Vacation Rental Guest Reviews

5 ^/5 Excellent   Villa Review Rating Details   Share

Carolyn - Essex, UK
We have just come back from Villa Fabbroni and had a fabulous time. We stayed in La Loggia which was perfect for the six of us, lots of space and superbly well-equipped. Sergio and Steffano have made the Villa beautiful and were the perfect hosts. We especially enjoyed the nights we ate in the restaurant and reccommend it highly. My children enjoyed making friends with the other children there and are still talking about Raoul! It's the perfect location for visiting Florence and the surrounding Chianti countryside. My only reservation would be that the drive there could be quite scary if you are not the most confident driver, but well worth it in the end.

Would you recommend this property to a friend?  Yes

Rental Week: 24 Jul 2010

4 ^/5 Very Good   Villa Review Rating Details   Share

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

Would you recommend this property to a friend?  Yes

Rental Week: 24 Jul 2010

5 ^/5 Excellent   Villa Review Rating Details   Share

Tenuta Schnautzer is really a great property with excellent facilities and a very friendly famlily!! Its located next to the city of Lucca in a great hilly area with lots of trees, plants and flowers.

Would you recommend this property to a friend?  Yes

Rental Week: 24 Jul 2010

5 ^/5 Excellent   Villa Review Rating Details   Share

Tassinaia is a beautifull villa tranquilly located on top of a hil near Castelfiorentino. Breathtaking views over Tuscan hills from garden and swimming pool. There is always a small breeze and temperature in the evening falls to an agreeable level. One hour driving from the airport of Pisa (cheap flights). 50 minutes train travelling to the centre of Florence. In the village a well equiped supermarket (coop). The house was restored in 2006 and is well maintained. It is nicely decorated. There are a dishwasser and a washing machine for your convenience. Remarkable although that the kitchen furniture lacks tablespoons and a bread knife (we bought it and left there). The swimming pool is quite large. Owner and family are nice and helpfull. Nevertheless we discovered the owners dogs turd in the neighbouring of the swimming pool. In summer there are lots of mosquitoes in Tuscany. Fly screens or mosquitoe nets would be nice.

Would you recommend this property to a friend?  Yes

Rental Week: 24 Jul 2010

4 ^/5 Very Good   Villa Review Rating Details   Share

We spent a beautiful week at Mercatale 4. The property was what we expected from the website. The property owner was very nice and we had a lot of privacy. She was very helpful in directing us to the nearest grocery store and prior to arriving she gave us information so that we could book a cooking class.
I would suggest bringing a radio as there is no TV on site if you wish to have some music while you are there. The value was great for the property and the access to main highways and other towns was 100%.

The directions/GPS cordinates need to be updated on the Easy Reserve confirmation as we found that they were not as accurate as they could have been.

Highly recommended from...


S&F
Toronto, Ontario CANADA

Would you recommend this property to a friend?  Yes

Rental Week: 24 Jul 2010

4 ^/5 Very Good   Villa Review Rating Details   Share

We truly enjoyed our stay at Villa Del Gallo Nero. The layout worked perfectly for our party as both couples had a dedicated floor all to ourselves. The villa is centrally located to all the Tuscan hotspots. It is about 2 hrs from Lucca, 1.5 hrs to Cortona, 1 hr from Florence, San Gimingiano and Volterra, and 40 mins. to Siena. We enjoyed starting our mornings in Lecchi, a 5 minute ride down the road for croissants, fruit pizza, fresh fruits and vegetables and coffee. We also would HIGHLY recommend a cooking class at the Malborghetto Ristorante also in Lecchi. Not only was the food we prepared delicious, the chef Simone is warm, welcoming and extremely funny. This was one of our highlights of the entire trip.
The villa is located in a very small hamlet where a few locals reside and carry out their wine and oil business. The villa itself has a nice flow and is in good working order. The huge kitchen table or the terrace was often our meeting place after a long day of excursions. The kitchen is modernized and utensils, cookware and dishes were more than adequate for making meals. One thing to note however is that there are only a few very basic supplies provided. (salt, pepper, and a few rolls of toilet paper) You will need to supply anything else you may need for the week, paper towels, spices, garbage bags, and more TP, etc.
The property management company is very helpful but not intrusive. It is nice to know that there is someone right around the corner to assist you or just offer suggestions if need be.
We enjoyed opening up our shutters each morning to the sounds of birds and the endless view of bountiful and fertile land. One evening we saw a family of chinghali (wild boar)and a HUGE porcupine down near the parking area. Another suggestion, pack a small flashlight so you can find your way in the dark if you like to go exploring or walking at night. The pool was nice to have for a quick dip to cool off after a day of touring. Although it was extremely hot during our week the fans in the villa were more than adequate and the night air often dipped into the 50's. (we had wished we had brought a sweatshirt) All of the bathrooms were in good working order and water pressure and hot water were plentiful. The beds were comfortable, there were extra pillows and blankets, and the villa was spotless. The furniture is not particularly comfortable but quite honestly we aren't the type to sit for a long period of time whilst on vacation. You can opt for the internet for approx. 35 euros a week if you feel the need to stay connected. We brought our Droid phone and that was all we needed to make necessary calls back home or look up information or weather reports. Reception is much better outside or down the road a bit. We rented a GPS from the car rental kiosk. Quite frankly it was more trouble than it was worth. The roads throughout Tuscany are SO winding and steep that by the time the GPS could reconfigure where we were we had already missed a few crucial turns. Not to mention it had instructed us on numerous occasions to take a turn OFF a cliff. Perhaps this is the natives not so subtle way of reducing the number of tourists impeding on their territory during the summer months. :) The only drawback we feel the need to comment on are the lack of mosquito screens. There were only two rooms that had them and only one of them worked. We were hesitant to leave the windows open all night due to insects and yet we would have been able to conserve a lot of energy if we could have. The night air would've been refreshing instead of the re-circulating air of the fans.
The villa is a beautiful 14th century structure which has all modern amenities. We would definitely stay here again on our next trip to Tuscany.

