Where to Stay
Montalcino Travel Information
Those who decide to stop are well rewarded; Montalcino is one of the prettiest hilltowns in Tuscany, rich in history and deserving of the overused word "unspoiled." And as a base for explorations among vineyards and antiquities, Montalcino is almost perfect.Because the town is unspoiled, you will be too. It's a small price to pay, but be prepared. Hotels are few, small and—with one spanking-new exception—anything but high luxe (happily, the same goes for the prices, which are more than reasonable). But if you're addicted to five-star hostelries with all the trimmings and trappings - bathrooms the size of apartments, baskets of Crabtree & Evelyn amenities, 24-hour room service and nightly turn-down service complete with pillow candies - well, you'll be disappointed. If you can't live without two-line phones, VCRs, CD-stereos and liveried servants rushing exercycles to your room - you'll be crushed.The plus side is that you don't have to put up with, let alone pay for all that. Italy is by nature a small-scale country, and so you'll find that rooms outside the major cities tend to be small too. Many Italian hotels are low-key family operations, intended to provide a good night's sleep after a long day in the countryside. If you need anything, the staff will always try to help, and they'll do so out of their deep sense of hospitality not the hope of extracting a tip.In short, the small-hotel experience is comfortable and personal - more like staying in an old-style B&B than in some global hotelier's mammoth "sleep factory".
