NeoPatrick

Been there and done that, but looking to spend a week in September this next year. Just two of us, probably have a car, but we'd like to be CLOSE to a nice town for going to dinner most nights. So the balance between a quiet country setting with a scenic view, yet being close to town is an issue. We only need one bedroom, but AC is pretty essential for us.
And the real trick is that we need a place that rents mid week to mid week -- an issue as most seem to be only Saturday to Saturday.

I see us driving off to Florence, San Gimignano, Siena, and one of the more southern Tuscan towns for a day each, so somewhat central would be nice. I stayed at the wonderful al Poggiolo apartments in Montepulciano once and although they are a little South to be very central, I'd still do that -- except that they only rent Sat to Sat.
Oh, and we'd LIKE to spend less than about $200 US a night if possible.

Looking at most of the websites just becomes mind boggling, and reading the mixed reviews which tend to range from "the most amazingly wonderful place" to "rat-infested garbage dump" seem to be used on most of them.

Marija

Villa Vignamaggio has apartments. I don't know their price these days. We liked it a lot. It's not far from Greve, Panzano, etc. However, the road to town is through vineyards and wasn't well lit.
http://www.vignamaggio.it/index-english.html

NeoPatrick

Thanks, Marija. They do look lovely but those night time drives home from town at night after a bottle or two of wine IS an issue with places like that. And these apartments are a little over $300 a night by the week.

Flame123

We spent a glorious week at Sant' Antonio 2 years ago not far from Montepulciano. They have several options of apartments to rent and the price would probably suit you, although the Sat-Sat rental would not. That said I still am posting their site for your perusal :

http://www.santantonio.it/

Another place we stayed, just outside San Quirico d'Orcia 3 years ago is called Il Poggiolo and they are called "a Residenza". They do not require Sat-Sat rentals and do not even require an entire week. We loved it here as well :

http://www.poggiolo.info/

Good luck in your search!!

china_cat

Patrick, this is the apartment we stayed in quite a long time ago:
http://www.parkervillas.com/italy/tu...sole-etrusco/6

It does not have ac, but since it was up on the hill, there was a decent breeze through it. It is in town, with a few restaurants within walking distance (2 that were pretty good, as I recall) Chiusi is a convenient location with easy access to the highway for touring around. There were 2 drawbacks...one: it was pretty noisy. the highway isn't far away, so when you have those windows open you could hear trucks in the early morning. And we could hear locals at the coffee shops or other appartments pretty late at night too. And second, parking was a bit trying. We could park in front of the apartment SOMEtimes, and some days no parking. Somedays (maybe Sunday) you couldn't even drive on the street. it was kind of confusing.

So definitely a mixed bag.

That said, Parker Villas was great to work with and has a large selection. They are based in the US, so you can call them and tell them your requirements and they can help you find something.

MileHighHC

I just returned from Italy and my husband and I stayed at La Foce for 5 nights: http://www.lafoce.com/

I cannot possibly say enough about this wonderful place. They rent by the week and let us check-in/out on a non-Saturday. It's 10 or 15 from Montepulciano where we had dinner most nights and had no trouble getting home after wine-filled evenings. It's located in the stunning Val D'Orcia with sweeping 360 vineyard views. We stayed at Etrusco in Castellucio - a quiet, private one bedroom apartment with views inside a castle, up a private dirt road. We also found the location very central, as we day-tripped all over (Assisi, Orvieto, Siena, Montalcino, Pienza....).

The property is gorgeous, well priced and well situated, and lovingly cared for.

MileHighHC

Forgot the best part - $500 EU for the week!

NeoPatrick

Thanks, MileHighC, that does look quite nice, although you were in low season -- for us it would be 825 euro -- but not a deal breaker, if they will rent non-Saturday. A couple of questions. The pictures of Etrusco show no windows -- are there? Any view from the apartment -- lots of light? Any terrace? And also is the bed a double or a queen? Looks small in the picture.

I'm also a little confused. Each of those houses is in a different location, scattered over a number of miles? I'm also kind of taken with Bersagliere in Chiarentana.

Sher

NeoPatrick. We rented a place not far from La Foce. My impression is that the apartments are scattered.
The area is beautiful but if you are looking for something closer to a town this place is not it. They are located in the countryside. And this location is very South IMHO.
But you cannot beat the beautiful countryside around there.

