Tuscany accommodation
| country: | Italy |
| location: | Tuscany |
| price: | From €1100 - €2600 per week (Friday - Friday) (sleeps 8), excluding flights and utilities (firewood, gas, electricity, telephone). Price depends on season. US $40 surcharge on all bookings |
 | View availability here |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
description
We have a 1,100 acre organic agricultural estate and cultural center near Siena, part of the Riserva Naturale Alto Merse, and a unique historical property and multicultural community. We offer B&B and self catering accommodation - the estate produces organic wine, olive oil, vegetables, fruit, honey, grains, and pasta, and serves dinner nightly to residents and guests if desired.
Located 1 hour from Florence and 45 minutes from San Gimignano, this is an ideal base for exploring the Tuscan countryside. Or stay on the property and relax by the pool, take a hike, or read on the terrace.
Casetta al Padule, from €1,100 - €2,600 depending on the season (available year round), s/c
Casetta al Padule (sleeps 8) is our most recent renovation on the estate. Completed in 1999, the house is located on the site of a medieval tannery, on a wooded hillside adjacent to the cow pastures at Le Vene. The house has ample space for family vacations often challenged by the multiple interests and many agendas of family members. Here families stay, and leave feeling rested - the covered terrace, designed to be a siesta-hour destination on especially hot days, helps to keep cranky tempers at bay!
The house has 4 bedrooms, one downstairs and 3 upstairs. One master bedroom has a private bath with shower and a small terrace overlooking the pasture. There are two additional full baths with tub/shower – one upstairs and one downstairs. Many decorative details in the house feature the local yellow Sienese travertine marble – a buttery yellow stone marbled with ochre and bronze veins. The stone sink in the kitchen was rescued from a local construction site in Rosia. The main wall of the house features original stonework from the tannery.
The living room features an unusual heating system for the house, which incorporates both firewood used in the fireplace, and a natural gas furnace, with vents to the upstairs, allowing for heating with both wood and/or gas. A large dining table runs along the far wall of the living room, seating 10 comfortably, and the bench along one side was made from the old hay manger. A large covered terrace on the back of the house provides ample space for outdoor dining and gathering. Casetta al Padule has a natural gas furnace and a fireplace, and the kitchen is stocked with all the items needed to make and serve meals.
Family friendly: Yes, while we do not offer specific activities for children, we find that it is an ideal location for families, due to the safety of the location, the varied outdoor activities, and ample space available in our accommodations. Kids love see our pigs, chickens, cows, sheep, and ponies, and we also have many hiking trails and a pool.
Baby friendly: We offer cribs for people with infants under the age of three.
Pool, dining available onsite featuring organic products and traditional Tuscan recipes, hiking, cooking classes, language/arts classes, farm tours, product tastings, products available for sale onsite
The estate is located 4 km southwest of Rosia near the intersection of SS 541 and SS 73, about 20 minutes south of Siena. The nearest airport is Florence (1 hour).
Located 1 hour from Florence and 45 minutes from San Gimignano, this is an ideal base for exploring the Tuscan countryside. Or stay on the property and relax by the pool, take a hike, or read on the terrace.
Casetta al Padule, from €1,100 - €2,600 depending on the season (available year round), s/c
Casetta al Padule (sleeps 8) is our most recent renovation on the estate. Completed in 1999, the house is located on the site of a medieval tannery, on a wooded hillside adjacent to the cow pastures at Le Vene. The house has ample space for family vacations often challenged by the multiple interests and many agendas of family members. Here families stay, and leave feeling rested - the covered terrace, designed to be a siesta-hour destination on especially hot days, helps to keep cranky tempers at bay!
The house has 4 bedrooms, one downstairs and 3 upstairs. One master bedroom has a private bath with shower and a small terrace overlooking the pasture. There are two additional full baths with tub/shower – one upstairs and one downstairs. Many decorative details in the house feature the local yellow Sienese travertine marble – a buttery yellow stone marbled with ochre and bronze veins. The stone sink in the kitchen was rescued from a local construction site in Rosia. The main wall of the house features original stonework from the tannery.
The living room features an unusual heating system for the house, which incorporates both firewood used in the fireplace, and a natural gas furnace, with vents to the upstairs, allowing for heating with both wood and/or gas. A large dining table runs along the far wall of the living room, seating 10 comfortably, and the bench along one side was made from the old hay manger. A large covered terrace on the back of the house provides ample space for outdoor dining and gathering. Casetta al Padule has a natural gas furnace and a fireplace, and the kitchen is stocked with all the items needed to make and serve meals.
Family friendly: Yes, while we do not offer specific activities for children, we find that it is an ideal location for families, due to the safety of the location, the varied outdoor activities, and ample space available in our accommodations. Kids love see our pigs, chickens, cows, sheep, and ponies, and we also have many hiking trails and a pool.
Baby friendly: We offer cribs for people with infants under the age of three.
special things to do and see here
Pool, dining available onsite featuring organic products and traditional Tuscan recipes, hiking, cooking classes, language/arts classes, farm tours, product tastings, products available for sale onsite
how to find us
The estate is located 4 km southwest of Rosia near the intersection of SS 541 and SS 73, about 20 minutes south of Siena. The nearest airport is Florence (1 hour).
rooms, food and facilities
Swimming pool, studio and classroom space, full service guest office, dining room open for dinner Monday-Friday, shared telephone, shared internet hookup for guests, shop featuring farm products, professional kitchen for cooking classes. We encourage guests to order a harvest basket of organic vegetables from the Spannocchia garden or to try our own organic wine, olive oil, honey, or pasta when creating their own versions of a Tuscan dinner.
how this holiday makes a difference
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We are committed to being a good steward of the land and the surrounding community. By farming organically, recycling, using renewable resources for utility needs when possible, and encouraging our guests to be conscious of their resource usage, we protect our land from non-sustainable use.
By supporting local artisanal producers, providing a supportive workplace for our employees, and encouraging our guests to be sensitive to local culture, and opening our property for public use on hiking trails, we benefit the local community in many ways that traditional hotels are not able to. We aspire to be a vacation destination that provides an opportunity for guests to be engaged, to participate in our community, to learn about sustainability, and take that knowledge home and apply it to their own community. In this 8-10 person house, the unique fireplace allows guests to heat the whole house using a convection fan system, simply by lighting a small fire in the living room. The firewood is harvested on the Estate according to our sustainable cutting plan, and consists primarily of coppice-cut wood such as holm oak and chestnut - the additional comfort of having a warm house is made even more appealing by the fact that the whole house is heated with a locally grown renewable resource. Water-saving shower heads, toilets, and faucets ensure that even a large family’s washing habits won’t deplete the natural spring on the property. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |