Guestbook
Dear Manola, Thank you for your message. I returned last monday from Italy so after a fabulous week in "Villa I Girasoli" we all are home again. As you know, staying there with my familiy of children and grandchildren was my "sogno Toscano" and we enjoyed our week in the villa very much. We had no opportunity to meet Jacopo because, after his wedding, he and his bride were away for their "luna di miele" But we were given a great welcome by his parents who showed us the house and surroundings. We very much appreciated the big cake on the table on our arrival and the plate tiramisu on the last evening which was a welcome "dolce" after our last dinner. The villa is a dream to spend ones holidays. Every room decorated with great taste. The beautiful garden wonderful kept, to play in for the children and to sit and relax for us. The great views over the Chiana valley, the pool and surroundings. It all made our days. So too much to tell. We have wonderful pictures and even better memories. Certainly we will contact you when we will come to Tuscany another time and are very grateful for your professional help. "Complimenti!!" Would you please be so kind as to give our best regards to the family Menchichi and thank them again for their great hospitality. Thanks.
We had the pleasure of staying at your beautiful place in apt. 1. The four of us truly enjoyed our stay for 4 nights in Sept. 2011. We also want to thank Vanessa for all of her assistance in making our stay so pleasant and enjoyable. We had such a wonderful vacation and the location, facilities etc., was exceptional. We hope to come back again, as 4 days was not enough, possibly soon in the future. Many thanks
Hi, we really appreciated our stay. It was really perfect. Very nice appartment, comfortable. We had no problems. Nice swimming pool. We will come back :) Thank you as well for your help with the arrangments for the extra person. I would recommend your site to my friens who would like to spend their holidays in Tuscany. Thansk again and we will maybe hear from each other next year :)
Hallo, We had a very nice holiday at Borgo del 7 tigli! Nice people en location.
We had a wonderful stay. Our apartment (No. 6 at Borgo di 7 Tigli) was cheerful, spacious, clean and well equipped. The surrounding property offered rewarding views of vineyards, grazing lands, fields and at least two distant hill towns (Montefollonico and Montepulciano) - I wish we had brought binoculars. Our apartment was in the country 5 km outside of the nearest town, which suited us well -- although we got a bit worn out getting around Montepulciano until we figured out the bus system, found a couple of hilltop parking lots and located the supermarket. This was our first visit to the Tuscan countryside. We found the scenery to be as beautiful as we had imagined, the towns to be fascinating to explore, and the people to be very friendly - I had never been offered a glass of wine at an Internet cafe at closing time before. However, until we got used to it, we were also a little surprised by how completely businesses shut down in the early to mid-afternoon and how the towns seemed to be bereft of local inhabitants during much of the day and early evening on Saturdays and Sundays. I wish that we had been able to stay for more than ten days.
Hello, I had a wonderful time! The accommodations were great, close to many attractions and the beautiful countryside. The bed was very comfortable. It seemed other places I stayed in Italy the beds were hard and uncomfortable but the bed in the apt was very comfortable. I will definitely consider staying there again and will reccommend it to fellow travelers to Italy. Thanks again,
Dear Croci and Lazzari, Our time in tuscany, at the Borgo 7 Tigli aparttament was delicious. All was right: the localitation, the aparttament, the people, the neighbours... You have a precious land and for me and my family there wer an unforgetable hollidays. Thanks very much to Deanna who help me in all of my request, thanks to Alice, the contact person in Borgo 7 Tigli, who was very very kind. We love Tuscany. Thanks a lot!!!!
Thank you very much for our lovely apartment. We had a wonderful stay at Borgo dei Sette. The facilities were wonderful. Thanks again and I hope you’re having a good summer. Regards
Dear Manola e Paolo, after our week in Borgo dei 7 Tigli we are all very positive. The appartment was lovely, very clean, it had every utility you could need and the pool was even better than expected. The service from you agency as well as from the employee for the appartment all run very smooth without hassel. Hence, I have no hesitation to recommend the appartment or your agency in the future. Best regards
Dear Manola, Back in Miami I want to tell you that our holiday was truly amazing and it great part it was because of the beauty and quality of the property where we stayed. The place exceeded our expectations in every way. Our apartment was well appointed, with all the comforts we could expect and the surrounding areas were magnificent! We really made it our home and we hope to come back as soon as we can, and next time, we’ll stay longer. Many thanks for all your help in making this a wonderful holiday for me and my family! We will be very glad to recommend it to all our friends! Best Regards,
Good Afternoon, Yes, we had a lovely holiday. We were very impressed with Tuscany and it's lovely people. The villa was very good, although there was a shortage of coathangers which we mentioned to Natasha and she brought us some more. We will definitely return but probably to explore a different area, perhaps around Lucca and its surounding countryside. We thought it would have been helpful if the villa contained some information on local markets, etc for the area. Of course the food and wine of Tuscany did help to make a perfect holiday. Thank you!
Dear Manola, I would like to thank you for your help in suggesting two lovely places that we greatly enjoyed staying in. It was very helpful and i will be in touch again if we are back in Italy. Best wishes
Dear Croci, good morning! we really enjoyed and had a great time. Cristina an Enzo hosted us very well. We hope visting Tuscany again. Best regards!
