I don't typically write negative reviews, but a balanced review would be helpful for anyone considering a stay at Lupaia. If I had known the following, we would not have stayed here. We were very much looking forward to our stay at Lupaia, but it was the low point of our almost 3 week trip to Italy. Sadly, it lacks the warmth of Italian hospitality we have found at all other hotels we have ever stayed at in Italy, including city hotels. I don't fault the people working there, they were obviously trying very hard to do their job well. Instead, it obviously originates with the ownership management practices and trickles down from there. Pros: Food: was the standout positive for the stay and for which I have given a star. We dined here one evening and each course was truly delectable. Andrea was in the kitchen that evening, as well as Giselle. One afternoon, we participated in a prearranged private cooking class with Giselle. She was a very good teacher for both my novice husband as well as myself, an experienced cook. The class was well prepared, flowed smoothly and we thoroughly enjoyed everything we made. ***one thing to note, this is a "private 2 person class" for a set price even if only 1 person wants to participate. I had hoped to join a class with another guest, but they do not provide that option. As a result, my husband agreed to join me instead. View: we reserved a "Panoramic View" suite (Suite Montepulciano) and the view of Montepulciano was beautiful (the only positive about our accommodations) Cons: Room: while the view was beautiful, the room was rustic, very damp (even though it was a 2nd floor room) and had bugs. When we were shown to our room, we were given an apparatus to plug into the wall to "help with the bugs". We didn't use it being uncertain what the emitted chemical might be. We were told it was being provided because of the rain prior to our arrival. During our entire stay we did not experience any mosquitos (if that was the concern) anywhere, even while sitting outside on our porch. But we did see spiders and centipedes in our room. As stated before, our room was very damp. We were traveling for 3 weeks, so I was doing some hand washing of items along the way. I washed my yoga pants, towel dried them and hung them openly in our living room. Over the course of 3 days, they did not dry (elsewhere, they dried overnight) Private Onsite Wine Tasting: I do not recommend scheduling their private wine tasting in their cantina. We enjoy wine and were looking forward to learning more about the wines from Montepulciano especially given the location. The 5 wines offered were very simple wines, only 1 of which was from Montepulciano. In addition, the gentleman conducting the tasting was not able to answer many of our questions. Instead of this tasting, I would recommend a tasting either in the town of Montepulciano or at the Enoteca la Fortezza in Montalcino. You can refer to my review for the Enotec
Vertalen