zoecat

Some places may have availability starting mid-week even though they advertise Sat-Sat. Try some of these-

http://www.santamariapienza.it/index.php?lang=ing

http://www.agriturismocasalpiano.it/index.html

http://www.cretaiole.it/index.en.php
(Excellent location)

http://www.cretedisiena.com/Casa_Picchiata/english.htm
(Excellent location)

http://www.terredinano.com/pages_eng...o_toscana.aspx

http://www.lafonte.toscana.it/2006/ita/
(Excellent location)

http://www.agriturismosangallo.com/ENG/home.html

http://www.tobruk.it/agriturismo.php?lingua=en
(Incredible views and a beautiful property)

http://www.casafrati.toscana.nu/
(Well priced)

http://www.lupaia.com/location.html
(A beautiful B&B located in the valley below Montepulciano)

http://www.lafoce.com/
(Beautiful apartments/houses/villa/property- very special)

http://www.lacasadiadelina.com/index...t&id=9&lang=en
(A small, lovely B&B located within the small, lovely town of Monticchiello)

http://www.lemaribelle.it/intro.en.php
(3 apartments located in Monticchiello)

If none of the above works for you, consider searching these two websites-

http://www.cretedisiena.com/english/

http://www.vrbo.com/vacation-rentals...cany/valdorcia

kraines

Visit this website, www.untours.com. They rent we'd to wed

msday

I am promoting the town in which I live-Livorno I would really like to see more Americans visiting. So I am going to add a link. It's like a diamond in the rough. The reason why it's not as popular as it's sister city-Pisa-is because it sustained some damage furing the war. However, there is loads of history, great food, diversity and you can find some pretty inexpensive places that may have A/C. My little albergo doesn't have A/C but there are some great places around. Please check out this site. It belongs to another American expat who lives in the area and has great info.
http://www.livornonow.com/about_livorno

Dayle

NeoPatrick,

SO good to see you here! If you don't really want to cook, how about this place? We stayed here years ago and voted it the most perfect place of our three week trip.

Quiet, tiny village in Chianti, about 20 min. drive north out of Siena off the S222. They serve dinner if you reserve ahead. We had one of their largest rooms, Gli Archi. I don't remember AC because we were there in May. The ancient stone walls are 3 feet thick so I don't think you need it!

Residence San Sano**** www.tuscany.it

There was a family run trattoria in the village that had great food and was lots of fun too.

It would be a windy drive to Siena, Greve, Castellina, but we loved it and did day trips from there.

Michael_Guzov

Hi NeoPatrick,
See you're planning a trip to Tuscany, looking to rent mid-week to mid-week. We've done just that! Had a wonderful trip to the to the Val d’Orcia- stayed in am oh-so-charming house in a village that's part of the town of Sarteano. Access to the village was easy (a very wide dirt road) and the views from the house were breathtaking- scenes unchanged from the middle ages. We had great access to loads of hilltowns such as Chiusi, Cetona, San Casciano, Pienza, Montepulciano,Perugia! We rented a little house for the week (www.casacollecetona.com). There is a very good trattoria just next door to the house, and a short drive away, we ate in other excellent spots.
Good luck with your trip!

NeoPatrick

Sandy, it's too bad you weren't able to understand what you agreed to when you signed on to Fodors -- NOT to advertise. But that aside, clearly you must not have even read my original post or you wouldn't have suggested this very expensive villa for 8 people which has no relation to what I am seeking.

By the way, I never rent a place that doesn't list their "tariffs" but requires a request for them -- a sure sign that it's WAY OUT of my price range. Are you suggesting this place is within my budget of less than $200 US (150 euro) per night during September?

kybourbon

The Portale Pienza website show properties around that area with direct links to owners. Click on farmhouse holidays.
http://www.portalepienza.it/

You can also find direct links for apartments/rooms on the Bed and Breakfast in Italy website. You can narrow your search as much as you want after clicking region by select either a province or town. You can also select centro if you want to stay in a town.
http://www.bed-and-breakfast-in-italy.com/

kybourbon

If you scroll to the bottom after selecting a province, you can select air conditioning for the search.

RSS

Radda is our favorite. Great rentals, charming town, local market. Good location to hike in a variety of locations. If you want to go further north, consider the Dolomites which are spectacular and undiscovered!

tarquin

Sandy is onto the trick of placing an ad Friday afternoon and getting a weekend of free advertising. If ever I decide to leave the forum, you may get the chance to see my B&B.

Is "Rotschild" a name?

MileHighHC

Hi NeoPatrick - sorry for the very late reply on La Foce! Etrusco did have windows - one in the living/dining/kitchen, one in the bathroom and one in the window, all with beautiful views of the rolling hills. There was no terrace and I believe 2-3 apartments within Castellucio. The rentals are spread out over a number of miles but clustered together - 2-3 apartments in Chiarentana as well I think (didn't see it first hand).

I didn't even think about a higher price in the different season - sorry about that! That's quite a jump but I do hope it works out. The bed was a queen. I'd say a medium amount of light but we were there when the days were short and we were often away until sundown. There was a gorgeous manicured pool on the property - closed for the winter but looked lovely. Also, it's definitely not "in" town or even walking distance but I do want to emphasize it was a very quick and easy drive to nearby towns for dinner each night. Good luck with whatever you decide!