Boutique Hotel L'imperatrice

“Italian beauty”

I wanted to not rush out this review but to wait until I had time to give it justice. We drove from our home near Carcassonne France to Rome Italy. We just needed a place to stay before we got to Rome the next day for our daughter’s wedding. We picked Foiano della Chiana town beyond Florence and… lisää

I wanted to not rush out this review but to wait until I had time to give it justice. We drove from our home near Carcassonne France to Rome Italy. We just needed a place to stay before we got to Rome the next day for our daughter’s wedding. We picked Foiano della Chiana town beyond Florence and before Rome purely on convenience. Well the Gods were looking down on us that day. What we love about road trips are reading reviews and falling into places by pure chance. The old town of Foiano della Chiana is unspoilt, in need of restoration but simply beautiful. It joins the new town, don’t bother. We picked Hotel L’Imperatrice in the middle of the old town based on the previous wonderful reviews. Good job Trippies… We arrived mid-afternoon and there was a note on the door to call a mobile. Typical of a quiet sleepy Italian village. We spoke to Vita, a few minutes later she arrived. A bubbly, vivacious Italian beauty. Immediately we felt at home. She offered us coffee, nice touch of welcome. She gave us the Mozart room/suite. The whole hotel is quintessentially old Italian with tasteful renovations and modern conveniences where allowed. There is a fine line between these two and is quite hard to achieve but Hotel L’Imperatrice has done a beautiful job. Our room had a private patio looking out over the land. We sat at our table looking at the sunset, basking in the late evening sun. The bathroom is enormous, the bed so comfortable and the décor so peaceful. If you wish for anything, just ask. Vita with her welcoming smile has a ready ‘Si’ to her lips. Vita kindly recommended the restaurant behind the hotel. That is for another review, we would definitely advise you to dine there. The next morning we had breakfast on the terrace. Fresh juice, croissants, pastries etc., the difference is that most chain hotels have supermarket breads. Vita’s was local. We asked for extra juice, not a problem. When leaving she gave us the croissants we could not eat for our journey. Our grandson Nicholas chomped happily on them later that day in Rome. We had intended to stay in Pisa on our way back. About an hour into our drive having left Rome exhausted after a 3 day Irish/Canadian wedding we looked at each other and said, forget Pisa we need to relax and enjoy Hotel L’Imperatrice. We rang Vita and her abundant ‘Si Si’, she gave us our Mozart room. Bliss, we lay down with the shutters open looking out at the children, playing and laughing in a nearby garden. That’s how you unwind… From previous reviews Vita’s enthusiasm and attention to guests comforts are a family tradition. Well done Mama and Papa, she has excelled your expectations. While in Rome we stayed in a 5* hotel. It was very good in an anonymous way. I met the manager several times and he never looked at me never mind address me. See? That is the difference between a good hotel manager and a bad one. It is not just about running a hotel, it is about meeting, greeting with that smile plastered to your face even when the walls are falling about you. I hope we will be back to L’Imperatrice soon but in the meantime I will keep the memory fresh on dreary work sodden days.

vähemmän

“Quiet, charming, clean, with thoughtful and caring hosts”

We landed in this part of the world through invitation to a wedding, and had this hotel recommended to us by the local wedding planner. Truly, this is one of those gems that you only hear about by direct word-of-mouth, or been-and-seen reviews. No street presence, and tucked into an unassuming bac… lisää

We landed in this part of the world through invitation to a wedding, and had this hotel recommended to us by the local wedding planner. Truly, this is one of those gems that you only hear about by direct word-of-mouth, or been-and-seen reviews. No street presence, and tucked into an unassuming back alley with minimal signage, this is a small, minimally appointed hotel with a handful of rooms. Rooms are moderately sized, verging on the smaller side. If you're used to touring Europe though, you'll call them medium/large. We had 'Mozart' which to our surprise has a massive (larger than the room) rooftop terrace with a fantastic panoramic view of the surrounding Tuscany countryside. 38deg on the terrace was pretty toasty though. Rooms cleaned and serviced daily, including new bon-bons on the pillow every day. Cute. Otherwise decked out with AC, TV with skybox, running hot water and a comfortable bed. Breakfast is low key, bread rolls/croissants, yogurt, daily sweet bread/cake, juice and a espresso coffee. The staff's somewhat lacking foreign language skills are made up for by their bounding enthusiasm to please, and one way or another, nothing gets misunderstood. Oh, and parking is possible in amongst the alleys within the old walled town, directly adjacent to the hotel. We landed a spot 3m from the front door. If for whatever reason you end up in this corner of Tuscany and need a place to stay for a few night, can't go wrong here :)

vähemmän

“Good hotel, excellent service.”

I have spent four days in this charming family-run hotell during my business trip and could have wished no better service. Hospitality and human touch of the hosts gave me impression to be a family member rather then a guest. Nextdoor they have a rather nice Restorant with a terrace view. Highly r… lisää

I have spent four days in this charming family-run hotell during my business trip and could have wished no better service. Hospitality and human touch of the hosts gave me impression to be a family member rather then a guest. Nextdoor they have a rather nice Restorant with a terrace view. Highly recommend this hotel to all travellers for its hospitality, low prices and, of course, the notorious Italian charm.

vähemmän

“Liikematka Keski-Italiassa”

Mukava henkilökunta ja lämpimästi tervetullut prosekolla. Ympäristö on erittäin mukavaa, tyylikkäästi. Vastaanottoa ei katettu saapuessani. Huone erittäin pieni, kylpyhuone vielä pienempi. Aamiainen ei ole hyvä taso tällaiselle hotellille. Hyvä romanttiseen oleskeluun, ei liikematkalle