currently at Hilton Borgo alle Vigne

[DannyTS]

no mosquitoes so far throughout Tuscany!

 

[Talent312]

No mosquitoes so far throughout Tuscany!

Darn.
Looks like we need something else to keep the unwashed masses away.
How about ticks? We could import 'em from Acadia Nat'l. Park per another thread.

 

[amirh]

Do you speak Italian? If not, are you finding issues with language barrier? I know it’s not an issue in the big cities as I’ve been to Rome, Milan, Pompeii, etc. but what about the country side.

 

[DannyTS]

Do you speak Italian? If not, are you finding issues with language barrier? I know it’s not an issue in the big cities as I’ve been to Rome, Milan, Pompeii, etc. but what about the country side.

Those that offer services speak English, enough for simple communication. We did not have a problem although I activated my roaming cellphone service so we relied more on Waze, google, google translate, tripadvisor etc than on anything else. At the resort they speak English very well.

 

[DannyTS]

By the way, at the resort they recommend going to Florence by train, in part because the "centro" is in an area that is restricted to non-residents. What we did instead, we drove and found a parking lot right next to the Roman gate

http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=Hilton Grand Vacations Club at Borgo alle Vigne, Via di Casanova, Selvatelle, Province of Pisa, Italy&daddr=Parking location&geocode=FRCHmAIdYh2jAClrnf3imAsqEzHYQtk3tpRkrQ==;FWy_mwIdOoirAA==&dirflg=d

The parking is 2 euros/ hour, a 10 min walk to Ponte Vecchio

 

[DannyTS]

this is the sign people should be aware of, in these areas only cars owned by locals can go. Google maps do not indicate this areas so it is easy to get tickets just by following instructions

 

[brp]

this is the sign people should be aware of, in these areas only cars owned by locals can go. Google maps do not indicate this areas so it is easy to get tickets just by following instructions

When we were last there we didn't specifically see zones for locals only. What we did see where zones where one had to have a permit to enter. One could purchase the permit in advance, and then be OK. The signs looked similar to these. That was a while back, though. Maybe they've added more restrictions

Cheers.

 

[DannyTS]

When we were last there we didn't specifically see zones for locals only. What we did see where zones where one had to have a permit to enter. One could purchase the permit in advance, and then be OK. The signs looked similar to these. That was a while back, though. Maybe they've added more restrictions

Cheers.

if i understand correctly, one can only purchase a pass now if the hotel is within the ZTL area. I think the ZTL is only June 1st to October 1st

http://www.visitflorence.com/moving-around-florence/by-car.html

 

[brp]

if i understand correctly, one can only purchase a pass now if the hotel is within the ZTL area. I think the ZTL is only June 1st to October 1st

http://www.visitflorence.com/moving-around-florence/by-car.html

Interesting. Then, yes, a further restriction. Our driving trip in Italy was maybe 8 or so years ago, and one could buy ZTL passes for places one would travel. We didn't, and I had planned to avoid them. The ticket (and related EUR 60 Rental Car company tattletale fee ) that I received a few months later indicated that I failed to notice a sign somewhere in Modena

I can see why they might want to restrict traffic in these ancient cities.

Cheers.

 

[JIMinNC]

To the OP...would love to read a short summary of what you've done/seen and, since we love to eat out at great restaurants, places you may have found for dinner in the area. Sounds like from your posts above you did San Gimignano, Florence, and Cinque Terre at least. We are hoping to visit HGVC Borgo alle Vigne in 2020 and will be trying to book for either May or September when the Club window opens. We'll probably just book a hotel in Florence for a few nights before or after our HGVC stay, since we want to use HGVC as a base for visiting the Tuscan countryside, hilltop villages, and wineries.

 

[DannyTS]

To the OP...would love to read a short summary of what you've done/seen and, since we love to eat out at great restaurants, places you may have found for dinner in the area. Sounds like from your posts above you did San Gimignano, Florence, and Cinque Terre at least. We are hoping to visit HGVC Borgo alle Vigne in 2020 and will be trying to book for either May or September when the Club window opens. We'll probably just book a hotel in Florence for a few nights before or after our HGVC stay, since we want to use HGVC as a base for visiting the Tuscan countryside, hilltop villages, and wineries.

We had a great time at Borgo but there is not much more to write besides what I already posted. We did not do as much as could have done because we have two pre-teen kids and because we had few days with temperatures close to 40 degrees Celsius. I tried to post what is more relevant to somebody that stays at Borgo rather than what you can find in any blog about Tuscany. I think really the best source of information while you are there is the excellent staff at the resort. Sara, Raphael and Andrea (I may forget some unfortunately), really go out of their way to provide with information about the area.

 

[JIMinNC]

We had a great time at Borgo but there is not much more to write besides what I already posted. We did not do as much as could have done because we have two pre-teen kids and because we had few days with temperatures close to 40 degrees Celsius. I tried to post what is more relevant to somebody that stays at Borgo rather than what you can find in any blog about Tuscany. I think really the best source of information while you are there is the excellent staff at the resort. Sara, Raphael and Andrea (I may forget some unfortunately), really go out of their way to provide with information about the area.

