Travelind27

Hi,

We are 20 people - 12 adults - 8 children aged 6 - 11 yrs who plan to travel to Tuscany, Italy mid June 2012.
We are looking for luxurious cottages/small villas with 2-3 bedrooms each. We'd like it to be close to a village or a town.

Hoping to get some advice so that we can book fast, we realize we are already a little late considering we are so many of us...

Thank you

bobthenavigator

Talk to Isabella about her main place and her wonderful apartments in Castelmuzio---the nicest I have seen. Find her here--she speaks perfect English.
http://www.cretaiole.it/index.en.php

ekc

Look at Castiglion del Bosco. Fantastic property and they have several villas available. Just outside of Buonconvento and a great location for exploring Tuscany. We loved our stay there.
www.castigliondelbosco.com/

bobthenavigator

And, this place near Pienza:
http://www.lasaracina.it/home.en.php

cafegoddess

Bob, both of your links are wonderful, thank you. Have you stayed at Cretaiole? I love the idea of being able to go to their garden and pick what I need for dinner.

Tuscany is our next destination, so again thank for the information.

bobthenavigator

Have not stayed there but did spend time there this past year. The best asset of the property is Isabella herself---she is a jewel.

Mimar

Yes, don't wait. Most such places are booked a year ahead of time or so.

Also if you get multiple small units, you likely won't have a big space for everybody to get together. The units will have small living rooms and small dining rooms. One of my criteria when traveling with a group is a table big enough for us to all eat together, preferably one such inside and one outside.

Travelind27

Hi,

Thank you so much for your suggestions.
Bobthenavigator, your recommendations sound really good - however Lasaracina has only 6 rooms (and we need more). Cretaiole looks perfect - love all the activities they offer. However, we are looking for a fully serviced space and this seems to be serviced maximum twice a week.
ekc - Castiglion del Bosco looks stunning - will contact them for sure.
Mimar, I agree, you do need one big space when you travel in a group but since we are 5 separate families traveling together we would like to give each other some space, therefore the need for separate villas
If anyone has more suggestions on these lines, please do send them in.
Thank you.

KathyWood

Apartments/cottages/villas (rentals) are normally only serviced once a week. But it's always possible that you can get daily service for an additional cost. I'd definitely ask about this. In Tuscany you can also often arrange for dinner to be provided one or more nights.

If you're looking for mid June this summer and for multiple units-- yes, definitely you need to get on this ASAP.

Kathy

zeppole

This place might have the level of service you are looking for. I've never stayed here, so you'd need to track down reviews:

http://www.fonterutoli.com/

tarquin

Take a look at www.lafoce.com. If money is no object, the main house is set in beautiful gardens with a pool, and is fully serviced. Other permutations of rental properties are available around the estate.

Travelind27

Thanks everyone.

What is scary is when you read reviews of people saying the property didn't turn out to be as advertised.

Will search for online reviews..

tarquin, La foce looks beautiful.
Kathywood, thanks, will check regarding the maid service. thats a valid point..

Travelind27

Thanks everyone.

What is scary is when you read reviews of people saying the property didn't turn out to be as advertised.

Will search for online reviews..

tarquin, La foce looks beautiful.
Kathywood, thanks, will check regarding the maid service. thats a valid point..

Mimar

You might want to hire a travel agent to help you with this search. Time is short and you have demanding requirements. I don't know where you live, but in the US one source of expert travel agents is the yearly list in Conde Nast Traveler magazine. And there are other such lists, all of which you can find online.

HappyTrvlr

Write to Karen at info @chianti-and-more.com
She handles upscale properties in the Chianti region.

ekc

No problem Travelind - it really is beautiful and at night you can see the lights of (I think) Montalchino in the distance. The entire property is an amazing medieval town purchased by the Ferragamo family and turned into a resort. A friend of ours stayed there last year and said it is a fantastic as ever.

kybourbon

You might check some of these.
http://www.agriturismo.it/en/farmhou...524/index.html

http://www.agriturismo.it/en/farmhou...048/index.html

http://www.agriturismo.it/en/farmhou...o-gallery.html

http://www.villaibarronci.com/