Luxury bespoke holidays and tours to Castel Banfi, near Montalcino
Facts in brief
Location The hotel is 20-minutes' drive to Montalcino
Annual opening 25 March to 10 November
Closest airport Pisa Airport
Distance from airport The hotel is 2-hours' drive from Pisa Airport
Hotel facilities and services
La Taverna Restaurant, Gourmet Sala dei Grappoli Restaurant, Heated Swimming Pool, Small Gym, Reading Room, Formal Gardens, Parking, Enoteca and Wine Shop with tasting, Cookery Classes, the Concierge can arrange hiking, cycling, massages, yoga, private tours, horse riding, truffle hunting, Tesla and Ferrari rental, olive oil tasting and painting lessons.
Complimentary
Welcome drink upon arrival, reserved parking space, WiFi, In-room welcome gift.
Land sports
Cycling, Yoga, and Hiking.
Out and about nearby
The main points of interest on your stay at Castello Banfi will be the castle and surrounding vineyards. Several excursions further afield are worthwhile if you have a hire car, however. The wine town of Montalcino is just a 20-minute drive away. The famous historic city of Siena, home to the Palio, is just an hour away. Florence, where many of Michelangelo's best works are found, is just an hour and a half away. A drive of two and a half hours will bring you to Rome. The biggest delights of your location, however, will be exploring all that your hotel has to offer.
I enjoyed every minute of the tour. Cindy-Marie was simply fantastic and her knowledge, kindness and humour was all that I could have asked for. This was a first class experience. Thank you for making it all happen.Customer on Tuscan wine tour, June 2022
Holiday price guide Sample prices are per person based on two people sharing a Deluxe room for 5 nights
From about
£1,760
Holiday Code EXH2026
The prices displayed here are a guide only. Each holiday price will be tailor-made at the time of booking to reflect all actual costs including up-to-date special offers.
Call us on 01392 441245
Luxury bespoke holidays and tours to Castel Banfi, near Montalcino
The boutique Castello Banfi il Borgo is comprised of the houses built outside the medieval Castello Banfi's fortified walls in the 17th and 18th centuries. This pretty network of buildings sits at the heart of a prestigious 7100-acre estate of vineyards, olive groves, fruit orchards, grain fields, and natural woodland. The hotel has been lovingly preserved by the Mariani family, and the interiors and gardens have been designed by Federico Forquet of Cetona, one of Italy's most renowned interior designers. Enter the property through the main reception area, which was originally a meeting place for residents to share news. Just 14 rooms, hidden in the original houses of the hamlet, capture a real sense of intimacy and paint the picture of a classic private estate. All are exceptionally spacious, and many have characterful additions, such as high vaulted ceilings, terracotta floors, and tall, draped headboards. Each has been individually appointed, with specially and carefully selected furnishings, fixtures, and fabrics. The unique colour schemes are reflected in the curated artworks on the walls. Guests can dine in the castle's restaurants: La Taverna is set beneath the castle, with high vaulted ceilings, and serves dishes unique to Tuscany and Montalcino crafted out of fresh local ingredients; Sala dei Grappoli stands just outside the castle, but maintains the elegant refinement of its neighbour, serving Mediterranean cuisine with a modern twist. The hotel's reading room remains exclusive to hotel guests, offering a courtyard with porticoes, chairs and tables with traditional games, and a small library, stocked by the Mariani family's travels, complete with fireplace. A garden with pergola, courtyard, and river and valley views provides a serene place for an afternoon stroll. On the hillside, on the west side of the castle, is a heated outdoor swimming pool. Lunches and drinks can be served by the pool, but the location is most beautiful at sunset.Guests of the Castello Banfi il Borgo can explore Italian culinary traditions alongside the hotel's chef in a morning cookery class. Prepare and then dine on a four-course lunch, accompanied by wines produced on the estate. Indulge in the ambience of an authentic Tuscan wine shop with a tasting at the hotel's Enoteca. Artisan food and crafts can be bought alongside extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey, fruit, pasta, and grappa. Your choices can be paired with the sheep's cheese and Tuscan ham produced at the Castello di Poggio alle Mura next door. The hotel's concierge can assist in organising hiking, cycling, and touring excursions, as well as yoga classes and spa treatments. During the summer, Castello Banfi hosts special performances as part of the local Jazz & Wine Festivals. The proximity of the castle means that the Wine & Glass Museum and La Balsameria are just a few steps away.The Castello Banfi il Borgo is a charming and historic option for stays of a few nights to a week amidst the vineyards of Southern Tuscany.
