currently at Hilton Borgo alle Vigne

[DannyTS]

After a 4 night stay in Rome, we are now at Hilton Borgo alle Vigne. Rome was awesome, we met with old friends who showed us around in the old city and. We courageously took a bike tour with the kids, we felt much more on the edge than on similar trips in London or Barcelona. Rome is of course awesome, but we are glad that this time we also discovered more peaceful areas like the Orange garden in the Aventino district. I am mentioning it because not too many tourists seemed to know about it, a very quiet place to relax in contrast with about everything else in the city.
From Rome we rented a car and headed to Hilton Borgo alle Vigne. We chose Via Aurelia, the coastal route on the highway 80. We did not regret it, most times the scenery was nice and few times great plus it allowed us to stop mid-way in Porto Santo Stefano for lunch. This added about 15-20 minutes to the drive but we had a great fish lunch in a restaurant overlooking the sea AND the kids got to play in the sea for 30-40 minutes after that. The restaurant was right on the beach.

The first impression at Hilton was great, and we did not have a low expectation since it looked nice in the pictures anyway. The condos look nice, spacious. We have a regular 2 bedroom (not plus) and it is on two levels with some degree of extra privacy on the upper floor. We really like the pool this morning, it is secluded from the villas which I think it is a big plus: a) you do not feel like the kids are going to annoy people sleeping in the adjacent buildings and it just feels like people are not staring at your bathing suit from their balconies, not that I care much about that. The only negative so far seems to be the internet, not very fast and spotty. It seems to be ok for basic emails but for sure not good enough for video streaming. It does not bother us much, if you are in Italy and you are watching Netflix, you have a problem.

I am surprised by the number of good restaurants in the area. It seems that all the Italians do like to dine out, not just those that live in the cities. In North America I find that the dining options are very limited outside of the bigger cities.

Today we went to San Gimignano, a very nice medieval town. It was a very relaxing day since its (all pedestrian only) streets are very narrow and the tall stone buildings make it feel like much cooler than outside the city.

If anyone has questions let me know. I may be able to answer although we are not going to spend a lot of time at the resort.

 

[JIMinNC]

Borgo is on our list for the next year or two. We spent some time in Tuscany last fall on a Mediterranean cruise and want to go back on land for an extended visit. Borgo seems like it may be a great base of operations. Would love to hear more about the places you visit and the restaurants you find. I've heard Montalcino is a great place to visit.

Also, What are the temperatures like in June at Borgo/Tuscany? One option for us is a June trip to tie in to my wife's birthday, but concerned about temps in Italy in June.

 

[PigsDad]

if you are in Italy and you are watching Netflix, you have a problem.

Best. Line. Ever! Thanks for the chuckle!

Kurt

 

[DannyTS]

I do not want to scare anyone but it is very hot. Yet it is dry and bearable so far, we will see in the next few days

 

[CanuckTravlr]

I do not want to scare anyone but it is very hot. Yet it is dry and bearable so far, we will see in the next few daysView attachment 12560

That's one of the reasons why our preferred times for visiting Italy are in April/May or September to November, although by November it is often starting to get a little cool!

 

[jlp879]

Enjoy this great little bakery/restaurant in nearby Peccioli; Pasticceria Ferretti. No only do they have amazing pastries, but they have great family/comfort food at dinner time.

 

[Talent312]

... if you are in Italy and you are watching Netflix, you have a problem.

Circa 1970, my parents took us kids to Europe.
At a pensione in Florence, we watched "Flipper" dubbed in Italian.

'

 

[DannyTS]

cinque Terre. A must see IMO. We drove 1:15 h to La Spetia then we took the ferry

 

[DannyTS]

View attachment 12573 View attachment 12573 View attachment 12573 cinque Terre. A must see IMO. We drove 1:15 h to La Spetia then we took the ferry

 

[DannyTS]

Watching Flipper dubbed in Italian is still acceptable today

 

[brp]

Watching Flipper dubbed in Italian is still acceptable today

At a laundromat in Bologna a friend and I watched part of "The Crow" dubbed in Italian while a "gentleman" tried to sell us the services of (I believe) his sister. Always interesting things on any trip.

