Albergo Le Terme

A palace of Pope Pius II above the water square

The Albergo Le Terme is at Piazza delle Sorgenti, 13, in Bagno Vignoni, the hamlet of San Quirico d'Orcia whose main square is a pool of thermal water. The hotel occupies a 15th-century palace designed by Rossellino, the architect of Pienza, which Pope Pius II Piccolomini used as a summer residence. It has been run by the Banchetti family since 1977.

Sleeping here means having the Val d'Orcia in the centre: San Quirico and Pienza are a few minutes by car, Montalcino and Sant'Antimo a little further, and the pools of the Parco dei Mulini begin round the corner. At night, when the visitors leave, the village is very quiet.

The rooms

There are 36, in four types. The Economy rooms are smaller. The Classic face the Val d'Orcia or the village. The Superior are larger or face the water square, and the suites have their own sitting room and face the square of the fountains or the garden; in these, breakfast in the room is included. All have air conditioning and wifi. Breakfast is Tuscan, with home-made tarts, organic products, oil, cured meats and local pecorino.

The hotel has its own restaurant, Tramanda', serving simple cooking with local produce. It also organises cooking classes.

The thermal water spa

The water of Bagno Vignoni comes out at 49 °C. In the spa there is a thermal pool with waterfalls, at 37–39 °C, where massages are given under the jet; a hydromassage pool at about 32 °C to cool off; a Roman sauna at about 40 °C with an immersion pool, and an infusion room. It is open from Monday to Thursday from 9:00 to 23:00 and from Friday to Sunday until 23:45. Hotel guests can use it with the house bathrobe. For non-guests, the evening entry, from 19:30, costs €44, and the day one with a 50-minute massage, €138; you book beforehand, for about four hours, and it includes bathrobe, towel, slippers, cap and locker.

Getting there and parking

The hotel car park is free. Bagno Vignoni is to one side of the Cassia road, between San Quirico and Radicofani. From Rome you arrive by the A1 motorway or the Cassia; from Florence, via Siena and the Cassia southwards.