First of all, Talamone is a gem of a small town perched on a rock with an Etruscan fort overlooking the town. During the 3 days we were there we did not meet another north american except one man whose in laws lived there. After a few days in Florence surrounded by tour groups, it was a pleasure to be among Italians vacationing. Talamone is a kite surfing /wind surfing center which provides some entertainment during the day. There is not a sandy beach in the town itself, but there are public rock out croppings where you can swim as well as a flat rocky area where there are beach chairs for rent, a snack bar, rest rooms and lots of families enjoying the clear salty ocean. The hotel rooms are very small. We had a double and a single. The single bathroom was so small the shower is on top of the toilet. Our daughter preferred to shower in our room. The double was small but comfortable with a small patio overlooking the garibaldi square The pictures on the hotel web site are deceiving . There is no swimming pool, only a hot tub with cold water on the roof deck. There are exceptional views from the roof but My daughter disappointed about the misleading pics. Breakfasts are wonderful with lots of fresh pastries, cakes, fruits, cold cuts, cheese, juice and an espresso machine. The internet was down the entire time we were there. Foodwise, the pizza place in the square below the hotel was great with fantastic mussels, fried calamari, and crisp pizza. Perhaps the best meal we had in 2 weeks in italy was at Il burrata, a farm restaurant outside of town where you ordered food and thenfound a picnic table outside. when your food wasready they called your name on the PA system. Again, we were the only americans there that night. We had amazing roast lamb, pasta with wild boar and rolled turkey with ham and cheese - all on plastic plates. A great morellino di scansano cost 5 euros, a bargain. The entire meal for 3 with appetizers, wine and mains cost 40 euro. I would recommend Talamone as a must see on the Tuscan coast.

My partner and I spent one night in the Hotel Il Telemonio this September while we were driving through Tuscany (we wanted to spend the day hiking in the Uccellina nature park, which is stunning and easily accessible from Talamone). The hotel itself is comfortable enough, although there is much to be desired aesthetically (the interior is done up in what some Italian interior designer must think is very modern decor, but it reminded us of the mid-1970s; the blue mood lighting in the hallways was particularly annoying). Also, the bathroom hadn't been as thoroughly cleaned as we would have liked when we checked in (there was a bit of mold and soap scum around the shower). On the plus side, Talamone itself is charming, the hotel has a nice rooftop terrace with great, panoramic sea views where you can go for a drink or a soak in their hot tub, and the staff were extremely courteous and helpful (they gave us directions to the things we wanted to see, recommended a restaurant for dinner, and made us a reservation). The hotel is also a bargain in the off season- we paid 100 euros for our room, which included breakfast. Bottom line: the Il Telemonio is definitely fine for a night or two, but I wouldn't recommend an extended stay.