Fabio Fasone

Hi kimkim and Italian specialists,

I would like to thank kimkim and the Italian staff.
Especially my contact Deborah, for making this four-week trip to Italy an unforgettable experience for my wife and I.
It was worth the three-year delay due to COVID19.

There were two important elements of this trip for us.
The first was to visit and enjoy the wonderful Italian art, culture and history.
Secondly, to celebrate our 45th wedding anniversary through our trip to Italy.

Both of these came true and our long-held dream came true.
Above all, Deborah's communication skills and understanding of our needs were outstanding.
I would like to thank her first of all. Of course, it was good that Fabio first asked us what we wanted and then made a travel plan accordingly.
In the cities where we stayed, we were able to spend one or two days visiting the main sites and museums efficiently with a small group of people and a specialised guide arranged by local specialist.
We also had a free day to go around with our guidebook. The combination of guided and free days was also good.

The certified guides Local specialist arranged for us were excellent in their explanations and expertise.
In particular, the Japanese-speaking guide was very good and we learnt a lot.
Especially Luigia in Rome, Hiromi in Florence, Vania in Venice and Haruko in Verona and Haruko in Verona was very enthusiastic and professional.

The drivers and pick-up service were also excellent, punctual and friendly.
Beatrice, our concierge in Rome, was quick to respond and fix when we called her when we were delayed at Lake Como. Beatrice in Venice was very helpful with local information, including local restaurants.
We had been warned by friends to be careful at Italian train stations because of pickpockets, but these ladies made us feel safe and secure on the train. We had nothing to worry about. Everyday was excited and fun.

We received champagne at the hotels in Rome, Milan and Venice and drink vouchers at the hotel in Florence to celebrate our wedding. Thanks to local specialist for organising this.

All hotels had their own characteristics and good points. The hotels in Rome Milan and Venezia were well located and we were able to walk to most of the main sights.　The hotel in Asisi gave us outstanding quality, and fresh food in the restaurant. The Perugia hotel has history. The hotel in Florence was very comfortable with spacious and nice room. The staff at this hotel were the friendliest. We were also very happy with the hotels in Milan, Venezia and Ravenna with their excellent rooms.

We are very happy we chose kimkim ,local specialist as our travel agent.
Now we're hoping to visit Southern Italy and Sicily one day, and when we do, we'll use Kim Kim again.　
Thank to kimkim and all the Italian staff for our great trip to Italy.
Grazie
Takaaki and Ryoko

Everything was great. We liked the hotels and appreciated the reliableness of the transportation. We also very much enjoyed our local guides.
It was nice to know Roberta was available if we needed anything.
Our guide in Lake Como (name?) was a little much. She talked a lot.
The rest of our guides are the trip were more easy going and we enjoyed that.
Sergio in Lake Garda was very easy going and enjoyable.
We also really like Serena in Siena. She did a good job of concisely explaining a lot to us. We learned a lot from her.
Sara, our hiking guide in Greve was great. We had a very nice, relaxing hike.
Andrea is Cinque Terre was also great. He took us on good hike and was able to get us acquianted with all the villages in one day.
Overall it was an amazing trip and everything went smoothly.
Really, the only complaint we had was the seat arrangements is the van. We did not like the seats facing each other. We preferred to have the seats all facing forward. It got fixed for a couple rides but then went back to facing each other for the last two rides.
Thanks for everything. We will defintiely recommned KimKim to our friends and family.

Hotel Reviews

Star Hotel Rosa Grand

Milan

We had very little time in Milan and this hotel was perfect because of the location.

Authenticity & Character

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Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Porto Roca

Monterosso

We really enjoyed this hotel. The views were amazing. We enjoyed hanging out at the pool talking to other guests.

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Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Palazzo Leopoldo

Radda in Chianti

This was a really neat hotel to stay in. We really liked the rooms. The staff was not very friendly.

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Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Athena Siena

Siena

It was a good location. The breakfast wasn't as good as some of the other hotels.

