Italy

Location: Northern Tuscany

The Hotel Arcobaleno is located in the forested green hills of Northern Tuscany, in the town of San Mommè. It is just a few minutes by car or train from the lovely and historic city of Pistoia.
The hotel provides the opportunity to spend a relaxing holiday far from the tourist crowds, yet within easy reach of the famous and artistic cities of Florence, Pisa and Lucca.

Accommodation

This small hotel was originally built 40 years ago but has been restored to be a modern building, set amidst the houses of San Mommè.

Eco Policies

Eco-Design - Restoration and rebuilding of the hotel and swimming pool has been undertaken in keeping with local traditions and architecture.

Energy - This eco-friendly hotel has been working on a project for the last 2 years to create a wood-burning water heating system, using wood from the local area. Promoted by Hotel Arcobaleno this project has been funded by the local administration and 64 families from the village have already joined the new system, meaning that petrol heating will not be used from now on in those homes. The hotel is also looking at solar energy.
In order to reduce car emissions, Hotel Arcobaleno promotes the use of the train, particularly for travel to Firenze, Lucca or Pistoia. Guests can pay to leave their car in a parking space at the hotel for up to 1 week while they explore Italy by train. The hotel also provides free use of its bikes.

Conservation – Every week in the spring/summer, Hotel Arcobaleno organize for groups of children from the school or sports associations to visit the forest to educate them about local animals and plants. The hotel has created a map of the local footpaths and organises the maintenance of some of these trails.

Ecological sustainability – Organic and non-organic waste is recycled at this hotel, which is also the central point of the village for the recycling of used batteries and toner.
To reduce waste, soap and shampoo is supplied in dispensers, rather than providing individual sachets and employees of the hotel are educated to work in a way which has the least impact on the environment.
The majority of food and wine served by the hotel comes from the local area of Pistoia.
To reduce water consumption, new pipes have been fitted at the sports center and reduced-flow taps have been installed.

Community – 100% of the staff are from the local area. The village in general has been positively impacted by the hotel, through increased income and expenditure in the community, the sports centre which the local young people have access to and the recycling facilities the hotel offers for used batteries.

Facilities

The Arcobaleno has a restaurant, a private parking lot, a tennis court, a swimming pool and a large terrace.
The restaurant serves simple, traditional food such as antipasti, polenta, local ham, salami, pappa al pomodoro, hand-made pasta, polenta coi funghi, meat such as peposo and local cheese.
The hotel also run cooking courses and can arrange visits to a local vineyard to watch wine production.
Internet access is also available in the hotel.

Things To See And Do

Hotel Arcobaleno has a park where you have access to the football field, tennis court, 25m swimming pool plus small children’s pool, children’s playground, terrace, footpaths, bikes to borrow, convention area, table tennis, gym, billiards and basketball.

In the peaceful village of San Mommè you will find good local food, Tuscan wine, woods to walk in and an eco-museum.13km away, just a few minutes by car or train, you will find the lovely, historic city of Pistoia, while the nearby train station (within walking distance of the hotel) will lead you easily to the heart of Florence, Lucca or Pisa in around an hour.

Room Description

There are 2 single, 26 double and 8 triple / quadruple rooms available.
The rooms are simply furnished, with private bathroom. Most rooms have a shower, fridge,
safe, telephone, sat TV and information package. There is no air conditioning as the hotel is 550 meters above sea level and wish to avoid pollution.

Prices & Booking Policies

Currency: Euro (€)
Prices and inclusions: Prices are €30 (approx £21) per person per night for a double room, while a single room is €50 (approx £35) per night. Prices include breakfast and taxes.
Child prices: Children aged 0-5 years old stay free when sharing in a room with 2 adults. Children aged 6-12 years old pay 50% of the adult price when sharing in a room with 2 adults.
Extra adult prices: Triple and quadruple rooms are available. For a 3 sharing a triple room the price per adult reduces to €25 (approx £18)per person per night. For 4 sharing a quadruple room the price per adult reduces to €20 (approx £14) per person per night.
Special offers: Guests staying for 3 nights or more will receive a return train ticket to Florence, a wine tasting and tickets to Leonardo's museum in Vinci. Guests staying for 7 nights or longer will receive the same, but will also receive 1 free night of accommodation (e.g. book 7 nights, pay for 6) and an excursion to the eco museum.
Check-in / Check-out times: Check-in from 2pm to 12pm, check-out between 7.30am and 1pm.
Opening dates: Hotel Arcobaleno is closed from 5th November to 20th December and 8th January to 15th March every year. Bookings are currently being taken until 7th January 2009.
Restrictions: There are no minimum night restrictions.
Deposit: A deposit of 10% is payable to secure your booking. This will be taken from your credit card using the details you provide at time of booking. Please note that your booking will not be fully confirmed until this deposit has been received.
Cancellation policy: The deposit will be refunded for cancellations made more than 21 days prior to arrival. For cancellations made at 21 days or less prior to arrival, the deposit will not be refunded.
Payment methods: The remainder of the accommodation fee is payable on arrival at the hotel. Any extras can be paid on departure. Credit cards are welcome – there is no surcharge for payment by credit card.

Getting There And Around

The nearest airport to Hotel Arcobaleno is Florence at 42km, then Pisa is 82km away and Bologna is 85km away.
If you are travelling by train, the Pistoia-Bologna line stops at San Mommè.
If you are travelling by car, take national road 64 PistoiaBologna to the km 11 placard, then to Arcobaleno or San Mommè.

Once at Hotel Arcobaleno, the village of San Mommè and the woods are within walking distance and the hotel will also lend you their bicycles free of charge. For travel further afield, there is a train station nearby giving easy access to Florence, Lucca and Pistoia.
If you have a car with you, there is car parking available at the hotel.