Ristorante Residence Casprini da Omero dal 1913 — Hotel in Greve in Chianti

I cant believe the negative reports on this place. It is a traditional family owned and run hotel/pensione. No, it is not a contemporary big city hotel, but you can stay in them in any city in the world. We travelled throughout Italy in 2011 and stayed at this lovely place just out of Greve. Imagine looking out your window over the grapevine draped pergola, with trees and view country views in the distance. Papa was trimming the vines (over the outdoor seating area/ beer garden), Nona was doing the housecleaning, and the family members were running the restaurant and the reception. Yes it is laid back and how wonderful. Staying in a local establishment run by locals, eating the local food and wine. It is not walking distance to Greve but it is only 5 minutes by car. We used it as a base. There is a bus stop nearby.They let us use the hotel washing machine, were super helpful even though not much English was spoken. The apartment (really three small rooms) was self contained. There is a garden out the back, area to sit and read, an above ground pool for kids or adults to cool off, trees and shade. This town has only a couple of other buildings in it and you need to go down the road to Grieve to shop. We found it easy to park in Grieve and shop at the local supermarket and visit all the tourist sites. We booked by email after going on the website and asking questions via email. The owners were most helpful. As it is a quiet place, I am guessing there would be some times when the restaurant may not open, but just ask! We look back at this stay as one of the most quaint we had on our trip. But then we prefer to experience life with the locals. The hotel is really a large old building that consists of apartments and double rooms, with the restaurant alongside- which was busy with local workers stopping in for lunch. How more authentic do you...

First impressions count. When strolling into a country hotel, I don't expect to be greeted by servants throwing rose petals before my feet, but I also don't really expect the person at the front counter to be too interested in something on the internet to bother with checking us in. Even a feigned interest in serving us would have been better than the thinly veiled contempt that we were offered up. Still, it adds to the experience, we thought.||||Then we got to the room, which was a little quaint, but given how cheap it was we figured it was awesome. Until the mosquitoes arrived. But you're in a valley in Italy in the summer, what do you expect? And they're not the ferocious jungle mosquitoes of the tropics, so harden up and stop pretending you're Bear Grylls in a desert sand storm.||||But, from here on in things got decidedly better. Dinner was in the communal kitchen area, and was actually very nice. And once again, great value. But then, we discovered the wine cellar! They have a proper wine cellar that has been stashing thousands of bottles from the local vineyards that surround the hotel, for decades. And the price for a 40 year old bottle of red? About 80 euro, which is a lot, but for something like that it's nothing. And given you've just saved 80 euro on the accommodation, why not splurge a little on having a rare experience like a bottle of wine from the year you were born? ||||So sure, there are nicer hotels around, with friendlier staff and less mosquitoes, but this feels like a proper old-school Italian hotel, complete with old Italian wine and contemptuous middle-aged Italian hosts. What price can you put on an...

We have been returning to Casprini da Omero, a small hotel run by the same family for three generations, for more than 30 years. It speaks for itself. The location is excellent. Just five minutes from Greve, a gem of a town, and from SR222, the picturesque road that links Florence to Siena. It is a quiet and convenient spot that gives you easy access to all the major attractions in Tuscany. The bus to Florence is just in front of the hotel, and there are several buses daily that take you back and forth - a great advantage considering the fact that Florence has turned into Dante's inferno for private car owners.

The family restaurant on the premises is considered as one of the best in the region. There is also a bar and delicious home made delicacies. Mauruzio, who takes your orders, is one of the kindest people we have ever met. The rooms are of reasonable size. Clean and comfortable, unless you expect luxury. You will not find it here. Instead you will meet generous people, such as Luca, the owner - a straighforward man who will not flatter you with empty words. During our recent 12 day visit he "forgot" to add .some of our dinners to our bill and too many other amenities to mention When we returned home (much too soon) we wrote to him: Our stay at Da Omero made our entire trip to Italy a completely different experience. We felt comfortable. Relaxed. At home. Such warmth and generosity as you have shown us are rare and it touched our hearts even more than the . Tuscan landscapes and the pictures of Rafael and Boticelli in the Uffizi. We meant every word

Fredi Gruber and Tamar...