My main question I guess is about restaurants. We generally (almost always) eat out for dinner, and like nice restaurants with great food. I've always been concerned with Borgo's more remote location and what the dining options are in the area. I was intrigued by your comment in your initial post that you were surprised by the number of good dining options in the area. Can you offer any more detail there? How far? What kind of food? What kind of atmosphere? Any recommendations?

 

[DannyTS]

there are really a lot of choices for lunch and dinner in the area, all within 5-15 min by car. Because we had 3-4 meals in the condo and because of the day trips, we did not have more than 5-6 meals at the restaurants nearby. However, I never had the impression that we were running out of places to eat at. This is a link from Tripadvisor so that you can see what I mean:

https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Restaura...lvatelle_Terricciola_Province_of_Pisa_Tu.html

I may be missing some but from what I remember we ate at:
La Sorgente: 5 min from Borgo on a hilltop, great food, great atmosphere, great service.
Da Carlo: 5 min from Borgo, in the village. Good food, seemed to be preferred by the locals, probably the biggest restaurant in the area.
Pasticeria Feretti: 8 min from Borgo, in Peccioli. A small place, only 5 tables. Good food, great service.
Le vecchie cantine: 15 min from Borgo, possibly the best meal we had around Borgo.
La Locanda delle Streghe: 5 min from Borgo. Nice terrace in the back, good food.
All restaurants in the area are typical Italian/Tuscan cuisine. If you are craving for an Argentinian steak, a Thai or a South Indian restaurant you may have to wait to return home

 

[JIMinNC]

there are really a lot of choices for lunch and dinner in the area, all within 5-15 min by car. Because we had 3-4 meals in the condo and because of the day trips, we did not have more than 5-6 meals at the restaurants nearby. However, I never had the impression that we were running out of places to eat at. This is a link from Tripadvisor so that you can see what I mean:

https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Restaura...lvatelle_Terricciola_Province_of_Pisa_Tu.html

I may be missing some but from what I remember we ate at:
La Sorgente: 5 min from Borgo on a hilltop, great food, great atmosphere, great service.
Da Carlo: 5 min from Borgo, in the village. Good food, seemed to be preferred by the locals, probably the biggest restaurant in the area.
Pasticeria Feretti: 8 min from Borgo, in Peccioli. A small place, only 5 tables. Good food, great service.
Le vecchie cantine: 15 min from Borgo, possibly the best meal we had around Borgo.
La Locanda delle Streghe: 5 min from Borgo. Nice terrace in the back, good food.
All restaurants in the area are typical Italian/Tuscan cuisine. If you are craving for an Argentinian steak, a Thai or a South Indian restaurant you may have to wait to return home

Thanks! Exactly what I was looking for. I'm pleased at the options, and yes, when in Tuscany we'll be looking for Tuscan cuisine for sure!

I think we've decided to target September 2020, so we will have to wait until December to try to book at Borgo. I think we're going to try to start out with a hotel stay in Venice for maybe three nights, then take the train to Florence for another three nights, and then rent a car to go to Borgo all Vigne.

 

[Blues]

La Sorgente: 5 min from Borgo on a hilltop, great food, great atmosphere, great service.

Let me add a hearty 2nd to La Sorgente. It's a small family run restaurant, and the family were delightful! By the 2nd visit, the mama and my wife were fast friends, with DW receiving hugs from the mama; this despite the fact that she (mama) spoke not a single word of English.

The food was delicious! Highly recommend the cabbage soup, which was apparently from an old family recipe.

The son was the primary waiter. He was delightful, and spoke impeccable English, having spent several years studying the restaurant business in LA. The daughter was the pastry chef. Despite the likelihood of being completely full after dinner, you still have to try her desserts.

The family also runs the resort / vacation villas on the property.

We ate there 3 times in the week we stayed there. Never had a bad meal.

ETA - Also highly recommend the house red wine. We liked it so much that, after getting 2 glasses of it, we asked about buying it by the bottle. They sell it on-site, 8 Euros per bottle. Best $8 wine I've ever had. Indeed, it was the best wine we had in all of Italy, other than some expensive Nobile de Montepulciano's and Barolo's.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

We visited 4 years ago. Although we cannot remember the exact restaurants, I concur that the front desk staff recommendations were excellent. They even made reservations for us.

 

[rdw95]

Borgo was absolutely horrible. Please never book there. People don't speak English. Everyone eats late. The food is terrible....

Ok...that was written in jest to keep everyone away! We LOVED Borgo and Tuscany. We were stationed in Italy years ago and love to go back. We were at Borgo last September and had a wonderful time. We love going to Florence, having been there 13 times. We went to the small town about 15 minutes from Borgo and took the 50 minute train ride into Florence. It is then just an easy 10 minute walk to the Duomo. You do not need a car in Florence.

We also took the cooking class and had a wonderful time.

 

[brp]

Well, people do tend to eat late in Italy...

Cheers.