Hello Manola, Just wanted to thank you again for all your assistance for our holiday last month. We enjoyed the villa, meeting the owner and the lovely basket of food stuffs that greeted our arrival. Wonderful location and the weather those two weeks were cloud free and warm. You have a truly beautiful country and we hope to return. All the best,
Dear Marino, I can't remember if I ever wrote you back or not after we all returned from Europe in January, but I thank you so very much for sharing your wonderful home with us for such a memorable Christmas!! It was one we will never forget. We look back on our photos with fondness! I hope that I will be able to come back some time in the spring or even better the fall when the grapes are being harvested for wine...what a great treat that would be! My son is getting married in September and I suggested they consider going to Tuscany for their honeymoon and told them how wonderful your house in Chiusi is. I'm not sure where they've decided to go, but if they choose Europe and want to come to Italy, I will certainly contact you. How far ahead do you book your home? Please tell Bebe hello from Susie, Paula, Jocelyn and Justin!! He was a wonderful bright and warm addition to our stay, despite the cloudy and cold days! We loved his laughter and friendly manner. Thanks again!
Dear Marino, We've now returned from Italy to our home here in Tiburon and have had the time to think and reflect about our wonderful visit to Villa Demata. We shall long remember how your villa played such an important role in this 'very special' vacation. The rustic tuscan charm of the villa and the beautiful setting in which it is located shall long remain in our collective memories. To add to the experience, we truly enjoyed dining at the restaurants that you helpfully suggested. Although we did have 'some' difficulty in finding the one near Cetona, it proved to be worth the effort. In closing, we wish you good health and continued rich success with Villa Demata. Thank you so much,
Hi Manola, Sorry I've taken so long to get back to you. We stayed at Villa Guazzotti in La Spezia from 5th - 12 th July and thoroughly enjoyed it. The owners made sure we were comfortable but the trip around the town including all the best places to shop was invaluable. Also, the welcome pack was a lovely surprise as it meant we could make a meal without having to do any shopping at all on our first night. The proximity to the local restaurant was great as some days we were just too lazy to shop and cook. We enjoyed lounging around the pool and caught up on our reading. We spent most of our time on the outdoor terrace which was right by the fridge for top-ups of birra and Prosecco! Thanks for your help in organising our trip and we'll certainly get in touch with you again if we travel to Tuscany again.
Hi Manola, Well what can I say, our stay at Il Casale was out of this world, the best ever!! Gianluca and his family made us feel so welcome and could not do enough to help. The villa is amazing and all our guests were outstanded by the quality and level of service we received. I would go back time and time again and cannot recommend Il Casale highly enough to anyone wishing to spend time there. We will definitely be returning! Thank you so much for finding this wonderful place for us xx Best Regards
Hi Manola, We just returned from Italy and our week visit to Il Portico. We absolutely loved the villa and had a great time. The villa was exactly as you had described. Everything went very well and we had no unpleasant surprises. Loredana was great. She came by every day to work in the garden or to be available for questions, but was always discrete and never in the way. Also Gianmarco came through for us. As you know we had several airport/train transfers and he took care of everything perfectly. Thank you for all that you did to give us a perfect vacation. Congratulations for running such an excellent organization! You did a fine job for us. I will recommend you to our friends and acquaintances without hesitation. I also particularly appreciate your answering all my questions so quickly and professionally over the last few months. I wish you continued success with the business. We will surely contact you again. Sincerely,
A decision to marry meant for us a decision to start out on an immense journey together, an adventure that would last for the rest of our lives. Such an important decision can not be taken lightly and so we were very careful in planning all aspects of the wedding. Most importantly we wanted to bring our family and friends to a warm and loving environment, a special place that would remain in our memories for a long time to come. We choose the Villa of Giulio and Daniela because we could see how much love and dedication they had put into the restoration of the building and the gardens Imagine how happy we were when we arrived and were welcomed so warmly by Giulio, his son Brian and most surprisingly the Villa itself. The building has personality. Its speaks in gentle, soothing tones. It is so beautiful to look at that the mind stops dead in its tracks and comes to a total rest. We spent a full week here, our guests arriving over a period of days. On Saturday 11th October we were married in sunshine out on the grass overlooking the valley below. Giulio organized everything for us. In the afternoon we sat down to a feast that lasted into the early evening. Giulio selected the chef who was magnificent, creating a meal of the best Tuscany has to offer. We listen to a very talented local band playing beautiful ballads acoustically. We relied completely on Giulio's understanding of the kind of wedding we wanted and he got it just right. The music, the food, the wine, the stunning Tuscan sunlight flowing ochre, orange, red tones made a magical day that none of us will forget. Bravo Giulio!!
The Villa was all we hoped for and more. Exactly what you fantasize the place to be like. Large rooms, beautiful grounds, spectacular views and furnished in old world tradition. Our host Guilo was always just a few steps away and answered every question and solved every problem easily. Our family had a perfect holiday in spectacular Tuscany!!
We had a wonderful time. We would go back again and again and again. The Villa was just perfect and the surrounding Tuscan country side was really idyllic. I miss it so much already! Ciao!
Dearest Gisela, First, I'd like to congratulate you again for the wonderful restoration work and the ever so comfortable stay we had. almost ever aspect of the stay was perfect. Except for the CD player. The problem isn't faulty disks, but the player, that needs to be fixed or replaced. We managed to play our music via the DVD and TV, so it wasn't a real problem. Other than that, the kitchen, the bathrooms, the rooms, the towels and robes, the pool - everything was just great. We will try to pass on the good word, as promised. Thank you again for the lovely villa and your generous hospitality!
Gisela, We've been back from Italy for 2 months now & the wonderful memories of our stay in your villa are still with us. Thanks for all you did to make our stay so perfect. You really do have a unique and interesting property. We loved Sarteano & the Tuscan countryside and are hoping that one day, we will be able to get back there for another vacation.
