Our stay at the Hotel Monti was exceptionally pleasant. All the staff were very friendly and helpful and the meals (breakfast and evening meal) were based on local recipes and ingredients and were superb! We ate in the restaurant every evening during our stay because there wasn't any need to go elsewhere.
The pool wasn't open when we stayed at the hotel (it was right at the beginning of the season) but the gardens and pool area looked very inviting.
Taking the advice of a previous reviewer, we parked our hire car in nearby Pistoia and took the train to Florence (Firenze). This was ideal - there were frequent, comfortable, trains and Florence is easily explored on foot! The return ticket was 6 euros each - great price.
Using our hire car to visit local sights, we explored the area. The village of Vinci (home of Leonardo) was a short drive away - with a great interactive museum that is currently being revamped to accommodate disabled visitors. The village itself offered nice restaurants and coffee shops too!
If you are a cyclist then this part of Tuscany is for you - although you need to be very fit! If you just follow the sport you will surely catch sight of some world class cyclists out and about on a daily basis. While we were there a race went through the village of San Baronto (several riders were recognised from well known races such as the Tour de France). We spent a beautiful afternoon sitting at a Terrace Cafe enjoying the view and cheering on the riders when they came through.
Although this is a popular area for tourists I recommend that you brush up on your Italian and take a phrase book because most of the people we met didn't speak English.
We thoroughly recommend the Hotel Monti and the outlying area and intend to stay there again!