I read about the Villa in the book, Great Sleeps Italy, and was impressed by its history. The villa itself is gorgeous. We did not have a car so we asked, and they arranged, for a taxi to meet us at the train station. Everyone was extremely professional, and warm. We had a 3-course dinner there every night except Tues. (they're closed), and some very good wines. We had a jr. suite which was elegantly furnished, and very comfortable. My husband, son and I took a cooking class with the owner, Adriana, which was a lot of fun (and delicious). We made fresh pasta with mushrooms, pork loin with prunes, and panna cotta. They arranged for a driver to take us through the countryside, stopping to tour a vineyard (with wine tasting), the San Antimo Abbey, and various other sites. They have a cozy, intimate bar where you can have a drink and conversation with other guests before dinner. Villa di Piazzano is luxurious, elegant, comfortable. We would most definitely stay there again.

Ancient hunting manor of the 1500s restored carefully and with taste, located in a beautiful landscape. Very kind staff. Excellent service. Good restaurant and excellent breakfast. This is a place for a wonderful and relaxing holiday.

Our decision to try this hotel was based on Karen Brown's guide book for Italy, but we booked directly with the property.

We spent a week at the Villa di Piazzano (VdP) to explore southern Tuscany and northern Umbria. The hotel was ideally situated for this plan. The setting, in the countryside southeast of Cortona, was a lovely respite after a day of sightseeing. Our room was a separate stone cottage in the garden near the large swimming pool and below the main house.

Breakfasts and dinners (optional) in the VdP's dining room were always delicious and beautifully served. The maitre d', Massimo, made excellent wine recommendations.

The friendly staff at the front desk were knowledgeable about sightseeing and local shopping, and most helpful. For instance, upon our arrival, they recognized immediately that my wife's injured ankle needed medical attention and arranged for a doctor to call the next morning. One of the owners was always available to assist and visit with guests, giving the impression of welcoming us into their home.

Our only regret was not taking more time to relax and enjoy the tranquil setting of the VdP ... perhaps next time.

We have just got back from a week at Villa Di Piazzano, which was part of our honeymoon. We had an absolutely wonderful time and it was a near-perfect start to our married life together!

Myself and my wife have been very privaledged to stay at some wonderful hotels all over the world. However we were both immensely impressed with Villa Di Piazzano and would unreservedly recomend it to anyone.

I cannot really think of any substantial negatives to the hotel- yes as previous reviews have said complimentary water would have been nice and the TV channels were variable, but the long list of positives more than outweigh these very, very minor critisisms. The positives were:

- The villa itself in absoltely fantastic and has obviously been very lovingly restored. The attention to detail of the furniture and interior decoration is astounding and we found ourselves wandering around a lot of the time, admiring the quality of the renovation and the excellent interior decoration
- The location is great, literally on the border between Umbria and Tuscany. Cortona is the nearest town which is 7 minutes drive, which is very pretty and has some great bars and restuarants
- The staff were unfalteriningly polite and effcient which is a very rare thing in hotels these days
- The resturant was very good with a good menu, a wide choice of wines and was reasonably priced
- The breakfast was probably the best we have come across with a huge selction of food
- Our room was fantastic- very large and airy, beautifally decorated and with a huge bed. We had a junior suite for which we paid Eur330 per night, which I consider very good value.

The hotel organised a couple of activities for us which I can more than recommend. Firsly we had a cookery lesson with one of the owners in the hotel kitchens which was an wonderful experience- it was fantastic being with a native Italian in a professional kitchen, using the freshest ingredients to make our own lunch. Pasta making was a real highlight!

The hotel also arranged a local gudie for us to take us wine tasting in a local town. He was an excellent guide, the town he took us to as probably our favourite place of the whole trip and I can wholeheartedly recommend him.

One last piece of advice. Don't try and go to Siena on Wednesday as it is market day and you will struggle to find somewhere to park.