II Chiostro del Carmine

4/5. A lovely old hotel a 5 min walk from the Duomo. A great place to stay in old Siena. Our third time in Siena and I’m still in awe of the place. Arrival 4/5. We arrived by train from Pisa via Empoli. Too far to walk from the station to the hotel, so we got Taxi. Approx 15 mins and 16 euro. How they get their taxi’s through the narrow Siena streets I do not know? The entrance hall is very interesting and looks like a Crusader castle cellar. Check in was swift and staff friendly. The only slight downside is no lift, so carrying the cases (my job of course) was a bit of a challenge. Only 2 floors thankfully. There’s a lovely courtyard by the entrance too. Very atmospheric. Location 5/5. On a very quiet street, where everywhere you look there are old buildings. Great for access to the Duomo area and Piazza Del Campo. There’s a well stocked Carrefour mini market 30m away for water, wine etc. Lots of nice sliced meats and cheeses too. Plenty of small Tuscan restaurants within 5 min stroll. Room 5/5. Very spacious room 25 with a huge and very comfy bed. Large sofa and 2 comfy chairs. Desk and chair. Kettle and tea/coffee. TV, but no English news channel that we could find - understandably really, as we are in Italy!! Large bedside tables with wall lamps above. Large wardrobe with plenty of storage. Good and easy to use aircon. Great black out curtains. A very quiet area - we didn’t hear any noise at all. We slept great. Everywhere was clean, tidy and well maintained. Bathroom 4/5. Toilet, bidet and a nice shower. Interesting red tiles. All very clean and tidy. We did find that it did steam up a bit. Breakfast 4/5. A pleasant breakfast. Fresh fruit, cereal choices, pastries, breads, cold meats, cheeses, salads? Juices and some hot food too. No decaf coffee unfortunately, buy plenty of tea choices. Overall 4/5. More like 4 1/2. A lovely historic hotel in a quiet area close to the Duomo, with friendly and helpful staff. We had a very pleasant stay here and I have no hesitation in recommending this hotel.

Completely misleading photos of the place when I booked compare to reality, the pits. The excuse for every problem is that the place was a former convent. I’ve seen other convents becoming beautiful hotels and this one is not the case. Old and tired needs a different operator to give it a lift. If you are over 60 years old, do not stay here, there is no lift moreover when you take the stairs up they have a sliding pendency down, extremely difficult to go upstairs. They say there is a porter for your bags we stayed 2 nights and saw no one. Reception never picks up the phone had to do up and down several times. The room we had was very small and had drummy tiles not too consider the size of the shower being built exclusively for very skinny people. Never stay here again not even for free.

I had booked for 3 nights with Il Chiostro del Carmine at the start of March and was looking forward to discovering Siena. I received my email confirming my reservation and indeed " Thanking me for choosing Il Chiostro del Carmine . and to quote "We look forward to making your stay with us comfortable and delightful" . A week before I was due to fly out, I received an email confirming my booking had been cancelled and some nonsense about payment . I contacted the hotel to query this several times with no reply. In the meantime my accommodation suddenly became available for booking via their website at a MUCH more expensive rate . It transpires that there was a cycle race and sportive on that weekend so Siena was going to be very busy, I am assuming someone didn't realise the race was in town & made the decision to cancel my booking knowing they could sell my room for a more inflated price . Not nice !!! It ruined my travelling arrangements and weekend. It was also very infuriating that they continously ignored my emails. As a last measure I sent one a few days before I was to arrive in Siena announcing that I was arriving on the date I originally booked and looked forward to seeing them!!! Funnily they replied within minutes announcing that they where fully booked. I never criticise businesses , I know its tough . I rarely write reviews on anything but this is really bad practice and this completely ruined my holiday/ weekend . People need to know this can happen, SO BEWARE !! If you are booked they could cancel on you last minute if they get a better offer.

Stayed in a standard room ,which was quite small but comfortable, it was on the first floor Room 114 with lovely views over the rooftops.The air con was fine but did take a little while to get cold . Stayed for 5 nights ,breakfast was included and was very good, buffet style with hot and cold dishes The hotel was a former convent .It has lovely cloisters ,perfect for an evening drink .There is no lift ,but the staff can help with luggage if you need it . The staff were helpful,pleasant and polite . At the time of our stay the hotel offered a tasting menu but you had to order it in the morning to receive in the evening The hotel was a short walk from the main sights ,but in a quiet neighbourhood, with 2 very good local restaurants nearby . There is a small carrefoure shop nearby which is very convenient

II Chiostro Del Carmine provided us with a spacious and comfortable room (and bathroom). Everything was clean and the building, although it had lots of stairs, was interesting. Breakfast was Ok. The big plus was that the main sights of Siena were only a 5/10 minutes walk away. Parking is available however the parking area is small and compact and the hedge we were parked next to scratched our hire car as we tried to leave. Overall the hotel is a good option for exploring Siena.