Borgo Pulciano Agriturismo

From the outside this agriturismo looks pretty nice. But, first of all, I don’t think we’ve ever felt less welcomed when checking in. Then into our room… cold, bare, unwelcoming, with bare walls and lacking any charm whatsoever. We have stayed in many agriturismi and other types of lodging in Italy over a 24 year period, and this is the first one we’ve ever found without a bidet. I decided I could (grudgingly) live without one. But then after showering, we found that the bathroom floor floods because of the way the shower is constructed. When we asked for more towels to mop up the water, they wanted to charge us €10, I think for each extra towel. We had never heard of anything like this! I know that sometimes a hotel will charge for damaged or soiled towels or linens, but we were only asking for towels to clean up the flooded bathroom due to a badly designed shower. Also our kitchen had a four burner stove, but not a single pot or pan to cook or reheat anything in! After a couple of day of days, most of the staff became friendlier, but the two women working there remained pretty sour and unfriendly. When they remodeled this place, it seems like they did it on the cheap, didn’t really pay attention to details that would’ve made it nicer and left some details unfinished, like unfinished trim. The room smelled like concrete and there were gouges in the wall that hadn’t been repaired. On the plus side, the bed was comfortable, the room seemed clean enough, the heating worked, and there was good Wi-Fi. However, we feel that the bad/funky far outweighs the good.This place is owned by the Garibaldi chain of hotels and it’s obvious that either the hotel chain management or the staff seem not to care very much. We left early (and lost one night’s fee), but we wanted to move on to somewhere more welcoming.

Perfect getaway! There’s no denying that the staff made this oasis in the countryside a perfect place to relax. Yes, we hired the electric bikes and explored the local sites, and wandered further by car, but places like Perugia, Gubbio, Assisi and Sienna were an easy day trip. The highlight for us was the level of catering. Great buffet breakfast, and delicious and beautifully presented evening meals in the restaurant. Making it all work were the attentive, friendly and helpful staff (with any question, even a query about our hire car!) So, a huge thanks to Santi (chef), Stephania (the pastry chef), and serving staff Sabrina and Graziano.