We stayed at Poderi Arcangelo from April 17-22, 2007. We were blessed with perfect weather so we could really enjoy the truly spectacular views over the Tuscan countyside. Poderi Arcangelo is a working organic farm perched high on a hill with views in every direction..other stone farm houses, vinyards, olive groves, cypress trees dotting the hills, and we loved seeing the towers of San Gimignano in the distance along with the charming hilltown of Certaldo near by.

Poderi Arcangelo offers many options to stay in..farm cottages, a Bio-house, and rooms in the main farmhouse Capezzano. We had a bed and breakfast arrangement in the Capezzano. The buildings are beautiful and the rooms were renovated recently..ours was simple but beautiful and modern inside. This was our first trip to Tuscany and we were disappointed with the breakfast. We are use to German hotels so were surprised to be offered only coffee, dry toast, jam, and yogurt. Later we learned that Italians typically have a roll and coffee on the run.

Beside the beautiful buildings and setting, the location was perfect for exploring Tuscany by car. The drive to San Gimignano was an easy 15 minutes. We also loved Volterra which is about a half hour drive. Certaldo was only 3 minutes away. We ate there in the lower town at a great family pizzeria and at the Latini, a nice restaurant with good food and friendly staff. We also parked our car by the station in Certaldo and took the train to Florence. The trip was about 50 minutes and relatively inexpensive. Our time at the lovely Podri Arcangelo was a perfect introduction to Tuscany.

We were told that no matter what time we got there there would have been someone to contact in case needed. When we got there there was no hot water so we called the host who was very rude on the phone. It was late (12:45am) it is true but then why giving an emergency number for? The following day when we checked out we claimed a discount for the inconvenience. As a result the host became very nervous and aggressive and we had to raise voices. It was unbelievably upsetting!

I spent last weekend in Poderi Arcangelo. When I booked, I told the owner that I was arriving late. She told me "no problem". we arrived at about 9 pm and I found just the key and a piece of paper with a
"welcome" and a phone number for any inconvenience. we left the luggage and went out for dinner. When we came back (it was past midnight) I found the room very cold. The heating was off. So I decided to take a shower.... NO HOT WATER!. So we decided to call the number on the piece of paper. A woman answered in a very rude way that it was late and that we should have to wait until next morning and that she was very disappointed because she was sleeping. But we needed hot water! I tried to explain that we had a 5 hours trip by car, that it was late when we arrived in San Gimignano so we had to go out for dinner immediately.... no way.

We waited until next morning. When we woke up there was no hot water again. we had to wait until 10.30 am. After breakfast we went to the reception and talked to a girl, explaining what happened. She said she was very sorry and that she would talk to the owner as soon as possible about that.

The last day, when we checked out, I reminded the owner what happened, and then she offered us to choose between a discount or some bottle of wine. The discount was of only 15 euros!! When I tried to tell her that hot water is a basic service, not an extra, and that 15 euros for being without hot water for an entire day in a hotel was ridiculous, she answered rudely that she couldn't give us the room for free! I also told her that I was at least expecting some excuses from her... but she continued to argue that everything was ok and that the discount we had was enough! I asked her not to be aggressive, but she answered that I was aggressive with her!
To resume: san gimignano is wonderful, but also full of beautiful places to stay, there are so many "agriturismo" that you just have to choose. In Poderi Arcangelo we have been treated very badly. DON'T GO THERE!

My husband and I just returned from our honeymoon in Italy, and we spent 6 days at Poderi Arcangelo. It was lovely and quaint, very quiet, with beautiful views everywhere. The staff was helpful and polite, even when responding to my English. This is not a full-service hotel, so if you're looking for room service and cable television you won't be happy there - but the room was clean, the bathroom was modern and efficient, and the dinners were delicious. There were six of us traveling together, and they were able to place us in rooms all on the same floor in the main building, which was very convenient.

Seating for breakfast and dinner is family-style - you'll be with your group, but also adjacent to others. We met a very nice couple from Rome at one dinner, and enjoyed the evening that much more for having sat with them.

We had breakfast each day, but on two or three nights they were not serving dinner, which was fine - they gave us plenty of notice and recommended a delicious restaurant (Latini) which was very close by. On one of the nights, we went to a small market in San Gimignano and bought wine, cheese, bread and salami, and went back to the agriturismo and sat on the patio, eating our dinner.

On our last day, we had a tour of the wine-making facility, and then a wine tasting. Everything was delicious, we ended up buying two cases to take home.

I would recommend Poderi Arcangelo very highly, especially if you are hoping for some flavor of the "real" Tuscany.

Kathryn Chaux
Boulder, Colorado
USA