Hotel Badia di Pomaio

How can I give four stars to an accomodation that I consider disappointing overall? The Badia, a redone monastery, looks great on the website. We anticipated a real all-around winner, and booked two "superior" rooms. It is difficult to find, and was not in the data base of the rental car GPS. Once we found it, on first look, we were anticipating a great stay. Everything looked perfect. The hillside location, large pool, landscape, views, were magnficent and oozed Tuscan flavor. The patios were inviting and relaxing. Many guests (including us) took ample opportunity to drink wine and enjoy the views over Arezzo both during the day and at night. Our rooms left something to be desired, however. We had booked two "superior" rooms. I am a long-time European traveler and know the compromises that must be made when traveling outside the US - limited AC, no washcloths, etc., but two "superior" rooms? - no way. Rooms were cramped and barely passable. Setup was awkward to say the least - our room was extremely dark and cave-like with a circular staircase to a completely unusable and unlit loft dominating the room. My husband hit his head twice on the stairway header. The manager was stiff-necked about making changes and our request to be moved was never accomodated - even though we had booked two rooms for a seven-night stay! We encountered a few moths and other bugs but they didn't bother us at all, as we have found that window screens are rare in Italy as a whole. The restaurant was a bright spot. The food was fantastic - we had two lovely dinners there. The restaurant was obviously well-known in the area, as it was jammed on Saturday night with visitors, hotel guests, and a private party. The waitstaff was attentive and friendly. Breakfasts, which were included in the room rate, were truly sumptuous by European standards, and the largely-multilingual waiters fell over themselves to accomodate all the guests' individual needs. Overall then, I would recommend the Badia with reservations. Make sure you understand exactly what is meant by the accomodation you book, and stay away from the annex. Refuse the rooms if offered. We ended up contriving reasons to spend as little time in our rooms as possible - which doesn't bode well for a hotel that is supposed to be top-notch. I would have been better pleased if the manager had figured a way to move us, but the best she would do was to bring a table lamp to the upper loft and to change some light bulbs on the main floor. My daughter will be returning to Arezzo every year for at least the next three in her capacity as a professor in a major US university's study abroad program. I am sure we will visit her again - but not at the Badia, thanks. The pool and the views are great but the drive to the place is 2.4 miles up a winding, single lane road. Certainly not doable on foot under any circumstances. Plan on a car or a scooter. Cabs would be a pain. The drive is fun at first but gets old fast, especially if you want to enjoy dinner and late evenings in town, the centro of which is at least 4-5 miles from the Badia. All in all, location was bucolic, rooms (our rooms, at least) were more than disappointing. Waitstaff was great, manager did not really realize she was there to make us comfortable over our week's stay and mostly avoided personal contact. Thus, the Badia gets four stars if you know what you're getting in to and it suits your needs. It missed the mark with us. I'd go for dinner but not to stay.

I punti di forza individuati durante il soggiorno sono sicuramente l'accoglienza intesa come attenzione al cliente, la disponibilit e competenza del personale, una cordialita' discreta e autentica.