fresh squeezed OJ. They actually did quite a nice job with the bacon, quite crispy which I find is rare outside of the USA. Unfortunately, as it was the slow season the casual pizza restaurant was closed. They did have some options a the bar, but none that looked too appealing. We had two dinners at Tosca, both which were quite lovely. Our first was the 3 course dinner, which was basically whatever we wanted off the a la carte menu, minus the chateuabriand which was for two. Unfortunately what I thought was going to be a wine pairing turned into a bottle of the house red, which was fine as I found it quite lovely. The standout was a saffron risotto with osso bucca which I had on my return visit. They also had a lovely taglioni with white truffles. I thought the food was of a high quality, but I do think they tended to cater more to American tastes/lifestyles. The restaurant opened fairly early by Italian standards and the pacing of the courses tend to be very un-Italian... (which was actually quite nice as I was getting tired of long drawn out meals) Service I thought the service was quite good actually. The staff is all quite young, but they are very very enthusiastic. EVeryone spoke very food english. We had lovely interactions with the concierge who helped arrange a wine tasting in Chianti and also recommend a very solid local restaurant. Since my phone didn't get a great signal at the location, we also elected to borrow a GPS device from hotel (no charge). However, the concierge was always quick to print very detailed multi page directions. Housekeeping did a nice job and turn down usually occurred before 7 PM (which I liked). Unlike the PH Milan where turndown showed up one night just before 10 PM, which is just too late for me. Spa View from the elliptical<img alt="" src="/forum/hotelreview/uploads/userreviewimages/30345/images/user30345_pic6633_1382293581.jpg" style="height:600px; width:450px">I think that there spa just opened up in the last couple of months. QUite nice. Lovely relaxation areas (separated by sex) including two whirlpools. The couples suite is a nice vaulted area. Our massages were excellent and they allowed us to upgrade them to 80 minutes for the difference. The fitness area is quite large for a hotel with only 42 suites. Of course nice modern equipment (Technogym). Fridge full of Aqua Panna and San Pellegrino. We did, unfortunately, use them one day. Checkout Everything was in order. We quite liked the wine so I decided to order a case of wine, shipped home which they took care of. Nice to be able gain some bonus points. We were offered help with our luggage, which we declined. Overall We quite liked our stay. It's a very large property, which was nice. The property seemed to be populated by mainly American and British guests. The fit and finishes are very very good and the service is appropriate. I really thought the concierge did a nice job. My wife commented that it was one of the best properties that she stayed at (hopefully she'll change her mind with our upcoming Aman trip). I do think that it is very oriented towards Americans so it's probably not the most authentic Italian experience. Nonetheless, we quite enjoyed ourselves.

good to hear! great pics and details - menus always informative if not online, and interesting re internet speed

same owner/operator as esperanza, which has some good discussion here

there are also residential villas

demographics of residence/fractional owners could be a factor
also owner/operator being american company, with another american company as a major partner

Been looking at this property. So glad to hear you had a nice stay. Thanks! If we ever get serious about it, we know who to come to with questions.

Thanks for the report^ Looks nice

We also stayed at Castello di Casole a few weeks ago. Here is a cut and paste of my review on another site. Our room looked to be identical to yours except we had a small outdoor space, a fireplace and a full size free standing tub. We initially booked under a Virtuoso rate but changed to Luxurylink since it was quite a bit cheaper and included quite a number of other additions.

I didn't find the service to be all that great, but otherwise it was quite a good stay.

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The physical hotel is amazing. Easily one of the nicest properties I have ever been too. It is gorgeous, well maintained and the views from their pool and balconies are spectacular. Everything is newly remodeled and wonderful.

We spent several nights at the Castello in their standard room. We asked for a view and were given a nice room with a balcony and a view of the countryside. The room was very large with a fireplace, nice seating area and a very comfortable king sized bed. The room also had a gorgeous marble bathroom with a marble walk in shower and a large soaking tub. The bathroom had dual vanities and was gorgeous. The room had wifi which was fast, satellite TV and AC (which worked decently well - luckily it gets very cool in Tuscany at night).

We used the spa for a treatment in one of the couples rooms. The spa is gorgeous and just opened. It has some small service issues to deal with but once they are fixed it will be amazing. The facility is gorgeous and it has mens and women's locker rooms. The showers in the spa were nice rain showers, though I prefer a more private shower - these were open. The men's are had a cool and hot tub for soaking and relaxation. The couples suite was unreal. It was in the old wine storage area. It had gorgeous arched ceilings, a beautiful couples tub, shower and other facilities. Very nice. Our treatment included a soak, but oddly no towels were out to dry off (one of the small kinks to be worked out). The massage itself was excellent.

We ate dinner at the hotel one night and it was very good. Some of the food is skewed for American tastes but we had a wonderful fish dish and a very nice steak and some wonderful pasta. The food was great and service was very good.

Breakfast was served each morning in the hotel's restaurant. It is a buffet but they also have eggs on order and pancakes. The buffet was large but the food was only ok. For instance, the baked goods didn't seem freshly made but the omlettes they prepared to order were nice.

The highlight of the Castello is the pool area. They have a gorgeous large infinity pool overlooking the countryside. The service at the pool was good and they had food and drink options. We enjoyed spending a few hours each day at the pool.

Our only real negative was the service we experienced. It was decent but not great; it was not proactive. For instance, we came back from dinner one evening and it was pouring but no one was at the hotel front to get us from our car and give us an umbrella. Most hotels we stay at would have someone waiting. Other instances are that we never really got hellos from staff.

Overall, we think the hotel will improve as it ages and we will likely stay there again on our next trip.

Did you guys use the valet parking? I saw it advertised but always found it easier to self park than to pull up to the reception.

FDW

We sort of used the valet twice but there was never a valet person at the front door and we had to always take the key to the front desk. After the second night, we gave up and self parked the rest of the time, which honestly was so close to the buildings anyhow it didn't really matter to us.

Coming from Il Salviatino in Florence to Castello di Casole there was quite a bit of service difference. Il Salviatino had wonderful valet service - friendly smiles, car doors opened, a welcome bottle of water every time, etc.

I love that you included a speedtest screenshot.

come to think of it, you do bring an excellent point up- there was definitely a lack of presence of bell people. Once inside the reception area people were very keen to help but on the outside areas there wasn't a huge presence of people...

FDW

Here are some pictures from our stay

Outdoor space and view from the room outdoor space - million dollar view

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5464/9...15fef0639e.jpg

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3736/9...8aa0bc7b59.jpg

Bedroom/bathroom

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http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5548/9...8a54c47d87.jpg

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5479/9...51c43a5016.jpg

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http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5333/9...274cc1c4d2.jpg

Great pics; much better quality than mine.. your suite looks quite nice? Do you remember what category it was? Great to have some outdoor space.. your view is also awesome... A fireplace would have been nice at night; I did see a stack of firewood.... we were in the area above Tosca, not really the main villa area proper...

FDW

It was booked as a Suite Classica which I think is one step up from the base. I found their room types quite confusing.

What we got was the one bedroom suite which was part of the Barglagi Penthouse.

http://www.castellodicasole.com/barg...iew=floorplans

We were basically over the bar area on the second floor. I had specifically requested a view of the countryside at booking.

Just saw on Instagram that this has joined the Belmond group...

fdw

(if timbers did not sell) wonder if timbers is starting to do management contracts, after oaktree acquired majority stake in timbers in 2014. every timbers resort is a real estate play, primarily fractional. this is the first time they have done a management contract.

probably a direct response to Rosewood taking CdB..... Belmond has a strong Italian product now made even stronger.
Should make for some great packages