The OPs review makes Borgo, and the general location, sound great. As soon as we are retired and trips to Europe are more than 3-4 nights, this is something we will have to do.

Cheers.

 

[DannyTS]

One of the pebble beaches in Monterossi (one of the 5 villages in Cinque Terre)

 

[Ianneyan]

After a 4 night stay in Rome, we are now at Hilton Borgo alle Vigne. Rome was awesome, we met with old friends who showed us around in the old city and. We courageously took a bike tour with the kids, we felt much more on the edge than on similar trips in London or Barcelona. Rome is of course awesome, but we are glad that this time we also discovered more peaceful areas like the Orange garden in the Aventino district. I am mentioning it because not too many tourists seemed to know about it, a very quiet place to relax in contrast with about everything else in the city.
From Rome we rented a car and headed to Hilton Borgo alle Vigne. We chose Via Aurelia, the coastal route on the highway 80. We did not regret it, most times the scenery was nice and few times great plus it allowed us to stop mid-way in Porto Santo Stefano for lunch. This added about 15-20 minutes to the drive but we had a great fish lunch in a restaurant overlooking the sea AND the kids got to play in the sea for 30-40 minutes after that. The restaurant was right on the beach.

The first impression at Hilton was great, and we did not have a low expectation since it looked nice in the pictures anyway. The condos look nice, spacious. We have a regular 2 bedroom (not plus) and it is on two levels with some degree of extra privacy on the upper floor. We really like the pool this morning, it is secluded from the villas which I think it is a big plus: a) you do not feel like the kids are going to annoy people sleeping in the adjacent buildings and it just feels like people are not staring at your bathing suit from their balconies, not that I care much about that. The only negative so far seems to be the internet, not very fast and spotty. It seems to be ok for basic emails but for sure not good enough for video streaming. It does not bother us much, if you are in Italy and you are watching Netflix, you have a problem.

I am surprised by the number of good restaurants in the area. It seems that all the Italians do like to dine out, not just those that live in the cities. In North America I find that the dining options are very limited outside of the bigger cities.

Today we went to San Gimignano, a very nice medieval town. It was a very relaxing day since its (all pedestrian only) streets are very narrow and the tall stone buildings make it feel like much cooler than outside the city.

If anyone has questions let me know. I may be able to answer although we are not going to spend a lot of time at the resort.

My hubby and I will be in Italy at the end of September. We will be staying at Borgo for a few nights during that trip. I would love to know your must dues and eats while staying at Borgo. We will be staying in Cinque Terre for 2 nights so we have that covered. I read here that Borgo I saw a great base for Florence, Pisa and Lucca.

 

[JIMinNC]

View attachment 12573 View attachment 12573 View attachment 12573 cinque Terre. A must see IMO. We drove 1:15 h to La Spetia then we took the ferry

We did a tour to Cinque Terre last fall on a cruise. It's a beautiful place and I didn't realize it was that convenient to Borgo Ale Vigne. Did you just do a day trip there or are you staying overnight? How long is the ferry ride from La Spezia?

We're trying to figure out how many days to try to book at Borgo when we decide to go, so need to figure out which places are doable as day trips and which require overnights. We'll probably book 2-3 nights in a hotel in Florence and then just use Borgo to tour the Tuscan countryside, the wineries, and the hilltop villages. We could do a shorter overnight or two in the villages on the front end or back end of a Borgo/Florence stay, or to avoid having to schlep all of our stuff, stay longer at Borgo and just pack an overnight bag for an overnight trip or two during our stay, leaving our big bags in the room at Borgo. We did that last year during a week in Sedona, and did an overnight mid-week at the El Tovar at the Grand Canyon.

 

[JIMinNC]

I do not want to scare anyone but it is very hot. Yet it is dry and bearable so far, we will see in the next few daysView attachment 12560

Whew! That's 96-100 degrees Fahrenheit. I had heard Italy was hot in the summer. We there there in September 2018 and it wasn't too bad. Sounds like June is out for our next trip.

 

[DannyTS]

We did a tour to Cinque Terre last fall on a cruise. It's a beautiful place and I didn't realize it was that convenient to Borgo Ale Vigne. Did you just do a day trip there or are you staying overnight? How long is the ferry ride from La Spezia?

