Castello di Tornano

My partner and I stayed 4 nights at Castello di Tornano and it was a truly memorable experience! The location is fantastic, with beautiful views of the Tuscan hills and vinyards, and mile after mile of protected wild forest. Despite Florence and Siena being very easily reachable it felt so peaceful, and a real respite from hustle and bustle with the only noise usually being the birds. The castle also has so much history to appreciate, the swimming pool used to be the castle moat! You can go up to the top of the tower for a gorgeous 360 view of the landscape, and with so little light pollution we'd really recommend it for a bit of romantic stargazing. Our room was very comfortable, with a wide (and long!) bed and a great shower (good temperature and water pressure). The castle is elegantly decorated with both modern and ancient pieces, such as several suits of armour but also abstract paintings by local artists. There's obviously been a lot of effort put in by the management to retain the original castle feeling while still providing modern luxuries, which we felt they've done very well. The staff was so helpful and nice, without exception they made us feel very welcome! We would highly recommend the cooking class, where we prepared a full Tuscan menu with local ingredients, including herbs from the castle's own garden. Another day we took the e-bikes and explored the local area, very recommended! These are perfect for the Tuscan hills, and you do not need to be in great shape to ride around :) We ate two nights at the restaurant and everything on the menu was delicious. It is hard to find something specifically to recommend as it was all so good, but we would have to suggest the game meat, the cold cuts, any pasta, the sirloin, and the unexpectedly tasty salt and olive oil ice cream. Matteo is an artist at the grill, and we will remember the Flintstone-sized bistecca for years to come! Despite being gluten free, we never felt limited or like we were settling for second best. The chef was great at adapting for gluten free food, and the allergens were clearly indicated. The wines were also superb! One thing to note: the last mile to the castle is a rather steep, unpaved track, which at first glance looked a bit more adventurous than we were expecting. However, we were able to traverse it easily with a tiny 0.7L Lancia Ypsilon, so if we could do it, anyone can!

What an amazing place! The castle is beautiful and has great views from the tower. We enjoyed an excellent wine tasting event with Alex and fantastic cooking class with Andre. We had breakfast, lunch and dinner and the meals were delicious, including the gluten free items as well. The service was outstanding.