Ciao RochesterIBC,
Seeing what you envision for your vacation and what you like - I'd suggest staying in one single place the entire week!
A farmhouse or villa apartment in a central area will be perfect for day trips - heading in a different direction every day, as well as staying at the farmhouse any time you want to enjoy some time relaxing. April generally has nice temps but it can also have rainy days, not sure many places that have pools will already have them open by then. It seems many open the pools in May, must be that April is still too cool for use as many are external and not heated.
If you stay in the Chianti area between Siena and Florence, you'll be very central to see the majority of the main sights to see in Tuscany.
Among the places to see are:
- drive around Chianti's hilltop towns
- San Gimignano
- Volterra
- Siena
- Florence
a little further away but still within 1.5hr drive
- Pisa
- Val d'Orcia
- Arezzo
I'd say keep all these in mind, then decide as you're here - wherever you end up staying, there will be more places nearby to add to the list.
As for places to stay, I'd suggest you start browsing through the ones here:
http://www.tuscanyaccommodation.com/chianti/
I'd suggest Romitorio di Serelle, Il Cellese, Borgo della Meliana - all are very central, but not knowing your budget or preferences, I'd say browse and see which ones catch your eye... if you have any questions or want more specific recommendations, let me know a bit more and I'll try to help!