A Castle: The Perfect Tuscan Accommodation

“Once upon a time, in a land far away…..”

It’s been on our bucket list to stay in a castle at some point during our travels.  When planning our trip to Tuscany we came across Castello delle Serre in Rapolano, Italy.  Once they confirmed availability for our dates, we were sold!  It was a bit of a drive from some of the more “well-known” Tuscan towns, but that added to the appeal for us!

Castello dell Serre is a family owned property.  Salvatore, Antonio and Micro make you feel like guests in their home.  They have turned the castle into a B&B and are committed to providing very personalized service to all of their guests!

Upon driving up, it’s easy to miss.  It’s located on the top of a hill but surrounded by trees and walls to protect the privacy.  There is a small parking lot for guests at the bottom.

We couldn’t help but feel like we entered into an enchanted land as we drove up the hill upon our arrival!

Check-in was a very smooth process.  Micro at the front desk took us on a quick tour of the property and encouraged us to explore some of the common rooms on our own.  He then showed us to our room……I mean tower!

The suite was very vertical.  Upon entry, there was a staircase that led to a sitting area and the bathroom.

Another staircase led to the bedroom which was fit for a King & Queen!

There were ample windows so we felt like true royalty looking out over the property.

However, our favorite part and the reason we booked this spot of the castle was the outdoor terrace found at the top of this staircase.

The staircase is quite narrow and steep therefore anyone considering this room should not have a problem with stairs as there are plenty throughout the vertical space.  However once you reach the top, this view awaits!

The property felt very intimate with a small number of guests.  It’s fun to wander through the main castle and explore some of the common areas as well.

The pool was the perfect spot to relax in the afternoons after wine tasting, a cooking class or sightseeing!  It was SO HOT the week we were there, we enjoyed taking a dip every afternoon.

Breakfast each morning is served on an outdoor terrace in the back of the property overlooking the beautiful landscape of Tuscay.  Since we are early risers, we were frequently the first to arrive.

I loved having my morning cappuccino with this view!  Arriving at breakfast as it begins provides a nice little bonus of being able to choose to sit at the best table on the terrace.

Breakfast is homemade each morning with a lovely assortment of meats, cheese, fruit, quiche and pastries.  During breakfast, Antonio would inquire about our days activities.  He is very knowledgeable about the area and can help create custom itineraries.  He helped us plan a couple of our afternoons and each of his recommendations on wineries, restaurants and routes were spot on!  It’s great to have a local tell you about some of the lesser know areas to visit and what “tourist traps” to avoid.

Once or twice a week they offer cooking classes.  While we didn’t take the class, we were able to enjoy the dinner!  Salvatore hosts the class and a few of the castle guests help prepare the meal for everyone that signs up for the dinner.  The food was wonderful and it was so much fun to interact with the other guests as well!

In the evenings, we would enjoy a bottle of wine while watching the sunset from the top of the tower.  Highly recommend this room for this feature!  It’s the only room in the castle that has a rooftop!

In full disclosure, we did have one complaint about the room….the temperature.  Due to the atrium-like structure that creates the doorway to get onto the terrace, it acts like a greenhouse heating the bedroom.  The wall-unit AC simply cannot get cool enough to bring the temperature down in the room.  We slept with the windows open each night and luckily there was enough of a cool breeze that we were able to sleep.  This isn’t a deal-breaker for us however you should be mindful of it in the event you need cool conditions to sleep.  We would definitely return to the property but would not choose this room again for a summer stay.

Besides enjoying the sunset, the terrace gave us an opportunity to practice a bit of night photography!

To give you some perspective on the height, I took the below shot of Brian from the terrace.  Can you see him?

One last minor detail you should be aware of if you are going to stay here.  They have a bell tower on the property that chimes quite frequently between the hours of 8am to 8pm.  For us, it added to the charm of the area however if you are sensitive to sounds, you should be mindful of it.

Overall we had a LOVELY stay at Castello delle Serre and would highly recommend it to anyone traveling to Tuscany.  We hope to go back in the fall sometime and we will certainly be calling Micro to check on availability when we plan our next trip!

Do you have a recommendation for castle accomodations?  Let us know in the comment section at the top of this post!
~Amanda

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