Twenty minutes northeast of Siena, and less than an hour south of Florence, is Tuscany’s lush and fertile Valdambra region. Bordering the southern tip of Chianti, Val d’Ambra is the home of phenomenal restaurants, storybook castles, award winning vineyards and some of TuscanDream’s most popular air conditioned Tuscan villas.

The unspoiled Valdambra countryside is punctuated by a collection of little towns and hamlets, including Montebenichi, Levane, Rapale, Capannole, Duddova, Ambra, Sogna, and its principal city, Bucine – where the region’s train station is located and where one can catch an hourly commercial train to and from Florence throughout the day.  The train journey takes slightly more than an hour.

On a map the town of Montebenichi is but a blip, a sleepy little hamlet of perhaps sixty inhabitants, but to us at TuscanDream this tiny castle town on a hill captures everything that makes the Tuscan countryside the tourist Mecca that it is today. First of all it features one of the finest four star hotels in the country, the gorgeous nine bedroom Castelletto di Montebenichi, run by a lovely couple from Milan. Each of the air conditioned rooms and suites has its own individual personality, with an en suite bathroom, satellite television. The service is impeccable and the only reason the hotel lacks a fifth star in our opinion is its lack of a restaurant – although they do serve a marvelous buffet breakfast every morning on the loggia. Castelletto is open only from Easter to the beginning of November.

The hotel’s lack of a restaurant is no worry to its guests, because right next door is the stellar Osteria l’Orciaia. This small trattoria set in the 16th century village serves a traditional Tuscan fare in a friendly warm atmosphere. We particularly recommend the white bean and garlic soup and the homemade pici pasta, unique to the province of Siena, is a must!

Down the hill from Montebenichi you come to some of our favourite villas, the traditional 11 bedroom Villa Felciai, and the lovely air conditioned 8 bedroom Villa Fabbri. These villas offer stunning views and are great places for family reunions and wedding ceremonies!

TuscanDream loves Montebenichi and are proud to offer many fantastic air conditioned villas with our famous concierge service for discriminating tourists who want to explore all the magic of Tuscany!