Our Trip to HGVC Borgo alle Vigne

[JIMinNC]

After canceling trips planned for 2020 and 2021 due to pandemic travel rules, my wife and I finally made it to HGVC Borgo alle Vigne in early June. We submitted a detailed review written by my wife, which is now live on the TUG review site. I won't repeat it all here, but here is a link to HGVC Borgo alle Vigne reviews if you are a TUG member.

https://tug2.com/resorts/resort/Hilton-Grand-Vacations-Club-at-Borgo-alle-Vigne/ratings-and-reviews

A few of the high points:

• The location works well for exploring the area between Pisa and Siena. A rental car is pretty much a must. We flew into Florence (FLR) and rented/returned the car at the airport there.
• We visited about 8 or 9 area wineries, and found a private guide to offer us a tour of the hilltop village of Volterra, about 30-40 minutes south of HGVC. We also spent a morning driving to the lavender fields about 35 minutes away near Santa Luce.
• Because HGVC Borgo alle Vigne is small and in an area less frequented by other tourists, private tours are the primary offerings for guided tours in the area, since shared group tour offerings are somewhat limited. If you have a larger group, the per person cost of private tours can be acceptable, but for two people, a private tour can quickly get pricey for longer all day tours, especially if they offer you transportation as well as a guide.
• For our three-hour Volterra walking tour ($180), we drove to Volterra and met the private guide there. For a six-hour visit to three area wineries ($300), the guide met us at HGVC and we followed her in our rental car to each winery. We visited the other wineries on our own, but you should make reservations in advance. The review lists all of the wineries we visited, but La Spinetta, Villa Saletta, Badia Di Morrona, Cantina Le Palaie, and Villa Cosmiana were all wonderful.
• For longer tours to San Gimignano, Siena, and some wineries around Montalcino, we waited until we moved to a hotel in Florence for a few days to book a couple more readily available and cost effective small group tours (with transportation) that are available from there.
• We had visited Pisa and its famous leaning tower on a previous trip to Italy in 2018, so did not go back on this trip, but for those who haven't been, HGVC is only about 30-40 minutes away.
• There are plenty of local dining options close by HGVC. We dined out every night, but our four favorites were:
  • Osteria del Sole – a small, locally owned intimate restaurant in nearby Capannoli which seats less than 20 people (5-8 minutes from HGVC)
  • La Sorgente – family owned at a small hotel. Great local experience. The owner served us (5-8 min from HGVC near Capannoli)
  • Pasticceria Ferretti – in the old town of Peccioli. Park in the town parking garage, take the elevator to the top level, and walk a few blocks (5-8 min from HGVC to parking garage)
  • Ristorante “Officine Bocelli” – the family restaurant of singer Andrea Bocelli (10-12 min from HGVC in Lajatico).

It was a great trip, and would recommend combining the time you spend at HGVC with a hotel stay in Florence as we did, so you can enjoy both the city and the countryside.

Here are a few pics:

HGVC Borgo alle Vigne with Peccioli in the distance:

The nearby village of Peccioli:

Golden evening light in Peccioli before dinner at Pasticceria Ferretti:

The Cantina Le Palaie winery:

 

[HaberHGV]

Awesome- glad you had a blast. It’s helpful to see and read reviews for international spots, for me, cause I often times see reviews that I find through google searches that are years old.

 

[Talent312]

Tuscany is my idea of what heaven should be like.
Its where I want to go when I die.
.

 

[jme]

@ JIMinNC.....your post just makes me want to go back to Italy, and Florence & Tuscany in particular.
Sounds like you had a wonderful time.....I'm so glad.
In fact, an amazing coincidence-----my wife Mona and I were talking about that just this morning at breakfast......
guess we were receiving secret airwave signals from you as you were posting!
The Tuscan villa at HGVC Borgo alle Vigne is amazing. The interior of the villa is really gorgeous.
Here's a link to that place for those who want to see more:

HGVC Borgo alle Vigne: (CLICK on this link, then click on "photos" at right where the pics are displayed)

hgvc borgo alle vigne - Google Search

 

[PigsDad]

Thanks for your post! We will be there in September for 10 nights so your notes are very helpful.