Dear Manola, We had a wonderful time at the Villa Il Maggio last month. The Villa far exceeded its description, and we were very comfortable. I would like to write a letter to the owner, Gisela, who was very kind to us, but do not have an address for her. Could you please send me her postal address, or the address of the Villa? Thank you, and many thanks also for making it possible for us to have had this lovely week in Tuscany! Regards,
Hello Manola, I am writing this email to convey our sincere appreciation for the opportunity of staying in the abovementioned property. We have had many trips to Europe and stayed in lots of different villas and we were thoroughly delighted with Villa Il Maggio. We were greeted by Gisela, the owner of the property upon our arrival and we found her to be extremely pleasant and generous, she truly has an eye for detail and the property has everything you could possibly imagine. A lot of consideration has gone into the restoration of this property and the gardens are magnificent. For the first time in all our travels we only dined out once as the villa was so conducive to cooking and the dining room was magnificent, the ambience and beautiful mood lighting made it so enjoyable and we found all the local wine so pleasant to drink. The bathroom with the bath in it was divine and we didn't turn the lights on once the ample candles left around the bath made it most relaxing whilst looking out to the surrounding hills listening to music and sipping on a glass or two of wine. The Jacuzzi area was also magnificent and Paola's home cooked lasagne, salad and delicious apple cake was very welcoming after a long day travelling in the car from France. Bruno, the gardener was very entertaining and supplied us with lovely vegetables from the garden on a daily basis. The children had lots of fun running around the acres of land which surround the property and were playing hide and seek with Bruno and despite the language barriers we all managed to communicate quite effectively. The villa is situated very close to the local village of Sarteano which is a beautiful village and we found travelling to the other local villages most pleasant and not too far away i.e. Montalcino, Montepulciano, Casa de Bagni, Pienza to name a few. We also enjoyed lots of walking around the villa as there are lots of pleasant walking trails right outside the villa. I would highly recommend this property to anyone wishing to enjoy a true Tuscan experience as the photographs of the property do not describe the true attention to detail and the high standards of comfort that this property exudes. My only suggestion is that the property has a name placed directly out the front of the property as we did experience a little difficulty finding the property even though the directions are precise, or perhaps you could say that the property is the one right out the front of the gravel road with the hedge. Having said that we found a local Police Officer at Casa de Bagni very helpful she telephoned Gisela and arranged our rendezvous in the piazza at Sarteano. Gisela then pointed out to us where all the locals go to gather groceries, Restaurants, buy good quality wine at very good prices...this we appreciated very much. Would you kindly pass my sincere appreciation onto Gisela and Rebecca and if at any stage you require a recommendation for the property, please do not hesitate to contact me via email as I would be very happy to offer this. We will definitely be back to Villa Il Maggio but next time in the winter to see Tuscany in it's true colours. Kindest regards,
Hello Gisela, Thank you once again for sharing your beautiful villa with us. We arrived back home in Australia at midnight last night and we have many fond memories of our time at Il Maggio. I truly hope that you would offer the villa to us to rent at a later stage perhaps in a years time so that we can experience a true Tuscan winter in the house. I hope you are well and it was a pleasure to meet you. We truly regret not availing of your knowledge and arranging a guided tour of art history lessons, perhaps next time? Once again, thank you for your generous hospitality and sincere warmth, we appreciate all you have done. Kind regards,
Buon giorno Manola, We had an awesome time at Villa Le Tolfe! My entire family loved the villa, Siena, the location, and the pool! Jacopo is an excellent host, and a wonderful human being. I truly hope that we can go back in the not too distant future. I would unreservedly recommend Villa Le Tolfe!
Dear Manola, Just want you to know that we adored Villa Le Tolfe, Jacopo and his father, the whole deal. I would love to write a recommendation for your website. Thanks for everything!
Hi Manola, I rented Villa Le Tolfe for 3 weeks during the month of July and I had to write to you and thank you for all you assistance. The experience was terrific! The villa was wonderful and very well located. We really enjoyed being there. I would highly recommend the property to anyone. Thanks again and I am considering returning next year but traveling to the Northern part of Italy. Do you have any properties there? Thanks again!
Ciao Manola, I'm sorry that it has taken so long to write to thank you for all the help you gave me for the stay at Villa Rovezzano. When I returned home my e-mail would not work and it has taken until now to repair the problem. All the eleven members of my family had an enjoyable holiday. The villa was just what we needed and Francesca was very kind and helpful. If it is possible, we would like to visit Tuscany again and I will then contact you to ask for your help with the arrangements. Thank you once again for your assistance and kindness. With best wishes.
Dear Manola, I had hoped to find a minute to email you when we first arrived home …to tell you how wonderful our trip was!! It is so easy to fall back into the busy regular schedule once you return home from vacation. When I consider how close we came to not even finding a place… we were so delighted that, in the end, we were able to reserve Villa Olivella! What a beautiful villa and Mrs. Birindelli was so lovely. It was a bit of a challenge to communicate as we both had very limited knowledge of the opposite language…. But we managed very well and it made it all the more interesting. She was a wonderful hostess and very sweet. So I definitely hope that Peter and I will be able to reserve the same villa another time for sure. It would be an idyllic spot for 2 couples but for this trip. Peter and I were so happy to be independent for this particular trip. We had both had a very busy and demanding work schedule over the winter and spring so the Villa Olivella was the right place for well deserved and much needed rest and relaxation! It was a truly the trip of a lifetime dream for us! Thank you for your help in making it come true!