Room descriptions
Castello Banfi il Borgo has 14 rooms and suites with high-speed internet connection, telephone, flat-screen television, safe, complimentary soft drinks and snacks minibar, Nespresso coffee machine, hairdryer, towel warmers, rainfall shower. Some include an additional bathtub, dressing area, or breakfast table. Three rooms and one suite have beds that can be separated into twin beds.
I enjoyed every minute of the tour. Cindy-Marie was simply fantastic and her knowledge, kindness and humour was all that I could have asked for. This was a first class experience. Thank you for making it all happen.Customer on Tuscan wine tour, June 2022
Holiday price guide Sample prices are per person based on two people sharing a Deluxe room for 5 nights
From about
£1,760
Holiday Code EXH2026
The prices displayed here are a guide only. Each holiday price will be tailor-made at the time of booking to reflect all actual costs including up-to-date special offers.
Call us on 01392 441245
Luxury bespoke holidays and tours to Castel Banfi, near Montalcino
The journey and how you get there
For a holiday to Castello Banfi Il Borgo in Tuscany, our clients usually fly to Pisa or Florence airport or arrive by train at Florence Santa Maria Novella railway station. We recommend the use of a hire-car for a stay at this hotel and we would include it in the price of holiday.
Additional information
Children: Children 11 years and under sharing their parents' room stay free of charge on B&B basis. Each room has a king-sized bed, while some suites also offer a queen-sized sofa bed in addition. The king-sized beds in three of the rooms can be separated into twin beds to accommodate children. Cots are provided on a complimentary basis.
Special offers
Call to make your booking and save an extra £50 per adult Call us instead of emailing us when you are thinking of booking a holiday and save an extra £50 per adult (in addition to any special offers that might be available). We want to talk to you to discuss your requirements and a phone call is usually the best way for you to define what you want enabling us to respond more accurately. We want to talk to you and you save an extra £50 per adult.
I enjoyed every minute of the tour. Cindy-Marie was simply fantastic and her knowledge, kindness and humour was all that I could have asked for. This was a first class experience. Thank you for making it all happen.Customer on Tuscan wine tour, June 2022
Holiday price guide Sample prices are per person based on two people sharing a Deluxe room for 5 nights
From about
£1,760
Holiday Code EXH2026
The prices displayed here are a guide only. Each holiday price will be tailor-made at the time of booking to reflect all actual costs including up-to-date special offers.
Call us on 01392 441245
Luxury bespoke holidays and tours to Castel Banfi, near Montalcino
About Tuscany
An Expressions tailor-made holiday in Tuscany allows you to appreciate its classical landscape of rolling hills and vineyards dotted with olive and cypress trees, its misty green-grey mountains that are never too far distant, and hill-top towns of rich brown and gold stone houses. This combines with the beauty of the works of art contained in the towns and villages throughout Tuscany to create an inspirational union of the spirit and the senses. There is an intrinsic comfort in the supposed contrast between the delicacy of a Botticelli and the heartiness of Ribollita soup, yet both are typical of this fascinating region. As birthplace of the Renaissance, the impact of Tuscan and particularly Florentine traditions and culture on European heritage is fundamental to our way of life. In addition to the obvious attractions of the scenery of Chianti and the art cities of Florence and Siena, there are the less well-known regions south of Siena with its moon-like landscape of hills, the patchwork vineyards of Montalcino, the coastal marshlands of the Maremma, the spas of Montecatini and Saturnia, the islands of Elba and Giglio, and the Casentino with the source of the Arno and abundant mushroom crops. Wherever you travel on holiday in Tuscany, you will be inspired by the beauty of your surroundings and the way of life, which is quintessentially that of Italy too.
