Castello Di Velona Resort, Thermal SPA & Winery - Montalcino - Tuscany — Hotel in Montalcino

We had our daughter's wedding here May 2025 and all I can say is that it was the most magical 3 days any of us have ever experienced. We booked it sight-unseen on a recommendation of a friend of a friend who had stayed there once. The staff was absolutely incredible in helping us pull it together in 6 months. Every Zoom call showed how organized they were and we were kept informed every step of the way with updated expense sheets. We had most of the rooms (50ish people) which was so fun. | The Castello itself is nothing short of magnificent with views you cannot believe. The rooms were amazing and no 2 are alike. The mineral baths are enormous and continue on inside with sauna, steam rooms and hot baths tucked everywhere. The guests had plenty to occupy themselves with between events. The staff could not have been friendlier or more accommodating. |From the welcome dinner complete with a strolling accordion player, to the vintage Fiat delivered for the day for pictures and joyrides, to the ceremony on the terrace, to the sunset dinner and afterparty with fireworks, to the farewell pool party, nothing could have been more perfect. Their attention to detail and ability to make all the magic happen despite the weather and changes to the plan were incredible. It was really the little things that made it so special, like what we thought was just going to be some pizzas and salads for the pool party turned out to be an outdoor pizza oven with chefs hand-tossing dough and making each salad to order. |And the food. Oh the food. Nothing stressed me more than never tasting the food before having people eat it for 3 days, but I had nothing to worry about. To say the food was delicious does not do it justice in the least. Every single guest commented that they have never had food this good at any event - ever. I have petitioned for the chef to get a raise.|To quote the groom's 96 year old grandmother - "This is the best wedding I have ever been to, and I have...

This place is very cool because it's a real castle with an absolutely stunning view. This is what you pay for, and that alone almost makes it worth it.

The staff are friendly but struggle to solve problems, and there were several problems:

Our room key didn't work, which is no problem, but they just kept giving me keys that didn't work until I eventually ended up with a staff key. But dealing with room keys took up more of our time than I would have liked.

The lights outside our room did not work. We had to climb up very dark, stone steps to get to the room. I have macular degeneration, so I struggle even more in the dark. I mentioned it to the staff multiple times, and they never addressed it or even acknowledged it after the first mention.

Our room was overrun by millipedes. They would fall on us in the shower, or we would find them in a new towel while drying off. I probably took five or six of them outside. When I mentioned this, the response was "well, we are in the country". I think a deep cleaning and sealing of the rooms would go a long way.

The rooms were very dated and just needed a lot of maintenance. Black stuff came out of the jets of the jaccuzi, drains didn't drain well, furniture was not really something you could sit on comfortably, light bulbs were burnt out, etc. These can and should be fixed for what guests are paying.

The pool was just full of bugs. A daily skimming would go a long way. The floor of the pool had a lot of dirt and dead bugs as well. This indicates daily maintenance is not being done.

Still, the staff were very friendly, but we wished it were a more comfortable stay, especially considering the price. The restaurant and poolside drinks were all fantastic, but they were all way overpriced. But that view during sunset...

The value is not in line with what you pay, despite the stunning location and the effort of personnel that is strongly understaffed and is trying all their best. The owners needs to invest if they want to maintain the 5 stars. Check-in is a never ending experience, we waited a pretty long time. Pools are wonderful, with very pleasant thermal water, but you cannot almost never have the loan chairs where to rest. I was told that they had to reduce their quantity because of CoVid and that you cannot make a reservation, but the day after one was reserved... and was the only one cleaned. During this time, I would expect to have someone cleaning the loan chairs with disinfectant and remove dirty towels as soon as a customer leaves them. Our suite had ants, coming up to the bed. The guy that unsuccessfully tried to solve the problem used insecticide inside the bedroom (totally unacceptable). The gourmet restaurant served us a dinner with mediocre food that took more than 3 hours.... people working there are very nice, but they are always the same few people that you see starting from breakfasts (they must be very tired and stressed). I booked a treatment at the spa with honeymoon massage that required an extra cost. We did it separately because we brought our daughters and added a night. They decided to do not reimburse us for the difference. The masseuse at the Spa is really kind, professional and funny. I give her 5 stars. I went to the toilets close to the pools and I couldn’t use them because they were Very dirty (disgusting). At check out it was presented to me a bill that was completely wrong... having already prepayed everything.... In conclusion I really hope that my comments can be useful to bring this beautiful hotel to the level that it deserves... in the hope to pass a perfect...