Hi Manola, I wanted to tell you what a wonderful time I had in Coregia. The house was absolutely perfect and I honestly could have moved in permanently. I loved the village and the people were so nice to me. I hope to return to Coreglia in the future. I miss it! All the best.
We were completely satisfied with our accommodation at the villa Il Fienlino in Lastra a Signa near Florence. It was everything we had been looking for as a place to rent for a week. It was so picturesque, clean, beautifully decorated and comfortable. We ended up cooking several evening meals at home, just to watch the sunset over the olive groves and cypress trees. It is so convenient to the village for shopping for groceries at the Intercoop, having dinner out, or catching a bus into Florence. Paola was our hostess and was so helpful(as well as her two children) and full of recommendations. Plus she even left us a bag of her favorite cookies on our doorknob one day. Her dinner suggestions were wonderful, both local ones in the village and in the city. She made us feel very welcome. It was also a convenient spot for day trips to San Gimigianno, Pisa, Cinque Terre, and Sienna from the autostrada. The bedrooms were spacious, comfortable and had great views out of the windows. The local rooster did wake us up in the morning, but it was better than an alarm clock. The kitchen was set up nicely, just needed a few more glasses. Bathrooms were spotless. We did our laundry and luckily had plenty of sun for drying them outside. Loved all of the lemon trees and fresh rosemary on the patio. We definitely felt like we shared a tiny piece of heaven for a week. A truly great find.
Thank you, because you both helped us quite a bit-- THANK YOU, for suggesting Villa Paola. They loved it – it was cold the first night but the people called the next day and had someone out to fix the pipes and all was well. The heat was good after that. Signora Paola and her husband were away in Nepal ( I think that's what they told me) and our people L-O-V-E-D their replacement, the Daughter named Victoria. "She was so sweet, so caring, so beautiful, so helpful..." I'm not exaggerating... they couldn't say enough about her. The dinner the first night was magnificent. Appetizer of Liver Pate, wonderful Chicken in Tuscan style, with vegetables, fresh rolls, etc and Tiramasu for desert that was "out of this world". They ate downstairs in the main dining room. Lovely. Victoria went in with them to Florence for part of a day and got them oriented and met them in a blizzard snow storm when they came back to La Signa by train. The roads were horrible. They WERE THANKING THEIR LUCKY STARS THAT YOU SUGGESTED THE VILLA NEAR FLORENCE AS IT WAS EVEN MORE DEADLY TO THE SOUTH. They said that nobody knows how to deal with snow when it is not expected. They visited Siena and San Gimignano but because of the snow, had to turn back after two hours of fighting the roads and not seeing so no Montepulciano. They all want to go back! So, I am saying Multo bene grazie to you . NOW I WANT HUNDREDS OF TRAVELERS SO THAT I CAN SEND THEM TO VILLA PAOLA. Please know that as soon as I have some people for villas in Italy, I will contact you. Until then, best wishes to you for a good year in the vineyards and good business with only very pleasant tourists!
We just loved Villa Paola, mainly because it was so close to Florence but also in the country side. We really had a great time and wanted to thank you for organizing every thing so well. We really didn’t want to leave. Lying by the pool was just a dream. We will let you know the next time we can come. All the best.
Hi Manola, sorry I never replied to this email as we were already in Venezia. We did connect with Claudia on Saturday, and everything went fine. What a spectacular villa, that was incredibly clean and beautiful. Everyone was pleased with it. Thank you so much for your support!
Dear Manola!! Thank you very much for recommending the Villa dei Medici to us. We really liked the villa and spent a wonderful week there. The villa itself is very nicely furnished and the location is also extremely beautiful. We were also very pleasently surprised by the chef Fabio Guelfi whom we hired for one evening. Thank you again for recommending this place to us. With kind regards.
Villa Settignano: "You must see this place!!!" If you love beauty, Italy and gardens, then this is the place for you. Villa Gamberaia is one of the most fabulous places/gardens in the world - and I have seen many. Take a break from the city and see what the fortunate saw. You will be astounded by its gorgeousness and serenity, as few people make it to this place. The big house - the Villa - is a wonderful Tuscan manor and although it isn’t open for tours, the gardens are so beautiful that you won't care. I spent at least two hours strolling around, enjoying this masterpiece and returned the next day for a second look. It was that great. There were wonderful walls of Italian cypresses, giant terracotta pots with humongous lemon trees and the most picturesque views of the Tuscan hillsides, filled with olive groves. And you feel as though you own the place because hardly anyone else is there. I have been many times since and my recommendation is to visit in the morning or even better in the evening so that you can enjoy the spectacular view of Florence as the sun is setting. After they close up, go to the nearby village, Settignano, and enjoy a terrific meal at either of the two fantastic restaurants. Believe me, you will remember this experience as one of your favorite in Italy. They even have places to stay, but that is another review. Go! You must see Villa Settignano!
Hi Manola! Debbie just sent us the response you sent to her e-mail. Thank you so much - I will most definitely recommend your company and you personally to all my friends and family. And we do hope to return before too long - it was so much fun! We didn't want to leave. We all feel the same if you visit California - we would love to see you and show you around where we live - it is very different from your country but it is nice where we are too! So please look us up if you do come! Many many thanks!!
