Hotel Review: COMO Castello del Nero, Tuscany
Happy Easter Sunday from Italy, where I’m spending the holidays on a trip throughout Tuscany and Umbria with family. It’s our first family holiday abroad since pre-pandemic, and we’re continuing on with old traditions, which is to spend the Easter break in Italy, our favourite European country to holiday in. Whether it’s the variety of beautiful regions and cities to explore, good weather, or tasty food that this beautiful country has to offer, we collectively all love Italy so much, and it’s been a while since we visited Tuscany and Umbria as a family. We’re still here in Italy as I write this (and currently at our third hotel of the holiday), but I’m trying to combat a potential backlog of blog posts after our trip, so below you’ll find hotel review number one of our holiday. We’re here for ten days in total, spending six nights in Tuscany at two different hotels, three nights in Umbria, and a final night in Florence. Let’s rewind to our first hotel of the trip: COMO Castello del Nero, where we spent the first three nights of our holiday.
First impressions: 4.5/5
Occupying a grand 12th-century castello located amid the Chianti region of Tuscany, COMO Castello del Nero is the only Italian outpost of luxury brand COMO hotels. Approaching the property along a path lined with towering cypress trees, the former castle sticks out from the horizon in pale yellow-orange, with perfectly pruned hedges and sweet tables basking in the sunshine laid out on the front lawn. As soon as we arrived, bellboys came out to greet us with beaming smiles, and our bags were whisked away to our bedrooms.
Rooms here are pared back and simplistic, while still being luxurious. Awash in tones of blue and pale grey, you can expect comfortable beds, soaring high ceilings, huge smart TVs with pre-loaded movies, and marble clad bathrooms. Oliver and I were in an Estate room separate from the main house (as was my sister), which was stylish, clean, and functional - expect all of the mod-cons that you’d get in a 5-star hotel, such as luxurious toiletries and minibars stocked with treats; meanwhile my parents were in a larger Tavernelle room in the main house, which boasted a freestanding tub, sofa area, and large four poster bed. The largest rooms at the hotel are suites that offer their own terraces or even feature 18-century frescoes on the ceilings. After checking in, we were each surprised with a generous platter of homemade macarons and chocolates brought to our bedrooms. The macarons were excellent and melted on the tongue as soon as we devoured them: this was a lovely touch, and set a good tone for the rest of our stay.
The rest of the hotel is beautiful, with similar simplistic yet rustic chic interiors found inside the restaurants and indoor spaces. There aren’t many communal spaces to lounge around inside (other than a salon tucked away on the first floor), but the majority of time here would be spent outdoors anyway. An expansive terrace with chic sun loungers and sofas extends into the horizon, with incredible views over the Tuscan hills and pool on the level below. There aren’t many obvious paths that lead you around the hotel 740 acre estate, but it’s worth having a wander through the gardens - and if you enquire at reception, they can point you in the direction of hiking trails around the grounds.
To do: 5/5
For those that are looking to be pampered, the COMO Shambhala spa here is amazing and definitely a highlight of the property - no surprise, given that wellness is what the COMO hotel brand is best known for. The spa itself is a beautifully designed subterranean complex, complete with an extensive gym full of modern equipment, private treatment rooms, yoga studios (complimentary yoga and pilates classes are offered throughout your stay), and changing rooms that are incredibly sleek, and tiled in chic duck-egg blue, featuring sauna and steam pods. All of the spa staff are also incredibly accommodating and friendly, and will ply you with cups of COMO’s famous ginger tea.
The spa’s heated outdoor jacuzzi is also a novelty, with over six different jacuzzi settings and various contraptions to experience - along with the 25m outdoor pool which is perfect for swimming in on hotter days and surrounded by sun loungers to relax on. The hotel very kindly offered me a complimentary Shambhala massage (disclaimer: we paid for the entirety of our stay, but this was a kind gesture), which was a truly incredible experience. An entirely holistic massage, the masseuse stretched, buffed, and worked every bit of tension out of my tired limbs - the massage was so relaxing that I fell asleep, which is always a good sign.
