Castello Santa Cristina

We approached the manager or owner seeking assistance for our 900km horseback journey along the pilgrim route of Via Francigena, hoping to find accommodation for our horses for just one night. Unfortunately, this was the only place throughout our entire trip where we were rudely turned away. The condition imposed was a minimum two-night stay in the hotel to accommodate the horses. We were prepared to cover the cost of both the horse accommodation and our camper. It's disheartening and disappointing to encounter such lack of understanding from a place that prides itself on promoting equestrian activities and Italian hospitality. This incident speaks volumes about their overall attitude towards guests. I cannot recommend it based on this experience.

There are two parts to this review — the things that everyone would experience and the things that made our particular stay unpleasant. Our general take was that the riding was alright and the grounds were pretty, but otherwise we can’t understand what other reviewers are raving about, and would recommend simply choosing a different riding vacation if you are flexible on location. The rooms matched what we expected from the pictures (rustic and needing small fixes / renovation) but the food was pretty awful (a lot of store bought pasta and poorly prepared chicken dishes; a cardinal sin for Italian hospitality!). Perhaps it was specific to when we were there, but we also found a stifling silence during our stay: room doors and walls were thin enough to require quiet if you wanted privacy; not much social engagement by the hosts (other than the owner’s wife who seemed lovely), even while riding — one was on the phone for about a quarter of a day-long ride; little encouragement to speak to other guests. Finally, the horses were good for beginners but not trained well enough for experienced riders, and did not receive amazing care (skin problems, cantering or trotting on hard surfaces, etc). Based on these factors and given the price, we probably would have rated at 2 stars, with the food being the strongest negative. For our personal experience, my wife and I were admittedly not the easiest guests, but even allowing for that, the manager and staff handled our situation abysmally. An hour after arriving, the owner told us remotely via a staff member that we would not be able to ride due to liability around my wife’s medical condition. Although we disagree that the medical condition has any bearing on riding (she rides at home in hyper-litigious America and a 100% ordinary waiver has been sufficient), we can at least understand why it made the owner nervous. However, they did not provide us with any options to resolve other than one which would make us miss at least two days of riding, and when we pushed back the staff member giving the message got defensive and gave us a patronizing lecture. Furthermore, nobody with decision making authority was available to negotiate for the next ~day, so we just had to sit in our room (silently) and eat (crappy) food while we mulled our vacation being ruined. In the morning our travel agent talked the owner into a different solution so that we wouldn’t miss out on riding, and told us the deal they had worked out. When we finally met the owner around noon he gave us the same patronizing lecture and put all the trouble on us, really emphasizing how much work he had to do to sort this out and saying what we should have done differently, when all he really needed to do was tell us when the new paperwork would be ready to sign. Just beforehand, the same staff member was also rude to us a second time over something completely unnecessary. We ended up getting to ride eventually, but we felt so uneasy socially that we de

Absolutely wonderful. Went with 2 girl friends who horse ride with me and my husband who mountain bikes. All of us had a wonderful time exploring the area on our transport of choice. My husband enjoyed his biking so much he said he will return even if it is with 3 women again! The horses were great. Well schooled and well behaved but plenty of get and go so when you wanted to canter you really could. My little pocket rocket Da Vinci was just perfect for me. Our guides, Kate and Suska were helpful, friendly and worked with you to find the right horse. Thank you ladies! I cannot say enough about the delightful hosts, Antonello and Cristina. They could not do enough for you, whether it was arranging a professional cycle guide or providing wine so you didn't have to drive to town, anything you asked for was provided. The visit to their home, the Castello itself was a real highlight. The food was typical, superb Italian cuisine. Three ingredients but every one fresh and full of flavour. We are all leaving several pounds heavier. The rooms comfortable with all mod cons, excellent wifi and spotlessly clean. We will be back, sooner rather than later. Thank you from all of us, Melinda,Richard, Tina and Gill

I stayed at Castello di Santa Christina in June 23 and did a one week horseriding holiday. I could not praise this place enough. Antonio, Cristina and their team are top class. The accommodation is fab, really pretty and very comfortable. The food is so good, proper homemade Italian food by wonderful chefs. My horseriding hacks were fantastic, the horses are excellent, the scenery is beautiful and the girls leading the hacks were excellent. I will definitely be back.