Hi, Sorry I still did not respond yet. But the holiday was fantastic! The villa, the surrounding we loved it! We hope to come back again. Also the dinner from the chef was very delicious. Also the facilities in and around the house were very good. A nice kitchen with all necessary things as an oven, magnetron, fridge etc. The different terraces and the swimmingpools we have enjoyed it! Thanks! Best regards.
Dear Manola, We had a wonderful visit to Tuscany and thoroughly enjoyed Villa Aia. The house was perfect for our large family group and the views from the terraces and pool were magnificent. Breakfasts on the upper terrace and dinners as a family on the lower terrace while watching the sunset were enchanted The location was convenient for sightseeing and grocery shopping although the villa was so perfect that we hardly wanted to leave! The Surci family was helpful and hospitable directing the airlines to the house with lost luggage, bringing the doctor for the son who arrived with tonsillitis and gifting us with olive oil and wine from their own production. We could not have asked for anything more. Thank you for recommending Villa Aia.
Manola, I am Ken Barrea’s sister, and I am very sorry that I did not meet you while we were in Italy. But I did want to tell you what a wonderful time we had in Sant Albino at Podere Sant'Albino! I was able to be there for only 2 ½ weeks, but it was an amazing time. Podere Sant'Albino was the perfect villa for our family – just the right size and location. The villa was beautiful, and Silvia, Maurizo, and Paola were the perfect hosts. They had signs on each of our doors when we arrived, and they had purchased food and flowers for us before arrived. Maurizo and his assistant prepared dinner for our entire family to celebrate our son’s 18th birthday, and it was a delicious feast. We were glad to be near a small town, while still being in a very private location. We were also glad to be so close to the wonderful town of Montepulciano, as well as to Chiusi, for easy train access. Ken could not have found a better villa for our family. The highlight of our trip to Italy was our trip to Tufara, and that trip would not have happened without you and all of your hard work and special efforts. Not only did you make wonderful arrangements for our bus trip, but you truly went above and beyond in making all the calls to locate our cousins in Tufara. It was an unbelievable day, and one that none of us will ever forget. Without your efforts, we would have never met our family. I think Ken has sent you pictures of our dad’s cousins waiting for us in the town square when we arrived – it was an amazing sight. We had a wonderful wonderful day in Tufara – meeting our huge Italian family, seeing where our grandfather lived and the church where our grandparents were married, and having a delicious meal with all of our family. We all cried when we left. I also want to let you know what a fabulous driver and guide Giuseppe was – our trip would not have been as wonderful without him. Thank you so much for all you did to make our trip to Italy truly a once in a lifetime experience – I am so glad that Ken found you and InTuscany.net!
Manola, well, we arrived home safely, but haven't adjusted to being back to "normal life" yet...still wish we were over there on vacation! We just wanted to thank you again for all of your help. Podere Sant'Albino was beautiful and perfectly located. We made many friends in San Albino (the Cannetiello family from "The Saloon" and Luana from the little grocery store at the bottom of the hill). This trip was truly a once in a life time opportunity and without a doubt, the best part was the day spent in Tufara. We can't thank you enough for helping find our relatives there. They were all at the town square waiting for us when we arrived and gave us a tour that we will never forget. Having my father see the house that his family lived in was truly magical. Hopefully, we created family bonds that will continue to grow and last forever. Also, the bus and driver worked out excellent. His patience and humor was a perfect mix for us and by the end of the 2 days I think we could consider him one of our other long distance "cousins". Could you please send me his name and company or somehow to contact them? He introduced himself as "Joseph", but I never got his last name nor his "real italian" first name. I want to make sure that he and his company realize how much fun we had and that he was a big part of that! I am including a few pictures from our time in Tufara (I took almost 2000 pictures during the 30 days, but I wont bore you with them all!!). Hopefully some of us will make it back to Italy to continue filly up the photo album! Aqain, thank you very very much or should I say Grazie Mille for everything!!
Manola, our family had a great stay at Castello del Chianti. It is a perfect place for family vacation. The surrounding is so beautiful and the place is peaceful. Maria is an exquisite chef, we have many good meals with her cooking. People at the property are nice and most helpful. We surely will consider the villa again when we return. Thank you for your assistance in arranging this.
Trip was great! Everything about the villa was perfect. I am sending you some new clients. Thanks agaian!
Hi, we had a wonderful week in Villa Niccolai. It is a really nice house, well equipped and comfortably furnished. Perfectly situated for excursions to Lucca, Florence, Pisa and Vinci, nice dinners in the villa and a few visits to the pool. All in all a fantastic week. We will surely be back. Kind regards,
Dear Manola, Happy to write to you at the end of a wonderful week at Villa Nicollai. As always your recommendations are excellent and we want to thank you a lot . The location the garden the rooms and every detail inside and above all Angela and her family who are real angels and took care with so much love on any request to let us have such a good expirience on our stay. Manola you are great and I am so happy to reccomend your website and your name to many of my friends. Thank you so much and "see you" on our next vacation in Italy. Best regards,
Dear Angela, thank you so much for letting us use your wonderfull villa. It's a magnificient spot from which we enjoied Tuscany very much. We hope we can get back here soon!
Dear Manola, It is about two months now since our family stayed in Villa Nicolai and I still owe you a note to say that the whole family had a wonderful week in that villa. All was perfect, very well maintained and very comfortable. We had little contact with the owner-family, but when we met they were most helpful and forthcoming. Also on behalf of my wife and children I wish to thank you for the services you have provided. We will not hesitate to recommend your agency or the villa to friends when the occasion arises. With kind regards!
