Alternate title: "Near a lot, close to nothing".
Spent 4 nights as base to explore Umbria. Very high quality refurbishment of estate building, not a very old one. Lovely grounds, rooms and public spaces.
We found Umbria to be a more rustic/relaxed place than Tuscany, with simpler more soulful cuisine. Unfortunately, the management seems to want to minimize the Umbrian in this hotel.
Food service from bland breakfast buffet to fine dining room was not particularly of place...kind of safe international versions of italian food; nothing we tried would we seek out again. This was particularly distressing since the closest town of any size is Perugia, which has great, authentic dining but is 45 minutes away. So, if you want to chillax (my daughter's word) at the hotel, you get stuck with boring and not inexpensive food.
Lots of other issues to address, like: a weak wine list; no weights (benches but no free weights nor machine substitutes), no towels, nor water in the nice spa/workout room; an odiferous lifeguard with a perpetual grimace at the pool; little to no service at poolside bar; lengthly check in and out due to faulty systems...
Our significant experience with other Relais & Chateaux members led us to not expect these shortcomings.
All being said, this is a stylish retreat, that is beautifully decorated and landscaped.