Reviews of Podere Sant'Elena

The accomodation is excellent, surrounded by vineyards and olive groves and with a fantastic view of San Gimignano. It’s a perfect base for day trips around Tuscany and just a few minutes drive from San Gimignano. You can also walk there in about 30-40 min through beautiful countryside. There’s plenty of garden furniture with tables and chairs around the property, so you can relax during the day or in the evening and even prepare your own picnic. Our room was nice and very clean, with mosquito screens. The pool is the cherry on top of this lovely place. Breakfast was delicious, with a wide selection of different dishes. The staff was extremely friendly and helpful, especially Silvia. Next time we’re in Tuscany, this will definitely be our first choice.

Fantastic location and view, great snacks and drinks available, lovely breakfast and the staff were perfect too. 30 minute walk into town was handy too, if not easy to get a taxi. Good restaurant in walking distance. Overall fantastic!

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Many many things: very warm & friendly welcoming and advisory Extraordinary ❤️ 5*+ breakfast with lots of traditional and delicious warm & cold food…oh so yummy Stunning view of landscape/San Gimignano Lovely garden, nice terrace and super refreshing 🏊‍♀️

Nope!

The location is amazing. I mean, the view of San Gimignano is something else. You can see it while eating your breakfast, you can see it from the swimming pool, and you’ll never get tired of it. What’s more, even though it doesn’t seem like it, it only takes about 30 minutes on foot to get to San Gimignano, so it is possibly faster than finding a parking spot! :)

The owner and staff were lovely, Barbara, Silvia, Steve and our housekeeper were kind, considerate and v helpful. The views spectacular and the swimming pool clean and well positioned. Good restaurant only 5 mins walk away and property only 5 mins drive to many wineries and restaurants. Nice drive and entrance through automatic opening iron gates Room was air conditioned and quiet. 5 mins drive from San Gimignano and the Coop for good supplies Nice supply of beers and wines from reception

Would have preferred a buffet breakfast to choose items ourselves; having to ask staff to put items on a plate was a bit awkward. Some simple fruits, yoghurt, pastries, hams, cheeses and coffee machine for us to help ourselves would mean less hassle for us and Barbara and her team. The walk to San Gimignano was a little too far in the heat of the day (35-40 mins) and parts of the track were a little difficult underfoot in the evening/night

Such a special place, clean, comfortable, inviting… and EXCELLENT staff.. especially Sylvia! Great location overlooking San Gimignano .. and such a nice outlook for a delicious breakfast. The pool and pool area is also excellent and refreshing after a day sightseeing.. the whole property is so well looked after.. we would definitely recommend this accomodation!

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Peaceful, beautiful views and welcoming hosts

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Great location next to San gimignano. Great base to explore more in Tuscany. And the view and hosts of the hotel - absolutely great!

Location is perfect, no mass turism, beautifull view from the breakfast terasse! Atmosphare of the room was very nice!Cleaness is excellent. Staff is very kind and helping in all issues. Breakfast is excellent. Pool is very clean and the garden is very comfortable. The bed was very comfortbale. For us was very comfortable, that we could visited nice and/or historical places with short drivings and aftern return we could relax at the pool. The quiet nigths, the good air, to be near to the nature ( olives and grape plants) was absolutly great. Towel for pool is also very good service. Good restaurant nearby, onyl 3 minutes to walk. Podere Sant' Elena is a place, I plan to return many times. I can recommend this place for everybody with high quality expectations.

Very homely traditional bed and breakfast hotel - excellent staff and service .

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Views, Sylvia

Breakfast

Beautiful property with stunning, scenic views. Just a short 25-minute walk into San Gimignano, yet far enough to feel truly immersed in the peaceful countryside. The staff were especially fantastic – a big shoutout to Silvia for her warm hospitality.

Very nice team. The host Barbara is really great with good restaurant tips. Perfect place to relax and enjoy. Breakfast was a lovely experience with local and homemade products + great view. Room was very cozy and clean. Clear recommendation for easy and casual vacation.