We're trying to figure out how many days to try to book at Borgo when we decide to go, so need to figure out which places are doable as day trips and which require overnights. We'll probably book 2-3 nights in a hotel in Florence and then just use Borgo to tour the Tuscan countryside, the wineries, and the hilltop villages. We could do a shorter overnight or two in the villages on the front end or back end of a Borgo/Florence stay, or to avoid having to schlep all of our stuff, stay longer at Borgo and just pack an overnight bag for an overnight trip or two during our stay, leaving our big bags in the room at Borgo. We did that last year during a week in Sedona, and did an overnight mid-week at the El Tovar at the Grand Canyon.

it was a day trip, we just got back to Borgo. It is actually more like 1:25-1:30 from Borgo to La Spetia but it is easy driving since at least 2/3 is on highways. We parked the car at Porto Mirabello ($), very convenient, right next to the ferry (just cross a bridge)
https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1...1d44.101130481424114!2d9.827698698642052!5i17

The Ferry is hop on hop off but we went straight to Monterossi and it took probably over an hour or an hour and a half. There are 4 stops before that so it depends where you go. However, the trip is pure joy, I could have watched the scenery for hours more from the boat since it is so beautiful.
On the way back we took the train that is much faster (probably around 25 min Monterossi to La Spezia Centrale train station). From the train station we took a cab back to the port, a 5 min ride.

 

[JIMinNC]

it was a day trip, we just got back to Borgo. It is actually more like 1:25-1:30 from Borgo to La Spetia but it is easy driving since at least 2/3 is on highways. We parked the car at Porto Mirabello ($), very convenient, right next to the ferry (just cross a bridge)
https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1...1d44.101130481424114!2d9.827698698642052!5i17

The Ferry is hop on hop off but we went straight to Monterossi and it took probably over an hour or an hour and a half. There are 4 stops before that so it depends where you go. However, the trip is pure joy, I could have watched the scenery for hours more from the boat since it is so beautiful.
On the way back we took the train that is much faster (probably around 25 min Monterossi to La Spezia Centrale train station). From the train station we took a cab back to the port, a 5 min ride.

I'm wondering if the ferry you took is the same one we used inside of Cinque Terre last fall. On our cruise tour we took a bus from the ship's port in Santa Margherita to Manarola, and then used the boat/ferry to go to Vernazza and re-boarded to go on to Monterossa. We then took the train to meet back up with the bus to go back to the ship. I had assumed that boat was just operating between the five villages, but it sounds like you may have been on the same boat, and if that's the case, the route must actually start in La Spezia. The boat in the picture below is like the one we were on. Sounds like the best way to get to Cinque Terre.

 

[DannyTS]

from what i heard, there is only one one ferry so it must have been the same one you took

 

[DannyTS]

We had a great dinner at Le vecchie cantine, about 15 min by car from the resort

 

[DannyTS]

The pool is not very big but big enough for laps. because most guests come to Borgo to visit the area, the pool is not busy at all. This is a picture taken at 10:30 AM!

 

[brp]

The pool is not very big but big enough for laps. because most guests come to Borgo to visit the area, the pool is not busy at all. This is a picture taken at 10:30 AM!

Well that certainly makes sense. If I'm in Italy, I'm surely not hanging by the pool! But even the pool setting is fabulous. Maybe in the evening with a Sangovese.

Cheers.

 

[jehb2]

I am surprised by the number of good restaurants in the area.

At the restaurants where you eaten, could we wear capris & cargo shorts or is that too casual. Thanks.

 

[DannyTS]

At the restaurants where you eaten, could we wear capris & cargo shorts or is that too casual. Thanks.

I have been wearing bermuda shorts for the whole week and I did not feel underdressed in any of the places we have eaten

 

[DannyTS]

Today we went to a cooking class organized by Arianna and friends. I highly recommend it. I was not too keen on going but my wife thought it would be a good idea. I am glad we went, i could not believe we stayed there for 6 hours and that at the end we had to drag our kids out. They wanted to know when our next cooking class was going to be!

 

[DannyTS]

Another photo taken on the Cinque Terre ferry. The pics absolutely do not do justice