After pampering, if you want to explore further afield from the hotel, the Renaissance towns of Florence and Siena beckon in either direction (each around a 40 minute drive away). A great perk is that the hotel offers a complimentary shuttle to both cities every day. We chose to spend our first day here exploring the hilltop villages around the Chianti region, including Certaldo Alto and San Gimignano. If you have a car with you, this is one of the best ways to explore the region: Tuscany’s famous rolling hills and cypress tree-lined paths offer the most scenic drives to enjoy. We didn’t have a car with us, and took a hotel driver on various day trips - be warned that this does rack up a lot in price! Otherwise, the hotel has a range of other activities that you can book on site, whether that’s cooking classes, various tastings (cheese, olive oil, wine), or even truffle hunting and hot air ballooning.
Food and drink: 3.5/5
The hotel has two restaurants, the first being the more casual and partially al fresco Pavilion restaurant (located on the terrace next to the pool), which serves Italian classics such as pizza and pasta throughout the day. We dined here on two nights of our stay, and enjoyed tasty but not quite exceptional Italian fare - the service here was great in the evenings though, with restaurant manager Miro looking after us well.
We saved one of our evenings to dine at La Torre, the hotel’s 1 Michelin-starred restaurant, which is set within a beautiful, rustic-chic space with soaring arches and elegant pale grey interiors. There were some fantastic elements of our meal (the freshly baked warm sourdough and whipped butter, the selection of beautifully presented amuse bouche, and the delicious desserts - followed with a generous offering of petit fours and chocolate). However, there were some elements of the meal that had less of the ‘wow’ factor, including my zucchini starter, which was essentially a glorified salad, and the chicken ravioli, which didn’t quite feel worthy of a Michelin restaurant. We couldn’t help comparing the meal to the exceptional experience we’d enjoyed at 2 Michelin-starred restaurant Arnolfo, set within the hilltop village of Colle di Val d'Elsa, where every single bite of our meal, from the amuse bouche to each dish we encountered was nothing short of sensational. That’s not to say we didn’t enjoy La Torre - our meal was good, if at times great - but not quite as exceptional as other Michelin starred meals we have enjoyed elsewhere.
Meanwhile, breakfast in the mornings is served back at The Pavilion, where you can expect a continental buffet spread and selection of cooked items. The menu has a good offering, but we were disappointed by the service in the mornings here, with cooked items taking up to 45 minutes to arrive, and orders often being wrong, or items in the buffet running out before 10am.
Comfort and service: 3.5/5
Overall, COMO Castello del Nero is a beautiful and luxurious property set in a rather special location, where the staff are all very welcoming and willing to please. However, our stay was not without some flaws, and as you know, I always aim to be entirely honest and fair whenever I share a hotel review.
One issue we encountered was that mine and Oliver’s bedroom was along a corridor, and the soundproofing in our bedroom was far from ideal; as we didn’t have a secondary door partitioning off our bedroom, this meant that we could often hear people slamming doors and stomping down the corridor right outside our bedroom - including until quite late at night (we discovered that the majority of this commotion actually came from staff, as our room was located right next door to a storage room). Naturally, this didn’t account for the best night’s sleep, but we couldn’t be bothered to flag this and change rooms after we’d already settled in. In addition, if like me, you’re someone who’s a sensitive sleeper, the piercingly bright blue light emitted by the key card holder is impossible to turn off at night time (my tip is to cover it with a flannel to block the light!); again, this wouldn’t have been a problem if we’d had a secondary door in our bedroom, which both my sister and parents had in their respective rooms.
As mentioned, the service at breakfast times was also not up to scratch. with orders being forgotten or put in incorrectly on each morning of our stay - this was in stark contrast to dinner service, which was efficient in both restaurants.
However, if you’re someone who prefers to stay with reputable hotel brands that are luxurious and reliable rather than individual properties, COMO Castello del Nero could be a great option when visiting Tuscany; my stay here wasn’t flawless, but it was still very enjoyable, and the location is stunning, with views over the rolling hills from every angle. We did also feel well looked after, with little touches such as the plate of macaroons and chocolates delivered to our bedrooms upon check-in, and the incredible Shambhala massage I experienced making our stay that much sweeter.
