Frances’ Lodge Relais

You stay in a converted hilltop lemon house, a ten-minute bus ride into the city. Catch your breath at views that soar across olive, lemon and quince groves to the Torre del Mangia of Siena. This old farmhouse was built by Franca’s family as a summer retreat. Now she and Franco – warm, charming, intelligent – have filled the lofty, light-filled limonaia with beautiful things: an oriental carpet, a butter-yellow leather sofa, family antiques, potted plants and vibrant art by Franca. In the cooler months, guests may take breakfast in this lovely living room which is divided from the kitchen, Franca’s domain, by a glass partition etched with a lemon tree . And the first meal of the day – in the historic garden in summer – is to be lingered over: Tuscan salami and pecorino, fresh figs, delicious coffee. Bedrooms burst with personality and colour – one, funky and Moroccan, another huge, white and cream, with an outside area with a view. If you prefer to look after yourselves there’s a little self-catering space too – La Piccionaia.