Cortona, Italy

Some tourist guides point to the fact that the rise in tourism was triggered by the publication of the book "Under the Tuscan Sun" by American writer Frances Mayes and later on by the movie of the same name. Whether this is true or not, Cortona is a very interesting and well-preserved medieval place with its stone paved narrow streets, many historic palaces, churches and buildings. Given the central location of Cortona, the town can be used as a starting point for visiting other places in central Italy either by car or train. Arezzo and Siena are among places. Finally, Cortona has a good tourist infrastructure is many hotels and places to eat. Jan. 8, 2009

Hotel San Michele, Cortona

For our stay in Cortona, Italy we wanted to pick up something extraordinary, and we decided to stay in palace Baldelli. This palace at number 15 Via Guelfa was named after Baldelli family which owned it in XVI century and is now the site of Hotel San Michele. Our overall experience with the hotel is mixed. It has both, pluses and minuses: its location in the town is excellent and the building it occupies represents a historic interest. Hotel is clean, and the staff is friendly. However, some facilities and services anybody would expect in a more or less decent hotel clearly turned out to be either missing or in a need of improvement. If you set your expectation correctly, most likely you will find (as we did) your experience not only acceptable but also quite refreshing. Oct. 27, 2008