La Pensione di Vignamaggio

Lovely hotel in a charming small Chianti village. Big draws are the lovely terrace and delightful pool area with view. Also to recommend is the comfy room with everything but tv & the generous breakfast served on the terrace. Staff is welcoming and helpful, and the price is reasonable for all one receives.

This hotel is a horrible roadside stop, that warrants absolutely no notice. We were expecting the other location, and wanted answers. We entered the hotel and spoke to the receptionist Giovanni who was fairly useless, he could not answer simple questions about the hotel such as “when did it move to this location?” and “how many locations does this hotel currently have?” and “does this hotel still have a tasting room?” We wanted a refund for the later part of our stay, but this proved difficult to obtain. Giovanni was not empowered to give us our discount, and had to get in contact with the “director” Eric Verolieneulen in order to do that. Giovanni attempted to unsuccessfully call Eric, but was only able to do so significantly later at night. We wanted to speak to Eric ourselves, but Eric repeatedly refused to talk to us on the phone. Apparently being the “Director” means being able to hide behind his employees and ignore actually doing his job. This hotel should be avoided, they are using their nicer location to scam people into thinking this location is an upscale stay. There are significantly nicer and cheaper options in the region that can be found very easily. I give this a hotel only one star for its sub par location, its unpleasant building, its useless employees, and its owner who has ruined a good thing.

The Hotel Sangiovese was set "on the corner of the tiny square of this small, unspoilt Tuscan town stands Anne-Marie and Ueli Bleuler-Staerkle’s hotel; from the back it commands a ‘tremendous view of distant hills and mountains’. (or so a review once read. Then in 2019 it was sold to the growing empire of Villa Vignamaggio, the historic villa set in ancient vineyard a few miles outside of Greve. In addition to this hotel, they also acquired a few other properties in the area, but in terms of affordability, the hotel, now known as La Pensione di Vignamaggio is the most reasonably priced. Understand that this is perhaps more than five miles away from the villa, set on a tiny piazza in the nearby town of Panzano, famous for its market on Sundays and the butcher shop of Dario Cecchini and more. The hotel rooms are nicely appointed, having been repainted and refurbished when the new team assumed ownership. Service is capable and friendly, and the location is ideal for walking to any of the nearby restaurants and shops, or for immediate access to the SS222, Chiantistrada, to Siena and other Tuscan towns. (N.B. although this review claims my travel was Oct. 2020, that is incorrect, but Tripadvisor only provides a dropdown menu that fails to show any earlier dates.)

Die Lage von Panzano im Herzen de Chianti ist an idealer Lage für Ausflüge nach Siena, Firenze, Montepulgiano, Val d'Ortia, etc.. Das malerische Städtchen hat eine übersichtliche, Infrastruktur mit guter, bürgerlicher Gastronomie in Restaurants. Die aufwändige, moderne Pensione ist eine excellente, konsquente Alternative zu 3-4* Hotels: Konzentration auf die Infrastruktur des Hauses mit Aussicht in die Landschaft: Grosser a.o. Gartenanlage in einem Olivenhain mit gepflegtem Pool. Frühstück oder Entspannung auch unter den 3 jahrhundertealten Bäumen. siehe Fotos. Die Qualität des Frühstücks ist excellent! Die Alternative zu mittelmässigen "Buffets" und weil nachhaltige Speisen frisch und individuell von einem erfahrenen Team zubereitet werden auch kein "food waste". Die vier Fotos zeigen die Qualität: Selbst in der Business Lounge von 6* Hotel in Dubai waren je Rührei noch Spiegelei so exquisit und frisch offeriert! Das Personal ist ohne Ausnahme sehr hilfsbereit, professionell. Die Organisation Vignamaggio gilt als bedeutender Produzent von Bio-Getreide und nachhaltigem Olivenöl und Qualitätsweinen.

Sono stato in questa struttura ingolosito da fatto che fosse immersa nella pace e nella tranquillità. Questo è in parte vero ma ad alcune condizioni. Se la camera assegnata si affaccia sulla piazza di Panzano, non è possibile stare con le finestre aperte perché non ci sarà privacy, sia per occhi indiscreti sia perché i rumori della piazza e il vociare non concilieranno il vostro sonno. L’area colazione non è dotata di zona fumatori, costringendo chi non fuma a subire il fumo altrui. La piscina è distaccata dalla struttura, un minuto a piedi per carità, ma per nulla comodo per chi ha qualche problema di deambulazione, ma tuttavia questo è bypassabile: con un po’ di calma e attenzione si riesce a scendere in piscina. Sarebbe stato meglio essere a conoscenza di questo al momento della prenotazione, più trasparenza non avrebbe fatto male. I problemi peggiori a mio avviso sorgono proprio in piscina: 1.non è presente personale dello staff che richiami gli ospiti particolarmente chiassosi(quantomeno la regola della calma dovrebbe essere esplicitare all’arrivo), 2.non è presente un’area bar, costringendoti a risalire in reception ogni volta che si voglia consumare qualcosa, 3.l’area verde è a ridosso della strada con continui rumori fastidiosi di auto e di moto che passano frequentemente. Insomma, la pensione ha una patina lucente che necessita un grosso lavoro per farla brillare