Villas in Tuscany & Umbria Since 1998

What were the highlights of your stay?    Just relaxing and 'hanging out'.
What was your overall impression of the accommodation?    It was good, and met out expectations based on the photos we had seen. In fact, it was a bit better than expectations, even though the decor was not really our taste (ie zebra stripes and leopard skin cushions and covers on the bed!) It was also quite cold inside even though it was 25 degrees outside.
Did you have any unpleasant surprises during your stay with us? Yes - a mouse in the bathroom!!
Do you have any other comments regarding the accommodation or service? The owners were lovely. We didn't see much of them, but when we did they were very friendly. It would have been useful if they could speak a little bit of English, but it was fun trying to understand each other as we couldn't speak Italian either.
Kim Hogan
Australia
April 2011

Was waren die Highlights Ihres Urlaubs? Land und Leute
Wie war Ihr Gesamteindruck von der Unterbringung? Sehr gut, besser als auf den Fotos online. Die Vermieter sind sehr nett. Alles perfetto!
Gab es unangenehme Überraschungen? nein
Haben Sie andere Anmerkungen? nein
René Kowalewski
Germany
August 2010

Was waren die Highlights Ihres Urlaubs? Die Trips ind die Umgebung (Hauptsächlich Siena am Abend)
Wie war Ihr Gesamteindruck von der Unterbringung? sehr gut
Gab es unangenehme Überraschungen? nein
Haben Sie andere Anmerkungen? nein
Oliver Pohl
Germany
Juni 2010

What were the highlights of your holiday? Lazing around at the villa and pool., the gentle hum of the bees buzzing around the lavende, Siena and Gimignano are fabulous. We found the italian people we met to be very charming.
what was your overall impression of the accommodation?    The villa was absolutely perfect, very clean and beautifully furnished and decorated.
Did you have any unpleasant surprises? No
Do you have any other comments? I will certainly be returning to Tuscany. I will definitely recommned To Tuscany to my friends and colleagues.
Andrew Wilson
United Kingdom
July 2010

What were the highlights of your holiday? Exploring a few new places and revisiting our old haunts
what was your overall impression of the accommodation?    Wonderful as usual - it feels like "home from home"
Did you have any unpleasant surprises? Yes, the weather was pretty awful but only the "man upstairs" could be blamed for that.
Do you have any other comments? Just to thank Antonella for her warm welcome and discreet care.
Gillian Sheils
Ireland, Republic of
September 2009

What were the highlights of your holiday? The views from our villa, especially the pool. And the sunflower fields right next to us! Lovely, friendly family despite no English. Location of property was perfect for everything we wanted to see, we loved the local village and surrounding area.
what was your overall impression of the accommodation?    Amazing. Just what we hoped for and more. Beautiful, high standard accommodation.
Did you have any unpleasant surprises? No
Do you have any other comments? Thank you for creating a company that has such high standards for it's accommodation, my parents are now booking a holiday with you because we trust it will be top standards.
Anna Stevens
United Kingdom
August 2009

What were the highlights of your holiday? Visiting the Palio rehearsals. Visiting the monastery at Torri (open Thursday and Friday mornings). Walks from the Sovicille guide (available in the property). Visiting Montalcino. Relaxing by the pool.
what was your overall impression of the accommodation?    Very clean and modern. The owners were very friendly, so were their cats! A very nice property.
Did you have any unpleasant surprises? None, other than some difficulty finding the property due to the local roads being renamed. (updates to directions have been supplied separately)
Do you have any other comments? A very good property - recommended!
Ian Jordan
United Kingdom
June 2009

What were the highlights of your holiday? Sightseeing in San Gimignano, Siena and Chiani country. Excellent food and wine. Art work in Florence. Relaxing having a barbeque at the villa and swimming in the private pool.
what was your overall impression of the accommodation?    Excellent, everything we needed was there and to a high standard. Plenty of room inside and fantastic gardens and pool outside. Great location.
Did you have any unpleasant surprises? No
Do you have any other comments? We were very happy with the holiday and would certainly visit Tuscany again. The owneres of the property were very helpful and generous to us; they gave us a number of presents and gifts. Siena is not the easiset place to drive around, particularly if you want to travel from the east to west sides, some guidance would be helpful. I never did find the coop hypermarket in Siena, a clear map of where it is would be good.
Charles Woods
United Kingdom
May 2009

Was waren die Highlights Ihres Urlaubs? alles war gut, schön war die Nähe der Unterkunft zu Siena
Wie war Ihr Gesamteindruck von der Unterbringung? ein Ferienhaus, das mit Liebe erbaut und eingerichtet worden ist. Endlich mal ein Haus, in dem nicht Omas Möbel verwendet worden sind. Sehr freundlicher Empfang durch die Vermieter, die für alles gesorgt hatten. Das Haus war supersauber, keine "knüseligen" Ecken, die Ausstattung hochwertig.
Gab es unangenehme Überraschungen?
Haben Sie andere Anmerkungen? überall in Italien wird an jeder Ecke geblitzt-wird aber vorher angekündigt, trotzdem nervig
Stephan Pürzer
Germany
April 2009

