Archive for 'Villas and Farmhouses'

Rental Date: Saturday 31st of July 2010.

Renter: Martin G. (Carshalton, Surrey, United Kingdom).

Renter Rating: 3/5.

We didn't think the property lived up to the description on the internet.
The property was very close to the Highway and we couldn't sleep without the windows shut.It was extremely noisey.
The property was very basic and there were a few things which didn't work properly like the cooker which we had to buy a igniter for.
There were no cleaning items provided and the floor hadn't been swept under the only sofa-bed.
There were not enough chairs to sit on and the toilet roll holder was rusty.
There were not enough chair beds for the pool or sun shades, but the worst thing really was the directions to the property which were completely wrong. IT took us 2 hours to find it following the directions and then we had to ask someone to help us.

Please visit Il Casale: Casale 5 for more details about this accommodation. Visit this page for other villas in Castiglioncello, Tuscany, Italy.

Rental Date: Saturday 24th of July 2010.

Renter: Martin G. (Carshalton, Surrey, United Kingdom).

Renter Rating: 4/5.

Lavanda enjoys a very peaceful, panoramic Countryside setting. There is nothing much else around except beautiful Tuscan countryside. The House is set is spacious grounds, with a lovely pool setting and gardens. Great for an away from it all break for a while with family and friends. Pisa is only 45 mins drive away and Florence about one hour. Very friendly and helpful owners living on site most of the time. David G. Bangkok Thailand

Please visit Lavanda: Lavanda 2 for more details about this accommodation. Visit this page for other villas in Montefoscoli, Tuscany, Italy.

Rental Date: Wednesday 28th of July 2010.

Renter: Barbara C. (River Vale, NJ, United States).

Renter Rating: 5/5.

The villa was very beautiful and spacious with a spectacular view. Caterina was especially helpful and gracious. We wish we could have stayed longer.

Please visit Villa Vistarenni: Solaio for more details about this accommodation. Visit this page for other villas in Gaiole In Chianti, Tuscany, Italy.

Rental Date: Saturday 24th of July 2010.

Renter: Mike B. (New York, New York, United States).

Renter Rating: 5/5.

This is a wonderful house, particularly for families looking for a good amount of indoor common space, good sized grounds, and a pool. It is attached to another house – the owner’s brother’s though we hardly even noticed this the whole week and there really is complete privacy. It is true that the place is much nicer than the pictures would indicate.

Pro’s:
•Centrally located in the region, and near the A1 highway. Much of Tuscany is only reachable through windy roads, which makes driving times longer than they would appear by distance, so access to the highway makes travel to Florence, Lucca, etc. much easier
•Grounds are well maintained, pool is in immaculate condition. Owner comes by to clean pool
•House itself is also well maintained, the 4 bedrooms are of good size (including one with bunk-beds in a alcove and 2 with an extra single bed) and good overall layout
• There are plenty of kitchen utensils, pots, pans, glassware, towels, etc
•The owners offered access to a large garden which to pick and eat vegetables from (delicious tomatoes)
•The view is pretty solid - not majestic vineyards, but open fields.
•Near town of Cavriglia – 30 second drive or 15 min walk. The town doesn’t have a ton to offer (couple of restaurants, cafes, grocery store, and most importantly one place for gelato) but it is really nice to have something close to pop over to pick up an espresso or a liter of milk
Con’s:
•Owners do not speak English, which is understandable, however, they did stop by several times and wanted to communicate with us regarding the house. Once they brought an English speaking friend which made it easier.
•There are NO supplies in the house. Toilet paper, paper towels, dishwasher soap, salt, olive oil. One should stop at the food store and buy the staple items. We left some of these items behind which I would assume the next renter could take advantage of (but since someone cleared out the place before us, this is not a certainty). We strongly urge the agency to bring this to the attention of the owners, as we were disappointed to see nothing there of this sort. Usually there is at least salt left in a rental!
•Some of the city-folks thought that the mosquito’s tended to be a nuisance - could have been the season. There are some loud roosters nearby that wake up early.

Highlight of being at La Poggetta:
Since we were 3 young-ish couples that had 4 small children who have anglo-saxon bedtimes, going out to eat in Italy is difficult. We hired a chef from the agency to come cook for us 5 nights, who worked out great. Lorenzo has a small specialty shop in a nearby town with his aunt, and is an excellent cook. He provided us the great Italian food experience without having to keep the kids up late or getting a babysitter. 4 amazing courses, and he brought local wine from his own cellar to pair with each (for prices not much more than cost at the vineyards). We had him give us a casual cooking class one day, which was really good – though probably not replicable by us amateurs. And his personality really made the trip – English speaking, very friendly and open to talk about all subjects from Italian politics to the fact that parmesan cheese should never be put on seafood pasta, and very passionate about the local area and food. He provided us with great food and good local insight

Please visit La Poggetta for more details about this accommodation. Visit this page for other villas in Cavriglia, Tuscany, Italy.

Rental Date: Saturday 31st of July 2010.

Renter: Kathy J. (Wilmette, IL, United States).

Renter Rating: 5/5.

Querciolaia is a wonderful property with unbelievably beautiful views. It's a perfect set up with a smaller house for the late night teenagers and a larger home for the grown ups. One glitch was that the owner expected the final payment in cash (approximately $2,000 USD) which we were not notified of until mid-week of our visit.

Please visit Querciolaia for more details about this accommodation. Visit this page for other villas in Pergine Valdarno, Tuscany, Italy.