Cignella Resort

This beautiful retreat just hosted my 7-day writing retreat and took wonderful care of all 22 of us. They ordered desks and a projector and set up a teaching room for us and provided three meals a day (the breakfast buffet is spectacular). The airy, spacious villas are gorgeous, and the whole resort is so isolated that it was perfect for writing, reflection, and relaxation (the pool was a nice bonus). For when we wanted to explore the area, the resort arranged for a shuttle to bring us to a wine tasting (which they also arranged) and a shopping excursion to Montepulciano as well as a shuttle to go truffle hunting. They also set up a roundtrip shuttle to pick up/drop off our group in Rome. The whole experience was wonderful, start to finish! They are great at organizing large events.

I found Cignella through a Travelzoo deal and am so happy I did! My family rented a 2 bedroom Villa and a 3 bedroom Villa for 4 nights. The villas were enormous and beautifully decorated. The staff was wonderful and catering. The location is perfect for exploring Montelcino, Pienza and Montepulciano. Breakfast was served on a patio with a gorgeous view of the Tuscan landscape. We also went on a wine tasting and truffle hunt organized by the resort. Both were great activities. Pool are looked beautiful and well tended but, being late May, it wasn’t quite pool weather. The vibe there is very laid back and we were very happy to return from a long day of exploring to relax on our patio with wine, cheese and charcuterie before heading out to dinner. All that being said, this is not a luxury resort. Amenities are sparse, there is no housekeeping, we had to request a corkscrew, sharp knife and silverware for our happy hours, many of the windows don’t have screens so fresh air comes with bugs and some of the shower heads pump out more water than the drains can accommodate so the bathrooms flooded if we weren’t very quick or very careful. Overall, I loved our time there, I feel like with a few tweaks this place could level up and really be spectacular, as it is, I would still highly recommend it and would go back in a heartbeat.

Liked · Huge apartment. You hardly get that elsewhere for that price. Although apartment as big as 150m2 for two people is way too big, it provides a lot of comfort (we did not use two out of three rooms, but still). Apartment was having this Mediterranean feel coming out of it, yet it was modern. Location is perfect, it is away from everything and during the night it was really peaceful and quiet. Breakfast was also very good, staff is very kind and at the end of the stay we were already greeting each other from a distance (even if we met our cook in the nearby city shopping for groceries (15min by car)). Disliked · There is stone quarry maybe two kilometers away and if you have rooms facing it, you will hear it a bit. Nothing terrible, just they work until 5pm and then it´s silent everywhere. Pool is also there, but it could use some cleaning from here and there. maybe we came too early in the season (end of may/beginning of June). Last thing - something a person reserving accommodation in the middle of forest must understand - ants, bees, moths are part of the stay as well :)