The view. The room i took was the suite with 1 bedroom and small kitchen and sofa bed. Gardens are well kept. Pool was very clean.

The breakfast was very limited €18, mini breakfast 1 coffee and 1 pastry €6( jams and granola add more ). English channels tv not working. Not much area to hang around. Staff limited english. The bedroom lights are a bit too dark.

The property is very charming, relaxing, and has an exceptional view.

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Beautiful pool, and lovely relaxing setting on the hillside looking over San Gimignano. The rooms were impeccably clean and staff were very helpful. Particularly the owner Barbara was very friendly.

The room we booked was very dark, so had to have the lights on even during the daytime. Very heavy Tuscan furnishing makes the room feel even darker, but some people make like this. Bed and pillows really hard and not very comfortable for us. I would skip breakfast, not a lot on offer and awkward making your selection as it’s not a buffet, the food is laid out but a staff member serves it to you after you select. Also expensive at 18€ per person.

Barbara keeps the place immaculate ! Everything is just right, all the decorations, the details, the curtains on the windows, the lovely plants in the breakfast area, the pillow, the bedding and the breakfast !:-) Daily cleaning is done right.

The location is great, easy to get to Sam Gimignano and other places, far away from all the noises, in a lovely countryside ! Bed is comfortable, pillows were great! Breakfast amazing ! Hospitality is wonderful, staff is attentive and just lovely ! Barbara and her dog, Simba, are so real and welcoming!!! Pool is well cared for and the whole propety is just immaculate. Also there is a small pond with frogs that were croaking all the time, it added to the ambiance ! Views of San Gimignano below are wonderful. Very safe propety with gates and security.

Amazing view. Great team.

Excellent location, beautiful room, easy drive to town and wineries or other towns for day trips. Incredibly friendly staff. 1000% recommend!

The most attractive features of our stay were the view toward San Gimignano towers lit at night and the comfortable courtyard with the swimming pool (no public toilet in the common areas though which is not very comfortable). THe garden furniture and the sun loungers are thoughtfully arranged and create a welcoming atmosphere. The bed was comfortable as well, the duvet and all, we had a good night sleep. A kettle and tea bags left in the room were thoughtful, and the lady on site, Sylvia, brilliantly warm and cheerful. A drive to San Gimignano was about 8 minutes but the property was quiet and secluded among the hills.

A few deviations from what the property was described as on the booking site made our expectations not fully met. There was no restaurant within the walking distance (the site mentioned 3 of them - but there was just one, and it was closed on the day we arrived). The property does not have a coffee shop as stated in the description. There is a kitchen and a make shift shop in the reception building which sells packs of biscuits and bottles of while and has a fridge with drinks (reception is open for a few hours in the mornings and afternoons). The biggest disappointment was probably breakfast. It is doled out by the receptionist from the trays separated by the guests with a counter and even to get a top up of water one has to wait until other guests are served in front of the queue. Provided that the lady is very diligent and describes to each guest the content of each tray, it takes a while queuing in a tiny stuffy house (it was only April!) At least water could be put out for an easy reach, I would reckon. The quality of breakfast offering was subpar: despite a variety of pastries, there was not a good selection of savoury staples. The omelet was cold, salami and prosciutto looked like they've been there for some time. Euro 18 per person per day for this sort of selection was quite unreasonable, given that the price of the stay was high enough compared with other places where we stay. We ended up with a comfortable room at the end, but we had to ask for it. The rooms were much smaller than on the picture, windows were quite small and the smell was a bit mouldy. We appreciated being relocated to the room we liked. The bottomline is that we enjoyed our stay but just a few minor adjustments would make it really 10-star (as the hosts requests the guests to rate the property in their communication). I guess this is what lead to a sort of disappointment: the property is solid 9 as per booking com standards, but does not reach its present rating of 9.7.

Beautiful view over the city, good breakfast, separate parking space (partially covered).

No the minus, but walk to the city center is little demanding (no nice, no pleasant).

The room was very comfortable, the Pool was lovely. The view was spectacular