I was looking for a place in Tuscany to spend my one year anniversary when I came across this site via an Italian B&B website that wasn’t even in English.
There isn’t a month that goes by that we don’t think of our trip to that gorgeous residence. Of all of the traveling we’ve done since, this hotel is one place we long to go back to. Not only was it a magnificent place to stay, but the hospitality and cooking sealed the deal. i just saw a story about it the January Vogue and the photos do not lie!!

My family and I had heard about Castello di Vicarello for many years from friends from all around the world. Because of the positive comments, we decided to end our 2010 European summer vacation there. Castello di Vicarello requires very specific directions and is difficult to find in Poggi del Sasso, but once you wind your way up through the medieval Italian village and turn off onto the long winding dirt road, all the challenge of making the trip happen becomes worthwhile. When you first enter into the castle-like entrance you feel a sense of welcome and awe. Beyond the gates lie manicured lawns, acres and acres of organic vegetable gardens, chicken coops, and hidden swimming pools. Greeted by the gorgeous and warm owners, Carlo and Aurora Bacceschi Berti, we felt like we were being taken into the arms of good old friends. They offered us a plate of cheese, a beautiful glass of fresh juice, and personally showed us to our room. Evidently the house in which we stayed was their private home when they were building Castello di Vicarello. The beds, pillows, linens were wonderfully comfortable. And in the hot summer days, the house remained a pleasantly cool temperature--no need for either an air conditioner or fan the way the windows were appointed to catch the Tuscan breeze.

We had our two daughters with us, ages 14 and 10, and they were made to feel equally welcome. Our girls immediately took a liking to the friendly hunting dogs which belong to the owners. I think what makes Castello di Vicarello such an incredibly wonderful hotel is that it really is the home of the owners. Needless to say, the owners have exquisite taste and have acquired wonderful collections of antiques from Java as well as Italy. Every room has its own sense of elegant charm. The style is slightly rustic so the furniture from Indonesia is old primitive teak such as big benches with wonderfully comfortable pillows, large wooden cabinets and charming hand carved (very old) tables.

The food at Castillo di Vicarello is lovely and made our stay and European summer vacation that much more memorable. The coffees, teas, rolls and fruits in the morning were the perfect start for the day. The lunch menu and dinner menu were all prepared in the owner’s kitchen with a very professional staff who put love and care into their production. The meals were authentic Tuscan cuisine ranging from Florentine steak to sausages to fresh pork to wonderful ravioli and pastas and of course always accompanied by an exquisite organic salad from their garden.

Carlo is a wine connoisseur and probably produces some of Italy’s finest wine under his own label, Castello Di Vicarello. He’s got some amazing vintage Cabernet and Merlots. We drank his wine every night absolutely loving every minute of it!

What I find most interesting about staying at Castello Di Vicarello is that there was not much to do, which is exactly what we wanted. We sampled yoga in the morning. They have a wonderful instructor from south India who is doing Hatha Yoga everyday at 9 am. We also sampled some of the Ayurvedic massage with their south Indian therapist who was excellent. We went on walks down dirt roads, sat on the lawn, swam in the pool, or sat on our front porch simply reading books and taking in the immense beauty of southern Tuscany. This is a place to go for at least 3 days to just take in the awe-inspiring beauty.

The vista goes on for miles and it’s truly a powerful experience delighting in the view of the rolling hills with all the beautiful trees. The country smells are wonderful and intoxicating. You breathe in and you want more!!

The entire staff was well trained, extremely courteous, professional and efficient.
Check in and checkout went flawlessly and as we left, the Bacceschi Bertis walked us out to our car to wish us well and encouraged us to come back again. We will definitely be returning to Castello Di Vicarello.

we held our daughter's wedding here at the Castello in September 2010. we were lucky enough to take the whole place over for two days and cannot praise the owner Aurora highly enough for all the effort , style and organisational skills that she brought to an event. that turned out to be a spectacular occasion. we were lucky with the weather and our guests were able to enjoy the extraordinary views in the afternoon before the sun set. we provided the wines but Aurora's chefs did a great job cooking magnificent canapes and a delicious wedding meal of phesant tortelli, young roast lamb and, the bride's choice, a wedding cake of large and small fruit crostata. the meals we ate over and above the wedding feast were memorable, from the pasta ragu to the cherry tomato salad to the beautifully presented bresaola. it was all perfect. my only criticism is that the service was not always 100% attentive but it could be that the demands of a full house, a somewhat stressed hostess such as myself and over 100 wedding guests stretched the staff a bit too much. Also the location is very much off the beaten track so guiding a lagre number of guests to it is no mean feat. still, i would recommend it as a wedding venue if your guests are adventurous and happy to mooch around downtown Paganico for an afternnon or two. there are also good opportunites to do some wine tasting nearby in the lovely hilltop villages of Montalcino and Montepulciano. Castello di Vicarello is indeed a magical hideaway!

We were absolutely amazed by the beauty of the Castello and its surroundings, which we visited in September 2010. It is difficult to imagine a more charming and delightful place. After having waited 15 minutes (too long) to find someone at the reception, Mrs Aurora, the owner, welcomed us very friendly and let us visit the castle accompanied by her very kind Guest Manager. The views, rooms, the 2 pools, the wellness center are simply marvelous. The outdoor landcape is breathtaking, the indoor spaces furnished in a very personal and delightful style (a mix of balinese and tuscan styles).
The main and very serious problem of this hotel is however the absolutely disproportionate quality/price ratio. The room rate are comparable to those of a 5 star hotel, though the services are far from this level.
Some examples:
- long waiting time (15 min) at our arrival
- nobody helped us or even asked us if we needed some help in carrying our baggage from the car to the room (we are luckily still young, but...),
- the waiters (a romanian young woman and a srilankese young man), in spite of their will and kindness, clearly need to improve in terms of both attentiveness and accuracy in the service. It was evident that they are not specifically and properly schooled as waiters. It's however not their fault, but instead of the their employers, which should choose well-trained staff or thouroughly school it.
- the food quality is clearly not at the height of the pretensions of the hotel. The desire to use only products of the own garden is certainly praiseworthy and there is nothing wrong with the desire to offer a "simple" cuisine, but the quality of the meal was average. We thus felt that 75 euros per person (wine not included) for this middling cuisine quality were excessive.
- the fruits which we received for breakfast were overripe
- the nighttable lamp was not functioning.
- no telephone in the rooms to call the house-staff in case of need
On the whole: an exceptionally beautiful place. We would love so much to be true and enthusiastic guest of Vicarello, but presently the hotel has pretensions and prices of a 5 star hotel without offering the services that the applied rate would require. The quality/price ratio is presently poor. It'a pity, because the place has an enormous potential. We only hope that the Aurora and Carlo Baccheschi Berti, which undoubtedly have an exquisite taste, will correct the major flaws that prevent us from advising the Castello di Vicarello to friends and other demanding people.