La Signoria

"We stayed there from August 27-29 and, with our two daughters, booked the Villa Mariani, the hotel’s largest and most expensive suite. This was an indulgence for us. I will refrain from commenting on matters that are out of the property’s control - the proximity to the airport or the fact that the nicest suite is bordered—closely—on two sides by working farm. These are some of the realities this property faces. But service—the benchmark of the Relais & Chateaux brand— is entirely within the control of the property and here is where La Signoria fell far short of the mark. Matters looked very promising at check-in: we were attended to by a young man named James, who showed us the property in great detail, explained the features of our room and hurriedly delivered our bags notwithstanding the 32C heat. The room was very good - clean and well appointed. The main trouble came at dinner that night. The food was truly not good—I won’t dwell on this fact, other than to it needs drastic improvement in that it aims for an haute cuisine interpretation of a generic French cuisine and it when it falls short—as it did with many of the dishes—it’s a long way to fall. Basic items like bread service—I recognized the assorted not very fresh selection from the morning buffet—are simply not executed with any care. But it was the service that was truly atrocious. Upon being seated we were asked if we’d like to have a cocktail or wine. We said yes to both and they returned, with three cocktail menus - there were four of us - and no wine menu. After 20 minutes I rose — no one had come to take our orders —to find a staff member (our server was no where to be found) to ask for a wine menu. I returned and waited another 5+ minutes for a list, and when it was finally presented, the server apologized saying “We don’t have enough to go around.” We ordered a bottle of white, after which the wine list was swiftly snatched. Once the bottle arrived, a server initially poured wine for the table. After that, we ended up pouring the bottle ourselves the entire evening. Once the bottle was finished, about halfway through our dinner, no one came by to either clear the bottle or offer the wine list again. And while the food was very disappointing, it paled in comparison to our dining companions—a pair of rats who spent most of the evening moving back and forth on the wall and vines immediately behind out table (I’d post the video-that I sent to R&C- that illustrates this but Tripadvisor doesn't support video files). Had there been any staff attending our table I would have alerted them to the situation, but as there wasn’t, I didn’t have the opportunity to. We left without dessert, disappointed but hoping it was an off night, something that happens to all restaurants on occasions. The following day I went to visit some neighbouring wineries for work and my eldest daughter stayed behind to relax. I returned to a text from her saying that she had ordered a ham and cheese panini 40 m"

Domaine Villas Mandarine Private Pools & Spa