Kurt

 

[MAYITRAVEL]

We were there in March 1BR. Flew to Pisa and rented car about 20-25 min drive. A car is a must. My husband has special diet so we cooked, but the kitchen is limited. HGVC organized a $25 wine tasking nearby that I enjoyed (but you had to drive yourself there). We did not take any tours just drove ourselves, visited Lucca, Pisa, San Girmiano, Volterra, Siena, and took train to Florence. I agree with getting a hotel for a couple of days in Florence, next time I would do that and also an overnight in Siena they are quite big cities and a day trip is not enough. A lot of uphill walking in most towns, so be prepared. Seems like $300/180 is quite expensive for local guide without transportation. Enjoyed lunch in Volterra at Osteria La Pace https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaur...a_Pace-Volterra_Province_of_Pisa_Tuscany.html
In Siena we had a good lunch at Osteria Permalico https://menu.permalico.it/

 

[ernststarhemberg]

We were originally supposed to go there for a week in November, but ended up having to cancel. Appreciate everyone's experienced input, will definitely take these recommendations into consideration. Due to location we figured a rental car was a must, we'll definitely factor in an overnight stay in Florence, too.

We did the Rome thing during our last trip to Italy and got our fill of that... sticking to Tuscany going forward.

 

[brp]

One thing I will note about car rentals in Italy is to be very careful about restricted zones in cities. These require that a permit be purchased in advance and will result in a ticket through the rental agency (with a fee there as well) if not.

It may be easier now, but was a pain when we did this maybe a decade ago.

Not sure which cities have it, but just be careful and do research.

Cheers.

 

[JIMinNC]

Seems like $300/180 is quite expensive for local guide without transportation.

The €300 tour was six hours and included three wine tastings (5-6 wines at each) and a light Tuscan lunch in the price. We thought it was quite reasonably priced for a private tour and for what we got. Very good wineries and an excellent guide from Tuscan Taste, one of the vendors that works with HGVC. Most of the tastings we did on our own were €25-65 per person by themselves.

The €180 tour was about three hours, so we thought that €60/hr for a private guide was very, very reasonable. We found her through info in one of the Rick Steve's books. She was a local resident of Volterra and was a wealth of information.

The two shared group tours we took out of Florence (one to Siena/San Gimignano/Chianti Classico and the other to Montalcino) were each about €500 for the two of us, but they did include transportation. We lucked out on the Montalcino tour (Italy and Wine - Brunello Di Montalcino tour) - we paid for a small group tour that was guaranteed to be no more than six people, but we wound up being the only couple on that day. We paid a group tour price, but got a private tour instead. Our guide was a licensed sommelier, and we learned so much about Italian Brunello wines that day.

 

[rdw95]

We LOVE Borgo, and own 4 weeks there - all acquired during COVID at excellent prices. We are headed back there in September for a month.

 

[elaine]

Is this hgvc completely not practical-impossible with only public transit/taxi and without rental car?

 

[PigsDad]

Is this hgvc completely not practical-impossible with only public transit/taxi and without rental car?

You definitely need a car or a private driver, IMO.

Kurt

 

[JIMinNC]

Is this hgvc completely not practical-impossible with only public transit/taxi and without rental car?

It’s almost an hour outside of Florence in the countryside. No public transit in the area. Closest train station is in Pontedera about 20 minutes by car away. The only way to get to the wineries and hilltop villages is in your own car. It’s a wonderful location away from the congestion and pervasive scooters of Florence and in some of the most scenic countryside on the planet.

I’ll add that we had never rented a car outside the US, but once we got out of the traffic and congestion around the Florence airport, driving in the Tuscan countryside was not a major issue.

 

[Cyberc]

Great post and review. We are here at Borgo right now and after reading your review we brought coffee filters but at least in our unit it wasn’t required as the coffee machine had a reusable one.

Borgo also provides complementary EV charging which is nice since we drove to Italy in our EV. So if you need to rent a car then maybe an EV is worth it with free “gas”



I’m attaching a picture of coffee filters.

@JIMinNC

 

[JIMinNC]

Great post and review. We are here at Borgo right now and after reading your review we brought coffee filters but at least in our unit it wasn’t required as the coffee machine had a reusable one.

Borgo also provides complementary EV charging which is nice since we drove to Italy in our EV. So if you need to rent a car then maybe an EV is worth it with free “gas”



I’m attaching a picture of coffee filters.

@JIMinNC

I showed my wife your picture and she said ours did not have one of those. Strange.

 

[letsgobobby]

We LOVE Borgo, and own 4 weeks there - all acquired during COVID at excellent prices. We are headed back there in September for a month.

did the MF really go up by about 1/3 last year?

 

[rdw95]

We rent a car there all the time with no issue. Just be careful as Florence has a no car zone in the center. Having lived in Italy in the Navy We would say it is not bad to get around. One big suggestion is to use WAZE. It is excellent, and will even tell you where the traffic cameras are! We fly into Florence, and Borgo is less than an hour away. Most places are 30 minutes to an hour away and easy to get to. We tell people being at Borgo is like a bicycle wheel - it is like bringing in the center of the wheel with trips extending out like the spokes of the wheel.