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Staff

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Olivi Thermae & Natural Spa

Sirmione

The location of this hotel was great. The staff was not very friendly and seemed to be a bit of an older crowd.

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Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Villa Flori

Como

The view at this hotel was amazing. It was also our favorite breakfast and the staff at breakfast were so friendly. The only downside to this location was you couldn't walk to very many things.

Authenticity & Character

Location

The view was amazing but we couldn't walk to much.

Staff

Breakfast staff were so friendly, the front desk not as much.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Hike the Villages of Cinque Terre

Italy

Andrea took us a on hike we probably wouldn't have done on our own so that was great. He also gave us a good orientation of all the villages and how to take the train.

Private transfer from Chianti to the Cinque Terre with stop in Lucca en route

Italy

We enjoyed our stop in Lucca.

Hiking on the Chianti Hills

Italy

We really enjoyed our hike with Sara.

Day Trip to Volterra & San Gimignano from Siena

Siena

It was good to see these places but they were not a highlight of the trip.

Walking Tour of Siena

Italy

I'm so glad we did this do at the beginning of our stay. It was an amazing orientation to Siena. There is a lot to know about Siena and Serena did a great job informing us.

Private guided boat tour on Lake Garda

Italy

We really liked the private boat, we felt like we could see a lot more that way. Our guide was very easy going and it made for a very nice relaxing day.

Guided Tour by public ferry of Lake Como - Explore Bellagio

Italy

I think if we were to do this again, we would do a private boat versus the ferry. Our guide was very knowledgeable but she talked too much. We were a little overwhelmed by her.

Everything went very well.
I do want to comment about a few things.

First- Daniela was our concierge and she was great!! Very responsive and confirmed transfers and tours with us.

I do think that I would have preferred a local guide for the St. Peter’s basilica tour rather than a German one. Our guide was difficult to understand and also did not know that the basilica was going to close early so our tour was only 1 hour instead of 2.

The guide for the Roman forum and the colosseum was excellent through LivTours.

The guide for pompeii was not too good. Although he knew a lot about pompeii, he was a bit too aloof- in my opinion- and should’ve been more directive in deciding about taking umbrellas and what parts to see before it started raining…

Our driver through the coastal towns did not stop in Amalfi and although it worked out, it was a change in what expected and eve Daniela was not aware.

Our hotel in Rome had poor AC in most of the rooms and did not really try to fix it.
We did discuss with them and with Daniela at the time of service so I waiting for a partial refund on this.

Some great things…
The location of all our hotels was excellent!
The cooking class was super fun and great location but again the description did not meet what we actually did.

On our free day in Sorrento, we took a boat tour with a small group to and around Capri and had an amazing time… I would recommend them as a tour you could use and partner with in future.

https://abnb.me/FQ1DUXYjJAb

Hotel Reviews

Grand Hotel Vesuvio

Naples

Great location. Beautiful 10th floor. Strange that the pool and gym area was not open all the time and that the bathrooms were not in service near the pool. The jacuzzi was cold

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Staff

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Grand Hotel De La Ville

Sorrento

Beautiful hotel. Breakfast staff was great and front desk was great. Bad Manager was rude.

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HOTEL DELLE NAZIONI

ROME

AC was not good / consistent in rooms and not good communication about it with the staff

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Location

Great great location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Early morning private Vatican Tour

Rome

Visit of The Amalfi coast Villages Full Day

Italy

Driver and concierge did not communicate about the plan that day. Turned out to be a gorgeous day and had a great time but good to see expectations accurately

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

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Cooking Class Experience Amalfi Coast

Amalfi Coast

Expectations based on description were different than what we actually did

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Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Driver and restaurant did not communicate so we waited almost an hour to be picked up

Transport

Train Rome/Naples with transfers and 2h guided tour in Pompeii

Italy

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

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Private Colosseum guided tour & Ancient Rome

Rome

Quality of Experience

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Transport

We had a great experience on our trip. Our initial local specialist, Monica, was great - helped organize our trip in line with our goals. Fabio, who took over for Monica at a later date, was good but not quite as helpful as Monica and we had a little more of a challenge getting the billing details correct.

