Good and not so good

GOOD AND NOT SO GOOD

4 su 5 stelle - Recensito il 23 ottobre 2013

Good points:
Lovely hotel, fantastic views from the pool area, nice outside pool area and indoor jacuzzi/sauna. Staff pleasant and helpful. Bedroom very acceptable (though not the position). Nice to have a powerful, hot shower (though leaking and spraying around an inadequate sized shower shield meant a wet floor most times).

As others as written, the hotel is a 15 minute fairly steep walk from the centre of Volterra via the Etruscan Gate but is more than manageable for any one with reasonable mobility. Pleasant downhill walk back to the hotel.

Not so good points:
Our first floor bedroom overlooked the front lobby door and the car park - not a pretty view. There was also the constant swishing noise of the lobby door every time it opened and closed - which was very often.

Breakfast was ok but nothing special and never varied - a few cereals, fruit salad, cold meats and cheeses, boiled eggs, tubs of yoghurt, cakes and orange juice. The only hot dish was the daily fried egg and pieces of sausage.

The half board evening meal was three courses with a choice of a meat or fish option. Unlike a previous reviewer, we were never given a choice of selecting from either menu - it was one or the other, so tough luck if you didn't like it. Again, the food was ok but nothing that spectacular for a so-called 4 star hotel. (Be careful if you do not like very rare and chewy beef - which was the meat dish one evening.) The 7.30pm meal was often not served until well after 8.00. When the meal choices were noted the previous night and the restaurant was not very busy, apart from our group, one wonders why it could take so long?

Bar prices, I thought, were on the high side. The cheapest bottle of red wine was € 20; the cheapest Chianto Classico (one of the local wines) was € 25. A half bottle was € 15 and a bottle of beer was € 6.

Tips:
Ristorante Il Poggio on the Via Porta all 'Arco (top of the road into Volterra from the Etruscan Gate) is an atmospheric Tuscan restaurant, well-used by the locals. We had an enjoyable and inexpensive lunch there.

Great views of the town and the countryside from the top of the Palazzo dei Priori tower in the main square, especially on a sunny day. Well-worth the small price and the easy climb (for those with reasonable mobility).

This is the alabaster town. There are plenty of shops as well as the local factory where you can buy a variety of alabaster gifts, both functional and as souvenirs. Small dishes for a few euros make excellent gifts, as well as being different, unique and useful.

Ha soggiornato in Ottobre 2013, viaggiato in coppia
3 su 5 stelle Qualità/prezzo
5 su 5 stelle Posizione
3 su 5 stelle Qualità del sonno
3 su 5 stelle Stanze
5 su 5 stelle Pulizia
4 su 5 stelle Servizi

ParkHotelLeFonti, Direttore alle Park Hotel le Fonti, ha risposto a questa recensione.

14 novembre 2013

Dear Peter-Selby,
we are sorry that you have not fully enjoyed your stay, we hope to be better in a possible your next visit.