To Tuscany

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Pretaccione - La Porcilaia - Client comments
Superb.  Very comfortable. Well appointed and easy to use.  Pool excellent. Its layout and setting.  I will never forget swimming in the pool looking out over the valley with the swallows feeding overhead.  I have some pencil sketches that I will try to convert to watercolours.
Terry Webb (Accommodation: La Torre)
Very high standard accommodation, very well fitted out and supplied, from kitchen implements to guide-books.
Keith Robinson (Accommodation: La Porcilaia)
We had a very pleasant holiday and are satisfied with the To Tuscany service - the web site accurately portrayed the accommodation and the instructions for finding it were comprehensive and accurate.
The accommodation itself was to a very high standard and I was particularly happy with the battery de cuisine since the main purpose of our trip was to cook Italian spring vegetables.
Loris Caren (Accommodation: Fornaio)
August 2004
We have visited Italy for a holiday for 4 out of the past 5 years. (3rd time visiting Chianti). We love the place. Beautiful countryside and weather and so much to see in the towns and villages. On this trip we have been to Florence – we really like to climb up inside Brunelleschi’s dome and marvel at the structure, art work and the view. I can never resist buying bags in the leather market. We have also visited Siena, Colle di Val d’Elsa, Montereggione and some of the local villages. All wonderful places.
We have really enjoyed the peace, privacy and beauty of Pretaccione. Il Fornaio is perfect. Many thanks.
Pauline and Stuart  (Accommodation: Fornaio)
May 2005
The web-site states that Fornaio has a well-equipped kitchen and it lived up to its promise (the best rental I’ve ever taken), but where was the lemon-squeezer?
We recommend the walk up to Dievole (in May at any rate) although you’d have to run to make it in ¾ hour – allow 1 ½ hour if you’ve booked a tour around the cellars. Turn right down the steep hill at the Madonna and then fork left at the bottom – the road/track sweeps past a ruined house that you can see and after that it’s just follow the track for about 5 km.
The Grotta della Rana in San Sano is also a worthwhile destination. There’s a frog statue nearby which is fun too.
Loris & Christine  (Accommodation: Fornaio)
June 2005
This was our first (of many?) visits to Tuscany and we instantly fell in love with the place. The apartment suited our needs perfectly and we particularly enjoyed watching the sun slowly set whilst sipping a large well earned gin & tonic! We enjoyed exploring the local area from the picturesque towns and villages to the wonderful local restaurants in San Sano, Lecchi and Radda. (Al Chusso del Portici) Having researched the local ice-creams exhaustively our favorites could be found in the Piazza Cisternci, San Gimignano – our favorite town and an astonishing place to visit – much better than Siena. We were particularly struck with the beauty of Volpaia. We’ve enjoyed sampling the numerous local wines and we now are converts to Chianti Classico! One of the highlights of our stay was a very close encounter with a wild board during a spectacular thunderstorm.
Playing tennis for an hour every morning before plunging into the pool was a real pleasure, despite the high bounce! Overall a fantastic holiday with many cherished memories of our time at La Fornaio. We hope to come back for more wonderful experiences in years to come!
Nora & Peter
P.S. CD player was a real bonus and tunes to help set the mood for the evening… 
(Accommodation: Fornaio)
Tuscany was fabulous as always. Accommodation very well equipped, lovely setting and very high standard. 'To Tuscany' very helpful and good service.
The only issue we had was it was not 2km from the nearest town! Maybe at 2km to the end of the dirt track and then 2km to the nearest town, certainly not walking distance unless you were prepared to do a 2 hr hike every day. I think it should be changed on the details as we were a bit disappointed we could not walk to the local village.  [Our response - This information has been checked and edited on the site, the correct distance in 4km]
Apart from that it was lovely.
Thanks
Kind regards
Jo Slater (Accommodation: La Torre)
Hi Linda,
Just a quick note to say thank you so much for organsing our accommodation at Petroccioni (don't know if that is the correct spelling). We had a wonderful time and the venue really topped it off. Lecchi and the Chianti region is to die for and of course we would love to go back. We did the one day cooking class with Paolo and Simonetta and had a ball - ate far to well and matched that with the drinking!
You were spot on with all your advice and of course we will be recommending you to anyone who wants the "Tuscan experience". We had great neighbours and spent some lovely evenings with them sitting out side on our terrace under the Tuscan sun. The weather was fantastic. Apparently it had only been 7C the week before we got there but our days were 25-30C each day. Absolutely loved the whole thing so again thank you for your tips and recommendations.
At the moment you are our favorite person!!
Anne and Stan McGlashan (Accommodation: Fornaio)
Hi Dympna -
Sadly, we are already back from our vacation.
I just wanted you to know how much we enjoyed our stay in Tuscany. Fornaio at Pretaccione was perfect for our needs, and we loved Lecchi. We stopped at Palmira's store and Paulo's bar a few times. And, we appreciate all your help with making this a memorable vacation for us. Thank you so much!
We hope to return to Tuscany.
Beth (Accommodation: Fornaio
Overall impression: We absolutely loved our villa.  It was everything we had hoped for.  We lit a fire each night and had a wonderful time playing "Blokus" and drinking wine.
Highlights: Probably just the fact that we could not believe we had "fell in to" - what we considered - the perfect place to stay in Italy.  We loved our villa.  We thought the location was excellent.  We took road trips to Sienna, little villages like San Sano and Radda, and the we discovered the wonderful town of San Gimignano.  We had an excellent meal when our private chef came to cook one night.  And then there was the day that we just simply hung around the villa and enjoyed the blue sky and peace and quiet.
unpleasant surprises:  We would not consider it unpleasant; however, we did have a chuckle when we discovered there was no clothes dryer!  We assumed that as there was a washer, there would be a dryer.  Once we realized that the clothes horse was the dryer, we did not mind using such, we just laughed at ourselves.  It was great.
We just wanted to add that we absolutely loved our place and found it quite sad to say goodbye.  That one week that we had at your villa was so much more than we ever expected.  It was a little piece of heaven.  If we ever get the chance to return to Italy, we most definitely will be returning to one of your properties.  Thank you again so much.  As we have never been to Europe previously, it made the wait very worthwhile.
Pat and Bob, Candee and Gary  (Accommodation: La Porcilaia)
Overall impression: A lovely part of an old house that was well equiped and clean
Highlights: Walking round the walls of Pienza at sunset and watching the countryside melt into purples
Unpleasant surprises: The ceiling in the mezzanine bedroom was a lot lower than we expected and made using the space difficult for an adult. The property was further out in the countryside than we expected but I have to admit the silence in the evenings was superb and the occasional deer ran across the field below our apartment.
David  (Accommodation: Della Francesca)
Overall impression: Very well equipped and comfortable. It was rather dark but that was the style of the building and it helped with the heat! The facilities allowed it to feel like home and having the english channels on the TV was great.
Highlights: Hiring a car and taking trips to Siena, Florence, Cataline, Rhadda and San Gimiangno. Siena is incredible and not to be missed!
Unpleasant surprises: A huge amount of wasps that gathered daily in and around the pool area!
Rebecca (Accommodation: Fornaio)
Overall impression: Fantastic.
Highlights: Being able to have the flexibility of doing our own thing.
Abigail (Accommodation: Fornaio)
Overall impression: Great apartment, georgeous garden, tidy pool, tennis was excellent
Highlights: This 1st week as a whole and a visit to Rome.
Unpleasant surprises: No, La Vecchia Stalla and the area was a lovely piece of Italy. The British owners really made their best to get the visitors enjoy the stay. A brilliant (not too hot) apt, too.
Marita (Accommodation: La Vecchia Stalla)
Overall impression: excellent - the best appointed villa we have ever stayed in - we have never had such a great arrange of pans, utensiles CDs DVDs etc to use or enjoy. However the weather was fantastic so we didn't have to wade through the DVD library thankfully!!
Highlights:Andrea Giusti came to prepare a meal one evening and was able to cater for my mother in law who has a gluten and dairy intolerence. Seeing as this ruled out pasta and cheese, Andrea came up with a wonderful meal
Unpleasant surprises: Apart from waking up on the last day to realise we had to return to the UK the only downside was that the television had UK channels and therefore my father in law was able to watch the news which we normally avoid so as to get away from everything!! Still it kept him happy!!
Anthony (Accommodation: La Torre)
This truly is a wonderful place. Reading through everyone’s comments I’m not sure there’s anything else to add. The apartment is a wonderful base to discover Tuscany. It really has been a getaway from it all holiday and we feel totally relaxed now.You have a beautiful place in a beautiful setting and we are very envious.
Thank you for letting us share it.
Dianne and Bob (Accommodation: Il Fornaio)

A truly tranquil and relaxing spot, a very well appointed cottage, although the missing fan would have come in useful but did not detract from the special place that is “il Fornaio.”
We loved using the BBQ for outside dining in the beautiful … and would have loved a couple of sunbeds there as well, as mentioned by previous occupants, maybe something we can look forward to on our intended future visits?  It is very rare that we would ever consider returning to the same place on holiday, but this delightful place has left a lasting positive impression on us, in every way possible.
P.S. Don’t worry if you hear dogs and shots in the night.  It’s just the boar hunters!
Penny & Paul (Accommodation: il Fornaio)

We had a spectacular time in Pretaccione at our little villa, Il Fornaio; The hills of Tuscany were very alluring & we took many back roads to discover the culture. We especially enjoyed the market in Castellina (in spite of frigid cold). Our trips to Siena, Firenze &San Gimignano were all very different, but each had their own charm. You will find the most welcoming greeting from a sweet lade who runs the market in Lecchi in Chianti. The hills are full of enchanting little villages with their own pieces of history. We also found a special friend that we nicknamed “Sir Charles” which we later found is the local “gatto” named Kitty. She, “Charlie” is very tame and very well behaved if you would like to have her visit with you inside Il Fornaio. We left cat food so we hope you will take care of her as we have. She’s a very loving, gentle spirit! Il Fornaio was an excellent find! We cooked many meals here as well as had Andrea come in to cook Michael a 5-course Birthday Dinner – what a wonderful way to end our stay here at Il Fornaio! We hope you will fall in love all over again as we have here in Pretaccione! Karen & Michael (Accommodation: Il Fornaio)
We have enjoyed a wonderful week, in a location perfect for relaxation. Not only does the villa provide an excellent holt-hale, but the surrounding villages have great restaurants; namely Malborghetto in Lecchi (closed Tuesday) and Grotta della Rana in San Sano (closed Wed.). We would certainly come back. Simon and Abigail (Accommodation: Il Fornaio)
Click on Map to Enlarge
Location Information
Swimming pool - 14x 5.5mtrs and 1.45 to 2.20mtrs deep and is open from Easter to October
Tennis Court - full size situated in the grounds, bring your own racquets and balls
Babysitter - book in advance
House Maid - book in advance
Private Chef - book in advance
Distances - Florence 40km, Siena 25km, San Gimignano 50km
Approach road - 1km good unpaved road - 500 mtrs bumpy unpaved road not ideal for motorbikes.
Self-service check-in - see pop-up image for details
Other services Trip Advisor comments