Tenuta di Monaciano

I stayed at Monaciano with my family for a wedding, and while the property photographs beautifully, the experience as a guest was disappointing. The location is fairly remote—transportation to and from the property cost at least €75 each time. There’s no food on-site, and even getting a simple bottle of water required a 15-minute walk from the country houses to the main villa, often in complete darkness along unlit paths. To make matters worse, when we asked the staff for help finding food, they suggested my dad and brother walk 25 minutes downhill to a supermarket—again, in the dark, along roads where wild animals are known to cross. Completely unsafe and unreasonable. The property was also full of bugs, and the staff was consistently unfriendly and unhelpful. We were given no warning about how difficult it would be to meet basic needs or get around. To brides: while I was a guest and can’t speak to the experience from your side, the wedding itself was visually stunning and the photos will be beautiful. But as a guest, the lack of hospitality and basic care made the experience fall far below expectations.

Because of what I mentioned I want my money back. There is a big gap between what appears on the website and the reality, getting to the room is very difficult. (Requires traveling by car on an unpaved road) The living conditions are not comfortable at all. Very small shower. There are no air conditioners in the rooms. Dark and unlit rooms. The kitchen is very small and uncomfortable. A small office refrigerator is not enough for the contents of the whole family (perhaps for two people) cleanliness at a very low level. The hotel's rooms are spread over a huge area. To get to the pool that exists in the hotel, you have to go by car from most of the rooms. Our experience was so negative that after two days we couldn't stay any longer, we really suffered!!! We left the place and went to rent another hotel for the rest of the week. (Of course we did not receive a refund for the large expense even though we asked for it and even a part of it. Which added to the great disappointment. Not a good experience at all and a hotel not recommended for those who want a fun vacation and fair value for money. Stay away!!!

Despite the description provided, this is not a hotel. It has no hotel services: no meals, no maid service. There is a main building with minimal air conditioning and a group of outbuildings, converted farm houses, none with air conditioning, just weak ceiling fans. Only two of the outbuildings have pools. It is chiefly a wedding venue where all the food is provided by outside caterers. We were in an outbuilding one kilometer from the main building – an up and down walk in 38C sun. It was possible to call for a bus to pick up but it was not very convenient. A car is essential to get around the property and to go to off-property restaurants. Siena is a 20-minute, €30 cab ride away. We moved to an air-conditioned Siena hotel after one night.