Highlights of Tuscany
Famous vineyards producing wines of Chianti Classico, Brunello di Montalcino, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. Alabaster is produced in Volterra. Gold and silver are worked in Florence and the Ponte Vecchio is lined with jewellery shops. Marbled paper and stationery is a speciality of Florence. Ceramics and hand-painted majolica from raw terracotta from Impruneta to the glazed pottery of Siena are to be found throughout Tuscany. Lucca has traditionally produced silk and hand-woven fabrics. Leather goods including shoes, handbags and belts are to be found from market stalls to designer shops such as Gucci and Ferragamo. Interesting markets include the Mercato dell' Antiquariato which sells furniture from antiques to bric-a-brac in Arezzo on the first weekend of every month, in Pisa on the second weekend and in Lucca on the third weekend. The 'wild' Maremma is known for its long-horned white cattle and cowboys (butteri) and natural springs including Saturnia.
Cultural highlights of Tuscany
As birthplace of the Renaissance, Tuscany contains a wealth of treasures: Giotto`s Campanile and Brunelleschi`s Dome in Florence, the Tombs of Galileo and Michelangelo in Florence`s Santa Croce, Botticelli`s `Birth of Venus` and `Primavera` and the portraits of the Duke and Duchess of Urbino by Piero della Francesca in the Uffizi, Michelangelo`s `David` in the Accademia, the architecture of the Piazza della Signoria in Florence, `The Tuscan Maremma` painting by Giovanni Fattori in the Palazzo Pitti in Florence, the Piazza del Campo in Siena, `The Legend of the Cross` frescoes by Piero della Francesco in Arezzo, `The Creation` fresco by Bartolo di Fredi in the Collegiata in San Gimignano, Romanesque church of the Collegiata in San Quirico d`Orcia, 14th Century Fortezza of Montalcino, Renaissance masterpiece of the church of Madonna di San Biagio at Montepulciano, the abbey-church of Sant`Antimo, mediaeval Lucignano and the towers of San Gimignano, the Etruscan Museum in Cortona.
Festivals in Tuscany
Many of Tuscany`s festivals resound with the flamboyance of the Renaissance and keep Tuscans and visitors alike in touch with the region`s rich history. Others are linked to Tuscany`s hearty traditions of eating and drinking. The most famous is Siena`s Palio which takes place on 2 July and 16 August each year. Others include the Sagra del Tordo (Festival of the Thrush) in Montalcino on the last Sunday in October when there is an archery contest and charcoal-grilled thrush are a delicacy. In Florence, Calcio in Costume (a football match played in mediaeval costume) takes place in June. Pisa has the Giocco del Ponte (Game of the Bridge), a mock battle in Renaissance dress also held in June. Viareggio celebrates Carnival on Shrove Tuesday with a huge display of flamboyant floats. In May and August Massa Marittima holds the Falcon Contest.
Gastronomy in Tuscany
Simple country food is at the heart of Tuscan cooking. Regional dishes include Bruschetta (bread or ciabatta toasted and rubbed with garlic, olive oil and salt), Ribollita (bean, cabbage and bread soup), Pasta with hare or wild boar sauce, Porcini mushroom and truffle dishes, Bistecca all Fiorentina (thick cut of sirloin and fillet beef), Cantucci (almond and honey biscuits) served dipped in Vin Santo, Panforte (chocolate, nut and spice cake). Pecorino cheese made from sheep's milk. Local wines include the white Vernaccia di San Gimignano and the Bianco di Pitigliano. Famous reds include Chanti Classico, Brunello di Montalcino and the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. Vin Santo made from semi-crushed grapes left for several months is an excellent dessert wine.