We have had a wonderful week in your beautiful villa. What a treat it has been to walk through the grape vines and stroll the grounds that are so manicured. Your website photos do not do the villa nor the grounds justice. We will have memories of this place for many years to come. We hope to return some day! Lorenzo and Mercedes thank you for all of your help and hospitality. You made us feel like we were at home. We even played some bocce, we left these here for your next visitors. It was fun! The meal the first night was excellent!
Hi Manola, I rented the villa Antica Sosta with my friends, through your company, last spring and it was a delightful experience from beginning to end. Thank you so much!
Great location, but have to rent a car, very helpful owner.
Hi Manola, I just wanted to drop you and your colleagues a quick note to say we had an absolutely wonderful time. The villa was spectacular, as was the dinner. Thanks so much!
Hey there, We had a great holiday! Thanks very much. Villa Gaiole was beautiful and Betti was a great hostess. We would definitely book through InTuscany again.
Hi Betti! It's "Miss Lynn" again. I haven't been in touch with you and I just wanted to say that Marlene, Megan, Holly and Brian, and myself, just loved our stay at Villa Gaiole. We are meeting tonight at Marlene's house to share pictures. We really appreciated all your help at the Villa and with Holly and her foot! Thank you again for that. I hope to be able to some day again visit Villa Gaiole. It is a special place. Hope this finds you well and happy. We would love to hear from you. Your friends in Washington State!
We loved the stay at Vicky's Casa Rossa. The house was the perfect place to stay in Tuscany. Thank you again for arranging it for us!
Hi Manola, Just to let you know, we loved our stay at Villa Casa Rossa. Thank you very much for recommending it!! Regards.
Dear Manola, I would like to thank you for wonderful holiday I had! Tuscany is splendid, interesting & tasty! Villa with big swimming pool was great (Villa Sorbello / Cortona). We are really satisfied about services and quality of rental. Perfect place to spent nice vacation. Thank you also for touristic guides contacts. It’s really more interesting to visit cities with a professional guide! Thank you, once again, for your help to organize my Tuscany’s holiday this year! I hope back there soon! Best regards.
Staying on your property was a wonderful experience and from an artistic standpoint very inspiring -- I was glad to have a camera with me there and took the time to do a lot of writing/drawing as well. I suppose we become accustomed to our surroundings after a certain period, but I hope you can still take time to appreciate the fantastic countryside you live in. It is an amazing place.
Dear Maurizio, I wish to thank you for everything, and for being such a gracious host. We had a magnificent stay. The villa is beautiful, and more than one could ask for. It was picture perfect.
Villa Argiano is located amongst plentiful vineyards in a prime spot, a few minutes from the adorable town of Montepulciano. From there, we made several daytrips, including Assisi and Florence. The charming Villa provides a wonderful home base with gorgeous views & excellent accommodations. The rooms are spacious and warmly appointed with a gorgeous ceramic tile floor and the most comfortable beds of our trip. We stayed on the first floor and had use of the living area as well as the wonderful kitchen & outdoor charcoal grill, which we certainly appreciated. During our stay, we enjoyed several runs along the roads from the Villa. It's hard to beat the amazing landscape as a running backdrop! Jennifer & Maurizio were outstanding hosts, providing all the information & assistance we needed. The wine was delicious and touring the vineyard and orchard was a highlight. I would definitely recommend this villa to anyone wishing to enjoy Tuscany's most beautiful area.
We stayed at Villa Argiano in April and loved it from the moment we saw it. It is the idyllic Italian villa to enjoy your holidays. There is a lot of space for everyone and you will never feel you're invading people's space. The kitchen leads into the terrace so that you can enjoy your holiday around the pool - a luxury. I love that the historic center of Montepulciano is close by and you can enjoy the quiet Tuscan hills or get to the action with a 10 minute car ride. The owners, Maurizio and Jenny are extremely knowledgeable about the area and were always there to guide us. Well worth making the trip.
Our visit to Villa Argiano was thoroughly inspiring. We enjoyed 360° views of the Tuscan breathtaking countryside and the warm, inviting and knowledgeable hospitality of the proprietors. We will return to vacation at this first class, conveniently located villa.
My college age daughter, a friend and I visited Villa Argiano and Montepulciano in May. The city was packed with excitement of the filming of ‘Twighlight New Moon’. The finishings of Villa Argiano were traditional and beautiful, we can’t wait to visit again in 2010.
Lovely spot had a great time hosts are number one Tuscany was better than we would have hoped for.
Just a few lines to let you know that we all had the most wonderful and relaxing summer holiday staying at the Villa Il Turco. The Villa and Tuscany was far better than can be imagined by reading and looking at internet pictures or books. It allowed us to step back in time and feel and breathe the real history of a magnificent building and a delightful and charming area of Italy. Perhaps words can not describe the true feeling we all felt but ‘Falling in Love’ is perhaps the closest. Also the hospitality shown by the owner and all the staff was overpowering, we were not treated as tourists but as though we had been close friends for many years and the food and wine, eaten in a beautiful surrounding, will be sadly missed. Our visits to Florence were very educational and all the Museums and Galleries we visited were wonderful and traveling on the local bus made us feel part of the community. We will, having fallen in love with your country and people, without doubt visit Italy again next year to see more of the area and hopefully travel to different regions and perhaps stay once again in IL TURCO (with a better fluency in Italian). Please pass on to all at the Villa (and Mario who gave us a tour of the Wine Cellars), especially you father, our warmest thanks to all who made our stay so happy. Thanking you also for all your help and information given to us. Kindest Regards.