[Please note, from on 2014 the pool is no longer available for guests]

Would you recommend this property to a friend?  Yes

Rental Week: 24 Jul 2010

3 ^/5 Good   Villa Review Rating Details   Share

The location of Il Cerro is very beautiful, in rolling hilly country (note that is is about 10 km of mountain road to the nearest town, which we did not mind at all as the views from the road were so fine). The grounds of the property are spacious and lovely and the swimming pool is nicely situated. The playground area on the grounds is great for children. There are plenty of places to sit outdoors around the property. The grounds are very well maintained. In contrast, the interior furnishings are sparce.

Would you recommend this property to a friend?  Yes

Rental Week: 24 Jul 2010

4 ^/5 Very Good   Villa Review Rating Details   Share

Het huis is geweldig. genoten van de yaccuzi, eerste week was het soms 40 graden dan is het heerlijk om even te dompelen. De ligging van het huis op het plein is fantastisch, de omgeving, (florence, Sienna, Arezzo en alle prachtige kleine dorpjes) zijn goed bereikbaar met de auto.
Het koken en eten met Marina, Julio en Irene was echt een belevenis, zo gastvrij en warm en natuurlijk leerzaam en lekker.
Wat ons betreft een aanrader.
Groet Juul

[English translation courtesy of Easy Reserve] The house is great. Enjoyed the Jacuzzi, the first week it was 40 degrees and at times it's nice to take a dip. The location of the house on the square is fantastic, the environment, (Florence, Siena, Arezzo, and all the wonderful small villages) are easily reached by car.
Cooking and eating with Marina, Julio and Irene was really an experience, so hospitable and warm and of course interesting and delicious.
In our opinion a must.
Regards Juul

Would you recommend this property to a friend?  Yes

Rental Week: 20 Jul 2010

4 ^/5 Very Good   Villa Review Rating Details   Share

Het domein is zeer rustig gelegen, wat zeker als een pluspunt kan beschouwd worden. De kamer was zeer basic, maar over het algemeen in orde. Een minpunt is wel dat er slechts 1 venster is aan de kamer, in de vorm van de voordeur. Daardoor is de kamer ietwat moeilijk te ventileren.
Er worden geen extra kosten gerekend voor water en elektriciteit, wat een pluspunt is. Wel wordt er fors doorgerekend voor lunch en avondeten, en de prijzen worden niet op voorhand meegedeeld. Aangezien het saldo van de reservatie slechts op het einde afgerekend werd samen met het eten, leverde dit een verassend hoge rekening op, wat niet bepaald prettig is. De prijs voor het eten en drinken ter plaatse was naar ons gevoel niet correct en werd dus niet vooraf meegedeeld.

[English translation courtesy of Easy Reserve] The area is very quiet, which certainly can be considered as a plus. The room was very basic, but generally okay. One downside is that there is only one window to the room, in the shape of the front door. This makes the room a little difficult to ventilate.
No additional charge for water and electricity, which is a plus. However, there is considerable charge for lunch and dinner, and the prices are not announced in advance. As the balance of the reservation was settled with the food only at the end of our stay this yielded a surprisingly high bill, which is not exactly pleasant. The price for eating and drinking on the spot was not correct in our opinion and we were not informed beforehand.

Would you recommend this property to a friend?  Yes

Rental Week: 18 Jul 2010

4 ^/5 Very Good   Villa Review Rating Details   Share

Beautyfull landscape and architecture, we were treated like king and queen, so close to transportation yet so far from tourist joint, this place was more than just a one night stand! Appartment is so comfortable and clean, people are so nice. Reserve early and get an appartment here you will remember all your life. Stay several days and take the train to Firenze or Sienna (leave the car there, it is so easy with the train) and don't forget Sangimigiano! ... so much to see in Toscany! Start with Certaldo Alto!

Would you recommend this property to a friend?  Yes

Rental Week: 17 Jul 2010