Il Paganello

Il Paganello The experience staying at Il Paganello Winery and Villa in Tuscany can be conveyed in one word, Perfetto! After many painstaking hours of searching for the right villa to host our friends for a milestone birthday celebration, we settled on il Paganello. The two selling point were the renovated bathrooms and the reviews. Most villas would appear to not have updated bathrooms per reviews (or lack of pictures); well il Paganello’s bathrooms are large, updated, and luxurious matching the photos perfectly. Also if you read the reviews such as mine, you see/hear only exceptional words. Once we arrived, every room was beautifully appointed, and the week ran seamlessly as Ricardo Bordoni was exceptionally attentive to our needs (but we needed little due to Ricardo’s anticipation of things before we required). The villa is large enough to provide diverse atmospheres and opportunities to find reprieve if needed, yet warm and inviting much like a quaint bungalow. Outside dinning was exceptional with sweeping views of Chianti and the miles of vineyards and olive groves. Moreover, the location is perfect for a Tuscan holiday, as it is quaintly nestled in the countryside for easy access to the various picturesque towns, yet allows for efficient access to the larger towns of Florence and Tuscany. Again, our time at il Paganello was Perfetto!! We will be back!!!! Our Chef - Cristina Bussotti While looking for the perfect personal chef for our Tuscan holiday at a local villa, we found the perfect chef which turned out to be new-found family. First, her cuisine was authentic and exactly what we were seeking; we felt like we were pulling a seat up to Nona’s family table eating home-cooked recipes handed down over generations instead of being served by a stuffy celebrity Tuscan chef. Secondly, she was attentive to all shopping and cuisine requests, and effortlessly exceed them in every way. We requested flowers in each room, which were larger than expected (for the price charged) which lasted the entire week beautifully. We had two milestone birthdays over our week stay and requested pastries; again, she exceeded our expectations and presented delectable desserts that were pieces of art. Similarly, my father surprised us all by buying local eggplants and requested a special meal; Cristina effortlessly pivoted and updated the menu to include multiple preparations of this new menu item much like a Chopped-winning chef. It was a pleasure watching her husband Mauro provide an impromptu pasta making demonstration, as well as getting to know her daughter as she assisted Cristina. We look forward to being back in Tuscany and pulling a chair up to Cristina’s table again.