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Fattoria del Bassetto Reviews on Other WebsitesHostelz.com Guest Reviews
Not that great. I booked a few nights at this hostel when I was in Italy because it had such great reviews. The positive points about this hostel are that it's very chilled -- you'll get a good nights' sleep; it has a cozy and friendly atmosphere. However, the kitchen and bedrooms were dusty and dirty, and security was non-existent. Anyone could walk in off the street and easily get in to the hostel, and as the "new town" of Certaldo is quite seedy (Fattoria Bassetto is on the outskirts in a semi-industrial area), this made me nervous. If you don't get picked up at the station at the times specified by the hostel, you have a long and dangerous walk beside a highway to get there. — Amy , Australia (2007-07-18) Relaxing Tuscan Vacation This place was great. The scenery was beautiful, the staff was friendly and helpful, my only complaint was that they had advertised wine tours on their website, but there were in fact, none. Still I had the best time. They offer a cooking class (check the schedule though) which was great, so much fun. There is a pool and hammocks that you can hang out and tables you can eat at outside after cooking dinner in their large communal kitchen (if you stay in the dorms). Everyone eats together and stays up and drinks wine at night. Really cool place to stay. Wish I had time to stay longer. — Susan , USA (2007-05-29) I stayed hear with my fiance in May 2005, and I will always remember it for its homey feel, great location, and amazingly cheap, good wine. I always recommend it to friends who are traveling to Italy and will definitely make it back there one day. — Matt (2007-01-04) I stayed there in September 2004. It was really the true Tuscany. The hostel itself is very unique, and the best I stayed in through my four-month Western Europe holiday. You can hire bikes, do a minivan tour through Tuscany for the day, bbq, pizza nights, and wine tasting.
It has real charachter, I highly recommend it. — James Sutherland (2006-04-07) I stayed in Frattoria Bassetto on March 2005 and I have to say it was one of the best hostels I stayed in during three months in Italy. The place offers a clean and safe stay in an AMAZING location. It has a train station that goes once an hour to Firenze, Siena, Poggibonsi (from where you go to San Gimignano) and other Tuscan treasures. The train station is a 25-minute walk from the hostel, but they will drive you to and from it four times a day. The common room had a fully equipped kitchen (with tea, coffee and milk always for you!), a large table and chairs and sofas in front of a huge fireplace (there's always wood) and a room with a TV and dozens and movies. They arrange horse-riding, tours, and wonderful cooking lessons from this amazing woman called Giusseppina. It was incredible. It's a place like home, ideal to relax in it for a few days. I came for two nights and ended up staying more than a week. So warm and inviting, no lockout or curfew. Just go. — Ofir (2005-10-15) I stayed there in 2004 and absolutely loved it! The castle overlooking the town is incredible and serves amazing pizza there. The Aussies who help run the place are so nice and helpful! I ended up staying there a few extra days because it was so incredible. The backpacker's quarters are kept very clean and tidy and there are lots of movies to watch just in case you feel like staying in for the day. Staying at Frattoria del Bassetto was definitely a treat. — Laura (2005-06-12) I stayed at Fattoria del Bassetto in early April 2005 for two nights. If I were going back, I'd plan a longer stay. This place will immediately earn a title of "home" in your vocabulary while you're in Tuscany. The grounds are amazing. When I was there, it was out-of-season and very quiet. There's a hammock (comfortable too), a swimming pool, a huge deck perfect for watching the sun go down, and bikes for rent. In summer, when season is in, they'll do day tours around Tuscany wherever you want to go if you arrange it with them and get a group together... Sienna, Pisa, or the coast. There's a local who teaches Tuscan recipes. Guests cook and then enjoy dinner together.
Brad is an Aussie who is helping run the place this year. He'll go out of his way to make sure you're comfortable and taken care of. The family that owns the place will be around too. Everyone is curious to know where you've come from, concerned about you and if you're comfortable, and ready to do something for you.
I rented a bicycle and pedaled uphill to San Gimignano on a Saturday and ate pizza there. The countryside is sweeping. It's just as you imagine Tuscany. Certaldo is a small, busy town. Literary buffs will be interested to know that Certaldo is the home of Giovanni Boccaccio, who wrote The Decameron, and tours of his house and of medieval Certaldo are cheap, not overly dry, and succinct. If you go to Boccaccio's house and take the tour, be certain to step in the church next door. Certaldo is not on the main tourist circle, so you will get a very nice impression of the true Tuscan people. Things you won't find in Certaldo: 1.) Gift shops, 2.) Loads of tourists. — Derick (2005-05-29) After a several months on the road in 2002, I arrived at Fattoria del Bassetto in need of some serious down time. I was enraptured with Toscana from the views from the train but simultaneously was energized and soothed from the moment I saw the classic olive groves and rolling hills surrounding Certaldo. Indeed, even the view from the toilet outdid Frances Mayes' descriptions! For me to being staying in a 14th-century monastery with extended-family-like dinners with other travelers, eased along with good cheap wine from the cellar door, after days of rambling among the countryside and local markets... This was the Italy I'd come to see, something without pretension and a whole lot of soul warming. If it had not been the end of their season, I'm sure I could have stayed more than 5 days (even though I'd initially planned on staying 2!) — Mez (2005-04-19) Three years ago I stayed at this hostel on a whim. Having made no arrangements for accommodations in Florence, and finding myself out of luck when I arrived there, I rummaged through some of the brochures that I had picked up in a hostel in Rome and found the Fattoria del Bassetto. Although they were also booked, they took pity on me and made arrangements to squeeze me in. Consequently, and unknown to them, they changed my life completely. During my first morning there, I met my now-fiancé and future husband, a Californian travelling with his two friends. I cannot help but attribute at least some of this to the romantic setting and the wonderful communal atmosphere of this hostel. As soon as I arrived there I felt as though I had found a wonderful treasure — and that was before I realized I had found the person I would spend my life with, too! — Anonymous (2005-03-18) We had a most delightful visit. We were collected by Daphne, who was very apologetic for keeping us waiting for so long on such a cold evening. We thoroughly recommend this hostel and would dearly love to make another visit ourselves in the near future. — Sue and Damien Morris (2005-01-03) I stayed at this venue in 2002 for 5 nights after only planning to stay 2. Yes, the place is great. There is a big open common area where the 13 of us staying there cooked many dinners together... and we were not traveling together before we met. However, the owner of the hostel is well... hostile! She became very upset with us for moving the furniture so we could accommodate everyone around the table and really became mad when we moved an extra couch into the TV room to watch a video and because one guy fell asleep on the couch... but what a great topic of conversation, her ire! I've rated this hostel as good because it really is gorgeous. The rooms, beds and bathrooms are adequate, and it has a nice big fireplace which was much appreciated especially since it rained for several days. Be aware that it is a ways away from everything and that the owner is a bit cooky. (Her quarters are across the way from the backpacker's quarters... one would think that she might expect a little noise as it accommodates over 40 people! Perhaps she should move into the main house or above the inn on the premises) but it is a nice tranquil change to the hustle and bustle of the city. — MB (2004-01-05)