What an enchanting villa. The pictures do not do this house any justice. It is breathtakingly beautiful and incredibly clean. The grounds and the surrounding countryside are amazing. There is even a working vineyard and a cellar underneath the house! Waking up every morning was a much anticipated event. It is also so we situated. We were 15-20 minutes outside of Florence by car and the surrounding towns within 2 hours are enough to keep anyone enthralled. Our 2 week vacation should have been 1 month. The family that owns the villa are the nicest people on earth. They were gracious, helpful, fun, etc. They also run one of the best restaurants in the entire area. If you are into food and wine, there is also an amazing restaurant in Cerbaia. It's called La Tenda Rossa (The Red Tent). Be prepared to pay a lot, but it will be the most amazing dining experience you'll ever have.
Dear, We just got back from Lake Como and are happy to be home, finally. But we had an absolutely perfect stay at Villa Il Turco and thank you for everything you and your family did to make it that way. I wish we could have stayed another week. We hope to see you again sometime, at the guest rooms across the street from the Villa. My best to you.
Manola, I am writing to say what a wonderful holiday we spent in Iano. The location is the perfect combination of seclusion and convenience with a couple of restaurants and the mini-market so close. The villa itself was first class, of high quality and cleanliness. Everything we needed for the seven of us including 'la piccola' as Emily was called by Manuela. A special word of thanks to Manuela for looking after us so well, she really made us so welcome - and we will miss her. We would be very happy to go there again in the future. Kind regards.
Dear Manola, Just a note to let you know we had a great time at the Villa Valentina. In the 10+ year we have been renting houses in Italy, France and Spain we have not seen such a well kept home and hospitality. Manuela has been a wonderful host, she welcomed us with warmth and attention, made sure all was well for us and attended to any request or need. The house is well situated, clean and all amenities are well appointed. The pool is in a great (well kept) garden setting, numerous lounge chairs and table setting for meals. There are outdoor wood stoves as well and the property is surrounded in vineyards. All in all we recommend this property very highly. Best regards.
Manola, we had an amazing time , thanks for being so quick to respond with everything. The Villa was great , perfect location and no problems. We go to Tuscany every year in the Summer so we will keep in touch. Thanks!
Hi Manola, Thanks for your note :) We have finally made it back to Australia after travelling to Malta after our stay in Tuscany. Firstly a big thank you for making the whole process of booking and staying at San Donato Villa so easy. Your relaxed and efficient manner was really apparent and much appreciated. As for the villa itself - it was utterly delightful. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay there. The property is beautiful in terms of its decor, surroundings and grounds, I think we were most impressed with the little touches such as the book collection, the villas own olive oil to cook with, Cherie the housekeeper, the immaculately maintained pool and gardens, I could go on and on as everything was done to perfection...... Please forward our comments to the owner also and should we ever be in the region again we will be sure to contact you. Thanks again and best wishes!
Buongirono! We LOVED San Donato! It was everything we had dreamed of and more! We will definitely be staying there again and will recommend to everyone we know! What a gorgeous house, all amenities, supplies, table linens, cookware, every cooking utensil you would ever need, music, books, it was fabulous!!! We have lots of great pictures and wonderful memories to keep us warm in the wet Vancouver winter! Thank you for everything!!
Thank you for your e-mail! In fact we are now back from our holidays and must say that our stay at San Donato was wonderful. The house, the garden, the pool, the estate, everything is beautiful and perfectly maintained and looked after. The surroundings, including San Gusmè, are also wonderful. Thanks for a perfect summer holiday. Regards.
Hi Manola, first of all I want to let you know what a wonderful trip my husband and family had to Tuscany. We rented San Donato di Villa Arceno from October 3-10. It was beautiful and we had an amazing trip. Please know that we had a fine time indeed and will one day hopefully return. Sincerely.
Dear Manola, We have returned home after our European travels, and I'm writing to tell you how much we enjoyed San Donato di Villa Arceno. What a beautiful, restful setting it is. We loved our little villa and the garden and the views and the village of San Gusmè so close by. Thank you.
Dear Mr. Derrick, We appreciated your personal note with the return of our security deposit check. We absolutely loved San Donato! We shared it with good friends who were celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary (the trip to Italy was their idea) and we all had an incredible time. Your place truly can be described as 'paradise'. We appreciated the write up on places to go and things to do and see. We had fantastic meals at Da Antonio and La Porta del Chianti (sp?) in San Gusme. We also prepared a number of great meals at the house - rabbit cacciatore and chicken with olives and capers. If there was one thing that it would have been nice to have that wasn't there it would be a grill to do steaks or chops (to try out your suggested use of truffle oil) but we didn't suffer without it. The pool was delightful in the hot weather - how is it the water stays so cool? The views from the house and pool are phenomenal! It was more than we imagined it would be (you should consider adding a photo or two of the vistas in the website). We will recommend San Donato at Villa Arceno every chance we get. Thank you for making such a great escape possible. Sincerely,
Dear Anna, We are home and wish to thank you once more for your hospitable services which made our trip both enjoyable and memorable. Please send our regards to your family members too. Also, we would appreciate if you could send us the Italian recipe which we learnt from you during our stay. Grazie & ciao.
Dear Manola, We loved our stay at Villa Ginevra---it was wonderful!
