I really hate to leave this review because the hotel in general was not bad and the hotel staff was nice. Highlights of the hotel included a terrace with a great view, substantial buffet breakfast, large rooms, and a modern bathroom.
However, we bought a package directly from their website for $419 euro that included a cooking class said to feature glasses of sparkling wine, lessons on how to make an hors d'oeuvre dish, a pasta dish, a meat dish, and a dessert - then served with a bottle of red wine.
What was supposed to be a special gift from my boyfriend and a highlight of our trip turned out to be so disappointing. The cost of the class was 270 euros for 2 people (about $315 USD!), and although the teacher was very nice - we only made a pasta, some focaccia bread (which I guess could be an appetizer but not really that substantial because we certainly couldn't eat a whole loaf of bread), and an apple cake. No meat dish, no sparkling wine served, and the listing also said we'd get a recipe book - which we did not but the teacher was nice enough to handwrite all the info down on a piece of paper. On top of that, they also advertise you will cook in their mid-evil kitchen. They do have a mid-evil kitchen but it is just decorative. The real kitchen is a very small,industrial space that has almost no amenities. We literally had to peel apples with a BUTTER KNIFE!
The food we made was indeed tasty and we tried to enjoy it the best we could, but for the amount of money we paid it was truly a let down. We traveled all around Tuscany for 9 days and ate amazing meals with wine and dessert in restaurants for 50 euro for 2, so for the price we paid for the class we expected more. When we brought it up with the hotel, the front deskman was very cordial and understanding, but said that they just contract to have those classes there and blamed the 3rd party. When we had mentioned it to the teacher during the class, she said she knew nothing about a meat dish and she only brought ingredients for what the agency told her to teach. The hotel said the teacher is supposed to be bring all the supplies including knives etc.. but the teacher had no clue about this and was frustrated they didn't even have a working scale. The hotel was not able to get ahold of the contract company before we left, and offered us 30 euros off our hotel bill and a bottle of wine - which was a nice gesture but really didn't make up for our disappointment or financial loss.
Radda is a very charming town (like all Tuscan towns!) and the cooking class was what I was most excited for because I have been really into cooking lately. We had researched other options but thought that having it at the hotel we stayed at would be convenient and a great experience with their mid-evil ambience. I'm writing this because I don't want anyone else to waste their money like we did. It seems like the hotel may have changed hands or maybe changed agencies because reviews in previous years talk about a great experience with a chef from a real restaurant (our teacher was certified to teach cooking but not really a chef).
On a side note, this wasn't a huge deal for us, but they advertise they have free parking which technically is true, but the private lot they have is very far away from the hotel. Otherwise the free parking is just street parking that is down the hill (some street parking is not free so watch for that). You can drive up to the front to unload your luggage, but it is a little difficult because it's a small street with a lot of people walking around on it and is also a "zona a traffico limitato" which makes it hard to even get onto. We were lucky to have found free street parking, but I could see this maybe being an issue for others.