It’s not about the Hotel
Hotel in Conversano: Southern Italy Bike Tour and Puglia Scooter tour
Many other companies, like the one I first started working for back in 1990, find the hotels that they are going to use, and then build the tour around these admittedly splendid hotels. Frankly, in my opinion that is the tail wagging the dog. I prefer to create moments and experiences and to build the tour around them rather than simply stringing hotels together.
It’s only after we have found all the special elements that go into making a perfect day (fabulous walks, exhilarating bike rides, fantastic food experiences, rich cultural content, and fun special events) that we start looking for small, charming hotels and B&B’s run by lovely people to put the icing on the cake.
Our regular tours are not luxury tours, that would be too easy! Anyone can get on the net and book a luxury hotel, if you are willing to pay for it. We prefer to use comfortable, small, three-star and four-star hotels that are usually family owned and operated. We stay in hotels that you probably would never have found on the internet. That is because we live and work where we run our tours, and we find them the old fashioned way, by walking in and inspecting the property and meeting the people who will be welcoming you to stay.
We tend to stay in accommodations located in small villages and towns rather than at isolated countryside properties. Why?
1.) Because you like great, authentic, local cuisine. Right?! We all like to eat where the locals eat. N’est-ce pas? If you are stuck in a country hotel you eat in the hotel dining room, which might be very pleasant, but we like to take you to our favorite trattorias and bistros that not only have excellent food, but a wonderful local clientele. Twenty years of professional experience has also taught me that it is almost always better to eat in a restaurant rather than in a hotel.
2.) Because you are an individual. When we come back to the hotel after our day’s activity we like to give you some free time to pursue you individual interests. Don’t get us wrong, we like hanging out by the pool too, but when we stay in a town or village you have many other options; find that perfect gelato, check out the artisans making crystal, or ceramics, or hand-made shoes and bags. Or maybe you want to sit in an outdoor cafe, enjoy a cool drink, and just soak up the local atmosphere, or there is that wine bar around the corner offering tastings of different regional wines. Whatever your interests, you have lots of options.
Having said all that, we are not immune to the allures of some relaxing pool time! Indeed, out of the 3 or 4 properties that we stay at during the course of a tour we usually like to spend 2 nights in a lovely relaxing country hotel. It is sort of like having a holiday during your vacation. After all, there is only so much shopping one can do! When we pick these types of hotels, the service has to be friendly, low key, but efficient. The cuisine must be excellent, and the views worth the detour.
One of our favorite hotels is Borgo Fontebussi in the Chianti region of Tuscany. It has all these attributes, and it is also within a five-minute drive of two wonderful restaurants in two neighboring villages. It is the perfect combination, and therefore we are very happy to stay there for four nights on our Tuscany Vespa Scooter Tour. That is the longest stay we have in any one hotel, normally we aim to stay two nights in each accommodation, which means you don’t have to pack and unpack every day.
Our most exotic accommodation is surely to be found on our Hike and Sail walking tours to Turkey, Croatia, and Greece. On these tours we use luxury all-wood yachts, fully crewed with Captain, two stewards and a chef. The cabins are small by hotel standards, but large if you are a “yachty” used to a fiberglass pod for your cabin. All the cabins have adjoining ensuite WC, with screened-in/stand-up showers, sink, and hair dryer. There is ample deck space with places to sit and lay down in comfort, and the stewards are ever ready to bring you a cold drink or a nice cup of tea. Of course, the view from your room changes every day, and you don’t even have to move! And finally, the walk to the “swimming pool” is never an issue.
Although our tours are not about hotels, our accommodation is carefully selected to ensure a comfortable overnight and to otherwise add to the enjoyment and quality of the tour. Below you will find a sample of our hotels. By default, the countryside hotels are of course the most photogenic!
Some of our hotels
 Hotel Villa Casafrassi:Tuscany Walking Tour - Chianti |
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 Hotel Corte Alta Villa: Southern Italy Bike Tour |
 Hotel Menardi, Cortina: Dolomites Hiking Tour |
 Hotel La Roseraie: Dordogne Walking Tour &Dordogne Bike Tour |
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 Albergo Florence: Lake Como Walking Tour |
 Les Roches Rouges: Corsica Walking Tour |
 Wilma & Barbara Wachtler, Hotel Post, San CandidoDolomites Hiking Tour |
 Your room with a view, Corsica Walking Tour |
 Our little hotel in Istanbul. Tucked away 100 meters from the hippodrome. |
 Hotel Corte Alta Villa – Southern Italy Bike Tour |
 We don’t usually show off a toilet, but in this case it is the ensuite shower and WC on our Turkish Yacht. |
 Twin cabin on the Turkish yacht. The girl is not included in the package. |
 View from hotel. Amalfi Coast Walking Tour |
  Capieliera: Andalusia Walking Tour |
 Matera hotel room: Southern Italy Bike Tour &Southern Italy Walking Tour & Puglia Scooter Tour |
 A view without a room. Sleep under the stars.Algeria Sahara Walking Tour |