 

[jehb2]

I’ll add that we had never rented a car outside the US, but once we got out of the traffic and congestion around the Florence airport, driving in the Tuscan countryside was not a major issue.

We stayed at Borgo before the pandemic. I remember driving around the Tuscany area thinking wow Italian drivers are such nice drivers. We decided to drive to Florence instead of taking the train advised. Once we got to the outskirts of Florence, it was like the Mad Max movies. We ended up, driving back to the timeshare and taking the train in the next day.

 

[Cyberc]

We stayed at Borgo before the pandemic. I remember driving around the Tuscany area thinking wow Italian drivers are such nice drivers. We decided to drive to Florence instead of taking the train advised. Once we got to the outskirts of Florence, it was like the Mad Max movies. We ended up, driving back to the timeshare and taking the train in the next day.

The Italian drivers are crazy and I honestly don’t understand how some of them even got a driver’s license

They have no respect what so ever for others and their cars.

 

[PigsDad]

It is interesting reading the responses about driving in Italy. I've never had a problem w/ driving there -- they do drive a bit differently, but they are consistent and predictable, and I will take that over the crazy, untrained drivers over here any day.

Kurt

 

[theoriginalAva]

The Italian drivers are crazy and I honestly don’t understand how some of them even got a driver’s license

They have no respect what so ever for others and their cars.

I am going in March (alone) and now I'm a bit hesitant to drive myself. But, I have driven in NYC (Manhattan) many times. Is it similar?

 

[theoriginalAva]

We stayed at Borgo before the pandemic. I remember driving around the Tuscany area thinking wow Italian drivers are such nice drivers. We decided to drive to Florence instead of taking the train advised. Once we got to the outskirts of Florence, it was like the Mad Max movies. We ended up, driving back to the timeshare and taking the train in the next day.

How far is the train ride from the resort to Florence?

 

[GT75]

How far is the train ride from the resort to Florence?

It is around an hour but the train will not drop you off at the resort. You can use the Trenitalia app to get the train schedule and book tickets.

 

[JIMinNC]

I am going in March (alone) and now I'm a bit hesitant to drive myself. But, I have driven in NYC (Manhattan) many times. Is it similar?

Not similar at all. Totally opposite, in fact. Borgo alle Vigne is in the countryside. Two-lane country roads, beautiful scenery, quaint villages. Borgo itself is on a narrow slightly uphill road that made us think we had made a wrong turn when the GPS first took us up the road.

I think the references about driving in Italy are about the Italian drivers. They can be aggressive. They drive fast on the narrow, sometimes winding, country roads, and will tailgate/pass you if you are not driving as fast as they want to go. We didn't let them intimidate us. We drove at the pace we were comfortable with, and let them pass when the lanes were clear.

Driving in central Florence might be something like NYC, but there are so many restricted zones where you must have a special pass. Even if you are comfortable with congested city driving, I would avoid any driving in Florence city since the restricted zones are camera controlled and you will get an expensive violation. We flew in and out of the Florence airport and rented/returned the car there. It's far enough outside the city that you only have to exit the rental car center and negotiate a few miles of expressway to get into the less congested countryside. After returning our car, we spent five days in central Florence, but we took a taxi into the city. The airport taxi stand is right beside where the rental car bus drops off and picks up.

How far is the train ride from the resort to Florence?

There is no train station close to Borgo. I think the closest might be in Pontedera, about 20 minutes or so away, so you would need a car or some other local transport to get to the train. Since Borgo is close to Peccioli, you may be able to get a cab to come to pick you up, but I'm not sure how available cabs are in Peccioli. It is a small town.

 

[GT75]

I am going in March (alone) and now I'm a bit hesitant to drive myself. But, I have driven in NYC (Manhattan) many times. Is it similar?

I have driven twice in Italy while staying at Borgo. As @JIMinNC said, Borgo is located in the country. We took the train into Florance. I wasn't going to drive there. I would put the address into Apple Maps (bought a 30-day Italian phone/data plan) and just follow the directions. Honestly, I think that it is much easier than driving in NYC. Now, again as @JIMinNC stated, you must not drive into any restricted zones (city centers such as Pisa, Siena, Lucca, and Florance). But the GPS will help you out with that along with speed cameras. {Note: I also like the adventure}. For the other areas of Italy (Rome, Venice, Milan, Lake Como) we used the train to get there and then local transportation such as buses, vaporetto, or ferries. Now, I actually enjoy trying to figure out the local transportation system in any foreign country that I visit.

Where do you plan to pick up the car?