I wish to thank you for all your assistance with our reservations. I must commend you for your prompt replies. You were always very helpful. Please be assured that we will highly recommend InTuscany.net to friends and family. As for the 2 villas (Ginevra and Bona), they were exactly as advertised except for one thing, the kindness and thoughtfulness of the owners and their family. They made our trip even more special by giving us a glimpse into the Italian way of life. We felt very much at home. It was a memorable vacation that we will always treasure.
Manola - Yes, sadly, we have returned from Italy. If only vacations would last forever! Thank you so much for arranging for our wine and tour with Andre and John Marco (?). They were wonderful! As for a review of the property, please feel free to publish all or any of the below comments: Upon arrival to the top of our very own Tuscan hill, we were greeted by the owners, Enzo and Christina, standing before a beautiful villa. We could not believe this was to be our home for the next week. The views from this property were better than any we saw in our travels. The bedrooms were all spacious; bathrooms all updated; the kitchen was fantastic. But nothing could compare to the covered terrace (steps from the kitchen and dining room) and pool area below where we spent all of our waking moments. The pictures on your website cannot do justice to the majesty of the views before us every day. It was like a dream. Enzo and Christina are lovely and so welcoming and treated us like members of their family. The location, just a few miles from the Certaldo train station, made travelling around the Tuscan region so easy, although the drive up the hill to our villa at night was more than a little scary for those of us not so familiar with manual transmission automobiles. The town itself provided us with all the basic amenities, like fuel for our cars and wine and groceries at the local COOP store. We would highly recommend this property to any large group travelling together and would highly recommend your services as well. Thank you again for all your assistance in the planning of this fantastic week!
The week we had at the Villa was great, the location and the sights are wonderful. The Villa itself is spacious and you feel right at home. Annica took wonderful care of us, and her suggestions where to go and where to eat were great. I wish we could have stayed longer, we'll be back!
Dear Annica, We would like to say a big thankyou for all the hard work that you did for our wedding. The meal you prepared for us was outstanding and the garden and dining table looked lovely when we arrived back from the wedding ceremony. The villa itself is beautiful and we are all still talking about how breathtaking the views are. Every single one of us thoroughly enjoyed our stay and would love to return one day. No matter how many times we rang you for advice, nothing was too much trouble for you. Please also thank Franco for the very tasty wine that he gave us, it was very much appreciated. Once again, thank you for everything.
Just a quick note to let you know how incredibly wonderful our Tuscan holiday was at Villa nell'Oliveto this past month. Kathy and Eric were simply amazing hosts and our accommodations were outstanding. All three of us couples who traveled and stayed together were so impressed with the beauty and serenity that is ever present at this villa in Castelmuzio and how friendly people were in this small village in general. It was perfectly positioned for all of our day-trips around this beautiful region and we would recommend it highly to anyone wanting the ideal get away vacation in the gorgeous Tuscany countryside.
Thank you for a fabulous week. Villa nell'Oliveto was all I had imagined & we were able to relax with Francesca, at 17 months, exploring the secret but safe garden & pool. We both adored the area & its wild landscape. It has an authenticity which is hard to find. See you again soon.
We spent two wonderful weeks Villa nell'Oliveto. The weather, the food, the wine, the swimming pool, the duomos, the landscape, the lovely villages.......everything was perfect. Special thanks to Eric & Kathy for their kindness, precious advice & delicious oil [& the welcome basket!].
You never know what you are going to get when booking a house from afar. Sometimes the pictures are deceiving & it's not nearly as nice as shown. However, in the case of Casa Oliveto it is even more beautiful than the pictures! The house became our home away from home & we found that it has one of the most stunning views in all of Tuscany. Thank you so much for your generous hospitality. We enjoyed every minute of it.
The kindness of our hosts, Eric & Kathy. The fabulous villa & fantastic views. The village of Castelmuzio - friendly & welcoming. The lovely pool & local villages. The lovely pastas & pizzas. The lovely hammock next to the rock table [Maizie Bennett]...... We had a wonderful time - & hope to be back!
Manola, I did not get a chance to sign Kathy and Eric’s guestbook before we left the villa so I am hoping you can pass my comments on to them as well as add to your site’s testimonials… We had a wonderful vacation at villa nell’Oliveto. It was a perfect property for our group, which included 3 small children (ages 4, 2, and 8 months). The property was almost all fenced in with a very secure, tall gate/fence around the pool making it one of the few vacation rentals where the kids could walk freely and safely around the gorgeous property. The views were stunning, Castlemuzio charming (with its own small playground, again great for the kids) and literally right out the door (though while on the villa’s grounds, you feel totally secluded). Kathy and Eric were terrific, providing a welcome basket that got us easily through the first day or two, without worries about finding food. The house was lovely, all the beds very comfortable, and there was clearly an eye toward outdoor enjoyment, with ample tables, chairs, loungers, a hammock, etc. We hope to go back someday – can’t stop thinking about it – so peaceful and idyllic, as one other poster rightly described it! Also, wanted to thank you and your team for all your help with our vacation, patiently answering all questions, booking our car rentals, etc. We have already recommended InTuscany.net to friends planning to travel to Italy next year and will continue to do so! Thank you.
Dearest Eric & Kathy, We simply adore Villa nell'Oliveto & Castelmuzio! The setting idyllic, the villa perfect, the pool divine [perhaps not when we first arrived....ooh chilly], the people charming... all in all a perfect 2 weeks. Thank you for the welcome basket, for organising the cooking classes with Agnetta & for your warmth & hospitality... & the sublime olive oil. We hope to be back. With thanks & fond wishes.