Once in Italy, Lucia, our concierge, was quite helpful. Guides were excellent at all of our stops - great knowledge and helpful advice for restaurants and other activities. Hotels were all very good. Transfers all occurred flawlessly.

The only minor complaint about hotels is that the Hotel Villa Flori - Lake Como was a bit far from restaurants and attractions in Como, a fairly long walk. The desk staff at that hotel was not as helpful as at other hotels - one clerk didn't speak English all that well. That said, the hotel was still excellent.

Hotel Reviews

Park Hotel Argento

Levanto

Our favorite. The staff was exceptional. Beautiful patio views. Shuttle service was great. Restaurant was very good.

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Staff

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Grand Hotel Cavour

Florence

Very nice. Rooftop deck fabulous. Very conveniently located.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Very near the Domo. Walking distance to main attractions

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Guided Tour by public ferry of Lake Como - Explore Bellagio

Italy

Very enthusiastic guide. The ride on the public ferry, lunch and walking tour in Bellagio was great.

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Private Cruise to discover the cinque terre

Cinque Terre

Cancelled because of high surf.

Hike the Villages of Cinque Terre

Italy

We had to make some adjustments to this tour because of weather-related cancelation of the next day's boat tour, but our tour guide was very good. Downside was that the tour was during a holiday weekend, and trains were exceptionally crowded, uncomfortably so. The next day we had great fun hiking between villages with notably smaller crowds.

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Trains too crowded - try to schedule for less-busy times.

Wanna be Italiano - Florence cooking class and market tour

Italy

We didn't have very high expectations, however our chef, John was terrific. The class was well-run and informative. The meal we prepared as a group was great.

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Food

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Full-Day Private Excursion to Siena & Chianti Wine Region

Florence

A great day. Our driver was exceptional, very enthusiastic and conversational. All of the stops were excellent, especially the visit to Sienna and the wine tasting/lunch at Casa Rosa.

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Private guided tour of the Uffizi and Accademia Galleries (4 hours)

Florence

The guide was very knowledgeable and experienced. Did a great job on the tour while navigating the crowds.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our personal concierge and our guides were very knowledgeable, very articulate and very fun. Our first guide, Simona, is an expert in all things Florence in particular the art and history of Florence. She set a standard for others to Follow.

Our Driver,Simone, to the Chianti region and Siena, added personal touches and really went above and beyond. We later learned that the girls in the winery we visited referred to him as Sean Connery! Gabriella in Piza was great, and Lucia in Levanto and the Cinque Terra was truly amazing and had a command of the Italian Train system, like no other. Even though our boat tour was cancelled due to wind ( thanks for the refund Fabio) Levanto and the Cinque Terra may have been our favorite!
Svetlana in Como was fun gave us a peek at Italian Pop Culture. The trip ended in Milan with Barbara, who knows art, in particular the Opera at La Scala, shopping and even taught us songs that Italian school children learned.

The drivers were all professional and on time and while the pace was rigorous everything just worked. I could not imagine having a better first trip to Italy!

The tour was well planned and we thoroughly enjoyed all the locations on the tour. But one would always hope that vacation could last a bit longer so that we could have spent more time in Palermo, Noto and Taormina especially!

Special accolades go to our friendly guide Rachele in Palermo who is extremely professional and has a wealth of knowledge to share; Selina our top notch expert guide for Piazza Armerina; and Roberta our very informative guide in Lake Como who is both enlightening and entertaining.

All in all we had a fabulous time and wouldn't say no to revisit Sicily!

Using Kimkim to plan my honeymoon was so easy and definitely worth it! I recommend to anyone planning a big trip, especially in a foreign country to use this service! It can be really stressful to look up reviews of places, compare pricing, and then need help with the language after booking. Fabio and Deborah were fantastic to work with. Fabio created the itinerary and helped adjust it after some feedback. Deborah was a great contact before the trip.