Overall impression: Excellent!! Very clean (it smelled lovely!), very nicely decorated, very well-equipped. Owners were very kind, hospitable people.
Highlights: When we arrived at the villa we received a very warm welcome from the owners of the villa and as we came to celebrate our honeymoon, they had put champagne in the fridge and heart shaped balloons on the bed. We'll never forget this amazing first impression.Overall, the highlights were the peace and quiet, the villa, patio, pool, vegetables from the villa's garden, owners' treats on Saturdays (sweets, biscuits and ice cream), all the places that we visited, the amazing weather.
Unpleasant surprises: When we wanted to use the washing machine, we discovered that it wasn't working. However, the next day two men came in to repair it. So, we shouldn't really classify this as an unpleasant surprise, because it was fixed very promptly.
Rudolf (UK)

Overall impression: Absolutely excellent.  The condition was superb, it was very clean and there were more than enough pots, pans, plates and glasses etc.  We received a warm welcome from the owners despite not being able to converse in each other's languages!
Highlights: The relaxing evenings spent on the patio (it was great that a BBQ was supplied).
Unpleasant surprises: Yes - there was a big black wasp type thing with a massive stinger on its rear end.  I was scared, but then I am a bit of a big jessy.
Paul (UK)

Overall impression: Antonella has obviously put a lot of thought into the design and decoration of Podere Belvedere and we were very happy there.  We were also delighted to find that there was a small (microwave size) oven.  Although we didn't cook in it, it doubled as a toaster and we used it to warm plates.
We have already recommended this property to our friends.
Highlights: this was our fourth visit to Tuscany and we were delighted to find that we were in a rural non-tourist (yet it wasn't too far from Siena for present shopping) area with lots of small local towns and villages and plenty of good restaurants close by.
Unpleasant surprises: No, quite the reverse - this was our best holiday in Tuscany and the accomodation had a lot to do with that.
Gillian (Ireland)

Overall impression: Clean, attractive, friendly owners, private, tranquil, just as advertised. The small kitchen was great. The owners were well prepared for our son and had provided us with a high chair and a toddler bed. They also had a gift for him, which was thoughtful.
We were a bit surprised that the owners didn't speak any English. Luckily we spoke a mixture of Spanish and Italian and got along fine, but we wondered how other, monolingual English speaking guests would fare in this situation.
It would have also been nice to have a bit more written information about the region, on site. Pamphlets, brochures, etc. There wasn't much besides a little map of a couple of places to eat in the nearby town.
Highlights: The Tuscan landscape--- that visible from the outdoor table provided for us at the villa, as well as all around.
Unpleasant surprises: The villa was fairly well equipped but not spectacularly so. For example, it would have been nice to NOT have to purchase dish soap, a sponge for doing dishes, charcoal briquets for the grill, or toilet paper. etc., but perhaps it is convention only in the U.S. (where our vacation rental experience is) to provide these amenities. The owners did not offer to change our towels, and there was only body-sized one one per adult person. Fresh towels would have been nice, mid-week.

Julia Carroll Venegas (USA)

Overall impression: Very Clean and the family where very helpful and friendly, the location was perfect for us.
Highlights: The Italian people, where so friendly, we had our three month old Maya with us and they treated us like stars because of her!!!
Unpleasant surprises:
No, it was one of the best holidays I've been on and I've been to the U.S.A, France, Spain, Asia and Austrailia!!!

Gary

Overall impression: The accomodation was lovely and very accurate to the details on the website.
Highlights: Having the private pool and being so secluded. [our comment - the pool is actually shared with the owners]
Unpleasant surprises: No
Claire

FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

At what time should we arrive and depart?
Arrival time 16.00 if you arrive after 19.00 please telephone
Departure time 10.00 am
Can you help with travel arrangements?
For help on travel arrangements by car, by plane or by train select Reach Tuscany from the home page.
Are the prices per person or per villa?
The prices displayed are per villa.
Are linen and towels provided or do I need to bring my own?
Yes linen and towels are provided and included in the price displayed, bring your own pool towel.
Is the central heating included in the price?
No, the central heating is charged on consumption when required.
Is there a swimming pool?
Yes, there is 13x5 meter, from 1.2 to 2.4 meters deep pool open from June to September
Is there a telephone, fax, email connection available?
No, however in Siena, 10km away, there are public phones and Internet points.
Are there local grocery stores?
Yes within 2km.
How far are the airports?
Florence 1 hour, Pisa 2 hours, Bologna 2 hours, Rome 3 hours.
When do I get road directions?
Directions are provided with your final confirmation, after full payment is received.
Where do I find the directions?
The directions can be found as a link on your final confirmation email. They can also be accessed by logging into your booking details using your useremail and password.
If necessary, how do we contact To Tuscany once in Italy?
As all the villas are privately owned and managed we have no on-site representative however we can be contacted at any time during your stay in Italy. You can call Sean on +39 333 2495106.