We have just got back from a week at Villa Di Piazzano, which was part of our honeymoon. We had an absolutely wonderful time and it was a near-perfect start to our married life together!

Myself and my wife have been very privaledged to stay at some wonderful hotels all over the world. However we were both immensely impressed with Villa Di Piazzano and would unreservedly recomend it to anyone.

I cannot really think of any substantial negatives to the hotel- yes as previous reviews have said complimentary water would have been nice and the TV channels were variable, but the long list of positives more than outweigh these very, very minor critisisms. The positives were:

- The villa itself in absoltely fantastic and has obviously been very lovingly restored. The attention to detail of the furniture and interior decoration is astounding and we found ourselves wandering around a lot of the time, admiring the quality of the renovation and the excellent interior decoration
- The location is great, literally on the border between Umbria and Tuscany. Cortona is the nearest town which is 7 minutes drive, which is very pretty and has some great bars and restuarants
- The staff were unfalteriningly polite and effcient which is a very rare thing in hotels these days
- The resturant was very good with a good menu, a wide choice of wines and was reasonably priced
- The breakfast was probably the best we have come across with a huge selction of food
- Our room was fantastic- very large and airy, beautifally decorated and with a huge bed. We had a junior suite for which we paid Eur330 per night, which I consider very good value.

The hotel organised a couple of activities for us which I can more than recommend. Firsly we had a cookery lesson with one of the owners in the hotel kitchens which was an wonderful experience- it was fantastic being with a native Italian in a professional kitchen, using the freshest ingredients to make our own lunch. Pasta making was a real highlight!

The hotel also arranged a local gudie for us to take us wine tasting in a local town. He was an excellent guide, the town he took us to as probably our favourite place of the whole trip and I can wholeheartedly recommend him.

One last piece of advice. Don't try and go to Siena on Wednesday as it is market day and you will struggle to find somewhere to park.

We returned from Villa di Piazzano a few weeks ago. The pool is set in a stunning location surrounded by the Tuscan hills. The breakfast is delicious with FRESH FRUIT salad every morning. They had different selections of cereals such as Special K and fruit n' fibre, great selection of yoghurt and plenty of croissants and even prosciutto ham - Yum!

We were in a junior suite and had a huge king size canopy bed with two windows overlooking the garden. The bathroom was great and also had a great view. We chose this location mainly for the restaurant since we wanted to just relax rather than having to drive around each night searching for a place to eat. It seems that most places in this area are just b&b and the restaurants in Cortona mostly have indoor dining rooms which is a bit stifling in the summer so were glad to have found a place where we could dine on a terrace in the gardens. I calculated we paid around Euro 35 per person, excluding the wine, which to us did not seem expensive but rather good value for money. On the Tuesday we had a cooking lesson and saw the kitchen and also how they prepare the food and we realized how much preparation goes into their cuisine. They produce fesh pasta on a daily basis and bake their own bread. This was really a pleasant ending to our vacation in Italy and we certainly will be coming back. Cheers to the Wimpole family!

We know Cortona well, and were going just for two nights for a family birthday, but were pleasantly surprised by the standard of Villa di Piazzano. My husband and I booked the double de luxe (£372) and our children were in adjoining rooms £271. Both had bathrooms with excellent products (soap from olive oil), comfortable beds, lovely views and good minibars. The turn-down service in the evening ensured the beds were always tidy - a plus with children.

On the minus side, staff delivered a sweet to each pillow (naff, and bad for children) and there was no basket of fruit or complimentary water. The reading lights were so small and low-wattage as to make reading impossible, though the air conditioning worked well (a bit noisy, though). The TV stations not satisfactory: we, too, couldn't get the advertised BBC, and we should have got Sky films for the price we felt.

The pool is lovely, beautifully positioned and maintained. I can well believe a previous visiotr who disliked the cottage nearby - it looked small and is too close to the pool for peace. The main rooms are extremely nice, and breakfast on the terrace lovely - but no muesli, and no fresh orange juice. So: lovely setting, nice staff, comfortable rooms, but needs a bit more attention to make it enitrely worth the price.

We stayed for five nights at Villa di Piazzano in early September and returned home with mixed feelings. Yes, it's a in a stunning location, and it's a lovely building which is well maintained. Nice pool, although it's one of those annoying ones that you can walk along the entire length. We paid 250 euros a night for a deluxe room and were in fact upgraded to a junior suite; the room was huge, nicely furnished, but rather lacking in luxury. No fruit basket, no free mineral water (which you would certainly get in a British hotel at that price) although nice toiletries. The TV reception was lousy and you couldn't get the BBC World Service (a minor point, I know, but they claimed you could get it, so it was annoying.)

The breakfasts were a big disappointment - too many sweet things, no muesli, no fresh fruit, poor selection of bread. Very good room service - our rooms were cleaned in a flash - but our sheets weren't changed in the five days we were there - again, at that price, I would have expected it.

We had dinner in the hotel one night and it was pleasant but very expensive - far better food at a fraction of the price is on offer in Cortona and Camucia.

I wouldn't want to put anyone off staying here, and I can understand why so many people rave about it, but I don't think we'll go back. There is better value to be had elsewhere.