To start my trip, my husband and I experienced a delay in our flight and ended up arriving very late at night. Our Italian concierge, Roberta, was phenomenal. We communicated through Whatsapp and she reassured me that we would be taken care of once we arrived and not to worry about any delays in our flights. She also helped us get recommendations and reservations for a Christmas Day lunch which was very helpful. It was also really nice to have private transfers when we moved from city to city and to and from the airport. The train station in Milan would have been a little difficult to navigate on our own.

I thought our itinerary was a great mix of small private tours and days where we were free to explore on our own. In Milan, we did a tour of Duomo as well as La Scala theater. Our guide, Barbara, was wonderful and very knowledgeable. We enjoyed this on our first day as we got our bearings in the city and were able to walk around a bit and explore the Christmas markets nearby. We also did a cooking class that was awesome. Our cooking teacher, Debora was very friendly and made it seem so easy to cook up some delicious pasta and tiramisu.

In Florence, we did a wine and olive oil tasting tour in Tuscany and a walking tour of the city that included museum tickets to see Michalangelo's David sculpture. We enjoyed all aspects of these itineraries in Florence.

In Rome, we did a tour of the Coleseum, Palestine Hill, the Roman Forum, and a separate tour of Vatican city and the Sistine Chapel. These were really crowded, so I was glad to have tickets and not worry about entrance into these tourist destinations. Additionally in Rome, we did an Aperitivo tour/food tour which was delicious and had us returning to a few favorite spots while we were still in town. Valeria, our food tour guide, was great company and we really enjoyed eating our way through Rome.

Hotel Reviews

Rose Garden Palace

Rome

The hotel is located right across from the US embassy and very nearby one of the large parks. The rooms itself was nothing too special and it was fine for us to just rest and be out exploring the rest of the day. The beds were a little more firm than I am used to, so it was not very comfortable for me. It was about a 20-minute walk to most attractions.

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Hotel Balestri

Florence

This hotel was so lovely and perfectly located along the river. They had a bottle of Prosecco and fruit for us waiting in the room as a congratulations and that was so lovely to start our trip in Florence. The breakfast was delicious and staff was very helpful. The hotel provided umbrellas for guests and honestly the location couldn't be beat. It was so close to everything and had a beautiful view from our room.

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Activity Reviews

Evening Aperitivo Tour

Rome

I enjoyed learning about the Jewish "ghetto" and how it's been preserved in Rome, as well as trying the different kinds of Italian foods. Even though I was full at the end, I wish there was one more stop for pizza or pasta. Unfortunately one of the places the guide was going to take us to was closed.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private tour of Milan Highlights (3 hours) with La Scala theatre

Milan

We got lucky and were able to hear an orchestra practice at La Scala theater which was special. I also enjoyed hearing about the history of the city and exploring the Duomo with our tour guide. She was very knowledgeable and friendly.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Small group tour of Vatican City , Sistine Chapel & saint Peter's Basilica

Rome

While it was really cool to see Vatican City and the Sistine Chapel, it was overwhelmingly crowded. I felt we didn't have the full freedom to walk around and view things on our own until after the guided tour was over, in which case you had to go back around and start at the beginning. The art was beautiful though and it was nice learning about the history.

