New Review Submitted for Podere Oleandri located in Alberoro, Tuscany, Italy.
Rental Date: Sunday 15th of September 2013.
Renter: Peter C. (Pound Ridge, NY, United States).
Renter Rating: 4/5.
Review Details:
First, the "good" rating is predicated on the number and constitution of your party. The house has one real bedroom for two people. There is a loft which can sleep two, but it has very low ceiling height and is more suitable for children (not too small; there are steep stairs). There is a pull-out sofa in the single large room downstairs.
The kitchen is adequate, stove and fridge are fine. However the supply of cooking utensils and kitchen gadgets is limited so serious cooking is not well catered for. No microwave. The dishwasher door cannot open all the way which makes loading it a pain. There is an outdoor grill (which we didn't use but it would be fine for a wood fire).
The grounds and pool are lovely, but in our case, it was too cool for the pool and the mosquitoes ferocious which made sitting outside without repellent impossible. In fact I found that even walking the short distance to the car was enough to get bitten several times if one was not covered in repellent. That is of course not the "fault" of the property, literally every rural area we visited in Italy in September was the same.
Hot / cold water balance was an issue: an adjustment to the filter under the sink gave us hot water in the kitchen, but I was never able to take a shower in the upstairs bath with constantly fiddling to keep the water from becoming too hot or too cold. My wife reported that the downstairs shower was OK.
The other lack we felt was absence of laundry facilities (my miss: the listing made no mention of laundry).
I did not like being charged 25 Euros a week for internet service (OK but not stellar), even with the explanation "everyone does". I complained enough so we were charged for one week of the two.
Pilar and CLaudio were gracious hosts, happy to suggest restaurants, call for reservations, and make suggestions for outings and small towns to visit.
Overall it was a good stay, but we felt our guests were a bit inconvenienced by the sleeping arrangements. My understanding is that by the summer of 2014 there may be laundry facilities in an adjacent building and by then the teething pains of the new hot water system may have been worked out as well.
The kitchen is adequate, stove and fridge are fine. However the supply of cooking utensils and kitchen gadgets is limited so serious cooking is not well catered for. No microwave. The dishwasher door cannot open all the way which makes loading it a pain. There is an outdoor grill (which we didn't use but it would be fine for a wood fire).
The grounds and pool are lovely, but in our case, it was too cool for the pool and the mosquitoes ferocious which made sitting outside without repellent impossible. In fact I found that even walking the short distance to the car was enough to get bitten several times if one was not covered in repellent. That is of course not the "fault" of the property, literally every rural area we visited in Italy in September was the same.
Hot / cold water balance was an issue: an adjustment to the filter under the sink gave us hot water in the kitchen, but I was never able to take a shower in the upstairs bath with constantly fiddling to keep the water from becoming too hot or too cold. My wife reported that the downstairs shower was OK.
The other lack we felt was absence of laundry facilities (my miss: the listing made no mention of laundry).
I did not like being charged 25 Euros a week for internet service (OK but not stellar), even with the explanation "everyone does". I complained enough so we were charged for one week of the two.
Pilar and CLaudio were gracious hosts, happy to suggest restaurants, call for reservations, and make suggestions for outings and small towns to visit.
Overall it was a good stay, but we felt our guests were a bit inconvenienced by the sleeping arrangements. My understanding is that by the summer of 2014 there may be laundry facilities in an adjacent building and by then the teething pains of the new hot water system may have been worked out as well.
Please visit Podere Oleandri for more details about this accommodation. Visit this page for other villas in Alberoro, Tuscany, Italy.
