tuscan villas?

[vancouvergirl]

we are planning a trip to italy and i have being pouring over the fabulous thread on italy. i'm specifically wondering about staying in a villa. we will have at least 4-7 adults and 4 children. has anyone attempted this? pros/cons? worth it? websites? how should i go about setting it up? thanks!!

[tlew12778]

I have not done it myself but I once saw an article on the NYTimes about La Foce (http://www.lafoce.com/) and it looks absolutely fantastic! I spoke to someone who actually visited it and she said it's absolutely lovely.

[mom_to_zoe]

My parents rented a villa near a town called Certaldo for a week in the summer of 2003. My husband and I and my brother and SIL joined them. It was a wonderful trip! I would highly recommend it. The villa was gorgeous and it was so fun to have our own little place to hang out. We loved shopping in the glorious food markets and then coming home and cooking meals for ourselves. From where we were, we did one full-day trip to Florence and lots of smaller excursions to places like San Gemigniano (spelling) and other hill towns like Rampini (amazing pottery!). SIL and I took one day to hit the amazing designer outlets outside Florence! And each couple spent some time in Rome either before or after our week in Tuscany. I would just make sure you find a reputable rental agency and they should be able to find a house that meets your needs. Keep in mind that the summer is the high season and prices are at their peak. WE went in May and the villa was much cheaper than it would have been in July.

[lawgirl4]

Oh, I second La Foce - we almost went there for part of our honeymoon. it looks amazing, and has such an interesting history.

[houseblend]

I haven't stayed at one myself, but DH and I would like to, so I've been checking out a lot of websites.

www.tuscany.net
www.homelidays.com
www.italianvillas.com
www.classicvacationrental.com
www.rentvillas.com
www.villavacations.com
www.abvitalia.it

And these are just a few. As you can see, there is no shortage of villas/apartments out there. You may want to pick which area in Tuscany you would like to stay to help narrow it down. You could also go to www.tripadvisor.com. They list a lot of places and have great in-depth reviews on them.

[vancouvergirl]

thank you everyone!! all of your suggestions sound amazing and keep them coming. i'm having a blast planning this trip! ciao. :)

[Blondeinabmw]

I haven't done this personally, but we are embarking on a 16-day Italian trip at the end of April. I booked our apartment in Florence through www.florenceby.com. There are a lot of options for searching for villas. Very easy to navigate and simple inquiry/booking process.

I also found www.slowtrav.com to be a very good resource for rental suggestions.

I'm not sure if they include villas, but tripadvisor.com was one of my best resources for our trip planning. We looked for user reviews from visitors who originated from the US. It seemed that the European Reviewers were much more accepting of various properties' inadequacies. We figured if most of the American reviews were good, it was a pretty safe bet.

[Goldie]

Oh, we honeymooned in Italy! <Sigh> Is this your first trip? Where else are you planning on going? I think Florence was my favorite city in all of Italy. We also took little day trips into the Tuscan countryside, and we also did one whole separate night in Siena. So I think that you could also consider Florence as your city base and just take trips into the countryside. It's up to you, of course, but I'm more of a city girl and liked being within walking distance to the museums, restaurants, etc. But it's Italy, right? You can't go wrong... :D

Also, not sure, but did you mention what time of year your trip is? I would also suggest places near the beach, if your trip is summertime?

[vancouvergirl]

Blondeinabmw, thanks! i will check out the tuscany website. know i'll be there for sure.

goldie, i went to italy with 5 of my girlfriends when we graduated high school. we went to rome, florence, and capri. this time it's a family trip in september. i'm aiming to situate ourselves in the tuscan countryside in between florence and venice. i love florence and want to be there again! half the family is with me and the other half wants to go see venice so we'll do our own side trips. although i am like you, a city girl, i'll do it the opposite this time: stay in the countryside and do an excursion to the city. typically i travel to cities or beaches and this will be my first country destination trip. how did you like siena? wouldn't you just adore returning to italy? i like traveling to new places but i could see myself going back to italy again and again. (and again!)

[Rosebud]

I'm researching Tuscan villas for one of my bosses. She's going to rent one this summer. Here are some of the websites where I've found good options so far.

www.luxuryretreats.com
www.florencevillas.com
www.intuscany.net
http://vbella.com
www.rentvillas.com
www.vestaitalianvillas.com
www.luxurypropertyrentals.com
www.villavacations.com
www.purplefete.com

My boss is looking for someplace very high end, so it's been really fun to look through photos of these amazing, amazing places. But I've also been surprised by how many nice and reasonably priced places there are. Good luck!

[Noa]

I thinking renting a villa is a GREAT choice! I did this with my family in 2003 and we rented a fabulous villa for 7 people, then took day trips to Lucca, Sienna, San Giminiano, Florence, and Pisa.

Actually, we loved it so much that I am looking at renting a large villa for 40 people for my destination wedding in 2007!!! Many of the links you posted are places I had used in my own research. My only suggestion is to book the villa directly with the owner.... That will probably be cheaper than going through a 3rd party.

I would like to second the recommendation of www.slowtrav.com (also check out www.slowtalk.com) - they have great information from many fellow Italy-geeks ;)

Good luck!

[Rosebud]

BUMP

Researching villas for a new client. Looking for any more feedback on places people have stayed and general recommendations. Thanks!