Quality of Experience

Crowd control- even though it was a small group tour, the area was crowded and we often were separated from the tour guide.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Very friendly tour guide

Small group Tour of Tuscany Oil & Wine Tasting with a personal sommelier

Florence

Using Kimkim to plan my honeymoon was so easy and definitely worth it! I recommend to anyone planning a big trip, especially in a foreign country to use this service! It can be really stressful to look up reviews of places, compare pricing, and then need help with the language after booking. Fabio and Deborah were fantastic to work with. Fabio created the itinerary and helped adjust it after some feedback. Deborah was a great contact before the trip. To start my trip, my husband and I experienced a delay in our flight and ended up arriving very late at night. Our Italian concierge, Roberta, was phenomenal. We communicated through Whatsapp and she reassured me that we would be taken care of once we arrived and not to worry about any delays in our flights. She also helped us get recommendations and reservations for a Christmas Day lunch which was very helpful. It was also really nice to have private transfers when we moved from city to city and to and from the airport. The train station in Milan would have been a little difficult to navigate on our own. I thought our itinerary was a great mix of small private tours and days where we were free to explore on our own. In Milan, we did a tour of Duomo as well as La Scala theater. Our guide, Barbara, was wonderful and very knowledgeable. We enjoyed this on our first day as we got our bearings in the city and were able to walk around a bit and explore the Christmas markets nearby. We also did a cooking class that was awesome. Our cooking teacher, Debora was very friendly and made it seem so easy to cook up some delicious pasta and tiramisu. In Florence, we did a wine and olive oil tasting tour in Tuscany and a walking tour of the city that included museum tickets to see Michalangelo's David sculpture. We enjoyed all aspects of these itineraries in Florence. In Rome, we did a tour of the Coleseum, Palestine Hill, the Roman Forum, and a separate tour of Vatican city and the Sistine Chapel. These were really crowded, so I was glad to have tickets and not worry about entrance into these tourist destinations. Additionally in Rome, we did an Aperitivo tour/food tour which was delicious and had us returning to a few favorite spots while we were still in town. Valeria, our food tour guide, was great company and we really enjoyed eating our way through Rome.

Quality of Experience

The tastings were a lovely experience, along with the food provided.

Food

The combination of foods paired with wine was fantastic. I enjoyed the olive oil tasting as well!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Everyone we encountered was very friendly and knowledgeable.

Transport

We started out in London and Paris for 8 days and then flew to Rome. The trip for our Italian leg was extremely well organized in no small part thanks to Fabio and Danielle. We spent a day in Rome and did a private tour of the Vatican with a friend who works there. The next morning we were off to Positano. Danielle picked us up at the hotel in Rome with our driver and made sure we made our train. In Naples another local coordinator met us on our arrival to bring us to our driver, Luigi, who took us to Positano. The following day we did a private boat tour of Capris and Anna Capris, which included a visit to the blue grotto, really a must see if you are going to Capri. We enjoyed a wine tasting and lunch and visiting the city of Rovillo and Amalfi and was guided by our driver, Carmine, who regaled us with stories about life growing up in Amalfi. The coastline is beautiful but the road to get there is not for the feint of heart! From Positano we returned to Naples and headed to Assisi. We had a great walking tour of the city and stayed in a special place called Nun, which was a convent converted to a hotel/spa. The spa jacuzzi was amazing and the hotel had just 18 rooms. Assisi was very interesting and a fantastic addition to our trip. We went to to Sienna and Florence, where we had a 5 hour Italian cooking class. Another great experience.

All in all we had a great tour of Italy and we are thankful to Kim Kim and all the guides and drivers who made this a trip of a lifetime!!

