Castiglion del Bosco, A Rosewood Hotel 

Just magical. The long, winding track leading to Castiglion Del Bosco brings you into it’s dream world, a bubble where every detail is so splendidly perfect it’s hard to imagine anything better. After a long day of travelling with our 2 year old we relaxed immediately when we were warmly welcomed to the hotel and realised we had arrived somewhere extraordinarily special. We were lucky enough to meet Babbo Natale in his beautiful Christmas house on the way to our room which made our little man very happy and set the tone for the rest of our enchanting stay. The setting is spectacular, nestled amongst serene forests filled with wildlife. Spotting Santa’s reindeer one misty morning added to the Christmas magic. This is a very family friendly hotel and so much thought has been put into creating wonderful experiences for families - from the entertainment and activities put on to bring families together, the provisions in the rooms (toys, balloons, sweets, toiletries etc) and the restaurant staff who perfectly anticipated our needs (eg having the highchair ready at our favourite table when we arrived for dinner and immediately preparing his pasta). It's rare to find a place where you can be surrounded by such luxury and feel comfortable for your 2 year old to run around behaving like a 2 year old! He was even welcomed to come along for our wine tasting where he was provided with colouring and a selection of juices to taste. Every member of staff we met was helpful, warm, sincere and treated us like family. Rooms, food and facilities were all outstanding. Noteworthy was the outdoor swimming pool which had been covered by an impressive marquee structure which made the pool completely usable (and very warm) during the winter months. We absolutely loved our stay and I can't wait to return. My only complaint is that we had professional photos taken with Santa but the hotel seems to have lost them. I am quite upset that we never got to see them as my son loved meeting Santa and posed beautifully for the photos.