Relais Santa Chiara Hotel — Hotel in San Gimignano

We stayed here for the final two nights of our short Tuscany road trip. It was such a disappointing experience. The double room which we would not have booked is Booking.com had been clear and honest in their marketing of it, was extremely small. Just enough room to walk round the bed, no where to put our single suitcase. The only really accessible electric socket by the coffee machine was faulty. There was no air conditioning despite the misleading information and it was stifling. There was a fan that had to be plugged in to the shaver socket in the bathroom so of course it was ineffective. The other socket in the room was hanging off the wall. The room was clean thankfully but the shower was grotty. Also, the water temperature could not be adjusted and on the morning of Day 2, we couldn't use it as it was scalding. The staff were polite and sympathetic but couldn't do anything. They advised us to complain to Booking.com but we'll get no joy there. The pool is also deceptively small in reality and it isn't well maintained or particularly clean. There is a bit of slime making it slippery and quite a few small tiles are missing. On floor 2 where we were staying, there are no lights on the corridor at night so you have to tread carefully. There was maintenance taking place and the worker had trailed a cable across the corridor and over the stairs to the outside! That was a real hazard. I would have thought that a gesture to offer us free parking might have been offered to at least compensate us for the substandard stay. ||I don't like posting negative reviews but this is expensive and you want more for your money. Cheap and cheerful is fine as long as you are aware beforehand. This is missold. It is closer to a two star, but even that would need the have safe electrics. I agree that the breakfast is OK and the location is very good. All other reviews that mention the negative points are...

I booked this hotel to sleep for 2 nights. I contacted the hotel several times to ask about the type of room, and the person at the reception told me that it had no front view, that it faced the back, and that it had a balcony. That's why my surprise was very unpleasant when I arrive at the hotel and discover that my room had no windows!!! Only some skylights on the roof through which light enters in the morning, forcing you to wake up, but giving a horrible feeling of claustrophobia as you cannot see outside. I informed the man at reception that I had been told my room had a balcony, and that there is no point in offering a room without windows, and he tells me that is what it is (rather unpleasant). Furthermore, the room left a lot to be desired: in addition to not having windows, access was through the service area, the shower did not have taps, so the water came out through a tube (photo attached). The ventilation duct had never been cleaned (photo attached), making the room as a whole more typical of a 1 star hotel than a 4 star. Although the stay at this hotel has ruined my visit to Tuscany, I certainly think that the main problem is that a worker tells me something on the phone, and then it doesn't happen. Very very bad.

Obviously I explained this to the front-desk guy on Saturday, but he didn’t seem to...

We really enjoyed this hotel. Everything is clean, classy and stylish without being pretentious. You can feel the Italian and Tuscan taste throughout the property. The staff are very friendly, knowledgeable and professional. The gardens, pool area and terrace are magnificent.

After busy days of sightseeing, we loved the comfortable feeling of coming back "home" to our own, private, boutique hotel just outside of town. And that's one of the best parts. We had the luxury of leaving our rental car at the hotel and taking the short stroll to the main gate and inside the medieval walls of this magical place. This was such a huge benefit for enjoying the historic center in the late afternoon and after dinner after the crowds have gone.

The rooms are tastefully decorated and very efficient. There is a lot of choice of categories depending on your budget. For example, we booked the larger room with balcony which had an incredible view over the countryside, while we chose the smaller room without view for our 2 children. We also got a great deal by taking advantage of special offers through the hotel's website.

You really can't beat San Gimignano for visiting all the wonderful sights in Tuscany and staying right nearby at the Relais...