Our first excursion was to ride the train into the alps. We loved it. It was so beautiful. Recommend highly. Great experience.
Our visit to Lake Como was great. Very beautiful lake. We rode around it on a ferry. Then went to a fabulous restaurant for lunch. We were celebrating our anniversary (50th) and my son and Daughter-in-law’s 20th anniversary. Our grandkids went swimming in the lake after lunch. Very nice day. Roberta did a great job.
We stayed in the Santa Rosa Grand Hotel in Milan. Very nice hotel.
Florence: I can’t remember the name of the hotel in Florence but it was nice. This hotel had the best breakfast.
Half our group went into the Tuscany wine region next. We visited several wineries and also went to the Italian/US WW2 memorial for US soldiers killed in this region. Very moving! Extremely well done. Thank you Claudio for taking us there.
The other half had a rather harrowing experience riding bikes on a bike tour in the old city. The guide was not good. She actually rode off and left them. The gelato making was a success though. Everyone loved that.
The Cinque Terra was kind of a disaster due to the fact that our driver spoke NO English and had never been to the area before. We were expecting an English speaking guide but that didn’t happen. Our driver just dumped us out and indicated we should meet him back there at 4. Because we had expected to have a guide we didn’t really look into the possibilities. We ended up riding the train to Monterosso where the kids went swimming and we did some shopping. The tour company offered to pick us up there to try to make up for the completely non-English speaking driver. Since the driver had never been there before, we had a hard time finding each other. Definite an experience.
We had great helpers with our train transfers. They all did a good job.
Venice: Nice Hotel, my son had a private terrace. Large private terrace. We went on a city tour through Basilica San Marco-and the Doge palace. Nice tour with Allyssa. She was very knowledgeable but a bit overly so. We were pretty exhausted and struggled a bit…maybe if it hadn’t been so hot! Our visit to the Academy was, of course, one of the highlights. We also did a food tour. The adults enjoyed it. The kids, not so much. The gondola ride was great. Everyone really enjoyed it.
Train transfer back to Milan was great and uneventful. Flew out the next day.

Fabio was very nice to work with. I think he was a little busy as sometimes we didn't hear back. We also didn't quite get the level of detail and communication that we would have liked to understand what he had planned and feel comfortable and confident in our trip. For instance, we asked for a boating experience and didn't realize until we got to the boat place that what he booked was a 9-hour excursion that was more focused on visiting towns than boating.

We did very much appreciate some of the concierge's help while we were there. Our luggage was lost and she was very helpful in tracking it down and getting it to us. And the drivers were always on time. We didn't understand the purpose of the person who met us in Sorrento, as he didn't live there and didn't provide any helpful info. Neither he nor the concierge could help us with local restaurant info, etc.

We also didn't really understand who to ask for questions we had and felt like one person would say, no ask the other person, etc. which wasn't great.

We did really love the person who was with us in Radda, Felipo. We are glad we did too as even though we thought we were getting booked on totally different excursions, he ended up leading them all - a biking tour, a hiking tour, and even a cooking class.

All in all, we had a great trip, but feel there are some kinks that Kim Kim, etc. should work out.

Hotel Reviews

Grand Hotel Capodimonte

Sorrento

We ended up enjoying this hotel, but giving it 3 stars because the first room they put us in smelled strongly of mold and had black mold around two of the vents in the room. It was also right next to the pool so we could hear the people at the pool in our room, and it also did not have hot water. The hotel initially said sorry we are booked when we tried to get another room, but I was persistent and magically they gave us a different room that did not have these issues. We loved that room. The other thing that was a bummer about this hotel was the pool. We had not had a break from our kids in years and so were bummed that the pool was full of kids being kids - it just was not at all relaxing and so we didn't use it other than the initial time we went. Very good breakfast. Really pretty hotel overall.

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Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Tough one - the initial room they put us in would get 0 stars, but the one we finally got did not have issues and was great.

Hotel Palazzo Leopoldo

Radda in Chianti

Very bare bones hotel. Cheap towels, toilet paper, sheets. You have to pay to get a robe or an extra towel. We could hear word for word conversations of the people outside. It also wasn't cleaned very well, and the AC could not keep up with the extreme outdoor heat. I found most of the staff to be overly formal and one, when we requested an upgraded room, to be on the rude side. It is super old, so if you are looking mainly for historic character and not a higher-end experience, this may work for you.

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Hotel Balestri

Florence

Very nice people, updated rooms done quite nicely. Very bizarre collection of Goofy figures in the lobby area that clashed with the vibe of the hotel. Great location. Not a very sound proofed room.

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Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Organic cooking class in a typical farmhouse - semi private

Italy

Quality of Experience

It was lovely, but quite hot

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private biking tour with lunch & wine tasting

Italy

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport