Podere Gabbiano, Castellina in Chianti - Siena and Chianti

We packed with great sadness when leaving Podere Gabbiano, our high expectations having been fully realised.
The house itself was amazing and had all the facilities you could possibly need on a holiday. Podere Gabbiano is an ideal property for 10, in our case 6 adults, 3 young children and a baby. A travel cot and a high chair were provided for our youngest.

All rooms were well appointed and very comfortable, a large fully equipped kitchen, with a use and replace ethos on items like olive oil and coffee, so good for cooks.

The bedrooms all had shutters. We used the air con sparingly, enough to cool the rooms as we went to bed, as this was not included in the rental and was charged by the unit at the end of the holiday.
The very large sitting room was naturally cool in the hot sun, the gym and wine tasting room were interesting additions.
The outdoor dining area worked well for lunch out of the sun or a lovely BBQ in the evening. We also had a private chef for a couple of nights.

It was great that the cleaners came on the middle Saturday to change bedding and towels and clean the bathrooms.
Sadly we never got around to using the original farmhouse pizza oven as the local pizza chef was unavailable. If you are intending to visit I would recommend booking ahead.

The pool was perfect, refreshing on those hot afternoons, cleaned regularly, with a gate to isolate it from the little ones who think their swimming ability is better than it is.

The view from the shower in the main bedroom was so good we took a photo and sent it to some friends with the subtitle "best shower views of the world."

The local town, Castellina in Chianti was 10ish minutes away with lovely restaurants, wine tasting and a reasonably useful Coop. The surrounding area is stunning, with many more villages visited, each with their own opportunity for great family restaurants, which of course we did utilise. It was easy drive (40 minutes) to Siena or Firenze for those longer days out. San Gimiano was 40 minutes away, Certaldo a little further but there is a wonderful restaurant in Certaldo Alto. Plenty of wine tasting was undertaken, most within 15/20 minutes of the house, sad that we were flying rather than driving. The booking process with To Tuscany was easy with great communication and support. They provided us with the name of the private chef. Once all monies had been paid we were sent the location and access details. Having fully paid we were contacted by the owner Jonathan, who provided us with detailed info on the house, recommendations on where to go, where to eat etc, which while mainly duplicating the info in the house was very useful to receive before arriving. We felt privileged to share Jonathan's house, if only for two weeks, we would loved to have stayed longer.

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Wir waren zwei Familien und haben im Juli eine Woche auf dem wunderbaren Anwesen verbracht: es war ein Genuss. Die geschmackvoll renovierte Anlage ist grosszügig und fantastisch gelegen, eingebettet zwischen Wäldchen und Olivenhainen, mit Blick in die traumhafte toskanische Landschaft. Das Haus ist neu ausgebaut und hat alles, was einen Bilderbuchurlaub in der Toskana ausmacht: einen grossen Pool mit Aussicht und Liegefläche, eine gut bestückte Küche, Pizzaofen, Grillmöglichkeiten und einen langen Tisch für das gemeinsame Abendessen in lauen Sommernächten. Die typische Ortschaft Castellina in Chianti ist nur einen Steinwurf entfernt und hat nette Läden und Restaurants. Unsere Woche war Erholung pur und ging viel zu schnell vorbei!

We spent a wonderful week in July, 2025 at the villa. The peaceful ambiance in the beautifully restored buildings was just what we were looking for. The kitchen was well set up, and a great spot for our evening meals.
The bedrooms were well appointed and beds very comfortable.
We enjoyed a fun evening doing a wine tasting in the tasting room off the huge living area.

Overall, I highly recommend Podere Gabbiano

Ristoro di Lamole has been one of our favourites for years, and never fails to impress!

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Wij waren uitermate tevreden over Podere Gabbiano. Het huis is prachtig gelegen. Het is binnen stijlvol ingericht. De keuken is fully equipped en de slaapkamers/badkamers zijn comfortabel en proper.
Buiten is er een prachtig zwembad en de ping-pong tafel is een leuk extra.
Ik wil ook doorgeven dat Jonathan, de eigenaar, zeer attentvol is.
Samengevat: een topverblijf!

e-bike fietstocht (stuk van l'eroica), fietsverhuur bicilletaio in Gaiole was zeer goed. Resto in Castellina: zeer tevreden over Squarcialupi Bezoek in Firenze met Sophie D'haese (= nederlandstalige gids die al 20j in Firenze woont): een aanrader