TJinSOMA

Five couples are heading to Cortona next year and we are looking for a five bedroom / five bath villa which is walkable to Cortona. Has anyone stayed in such a villa and/or rented from one of the following companies which each have one which meets criteria on paper. The company names are the following: Italian Town & Country, Villa Charme and Luxury Retreats.

Interested in a nice, comfortable property with some luxury (nice baths and not all broken down furniture). Bramasole on Luxury Retreats appears great but is likely beyond what we want to spend. Thanks

bobthenavigator

Have you looked at reviews on slowtrav.com?

Why Cortona---there are better locations in Tuscany.

kybourbon

>>>which is walkable to Cortona<<<<

Cortona is up a steep hill. Do you mean you want to stay in Cortona? A private villa or somewhere with multiple apartments?

TJinSOMA

We've been to Tuscany (including Cortona) several times and like the vibe and size of Cortona versus Siena, Florence, etc. Also would provide the opportunity to explore Umbria a bit since so close by. Understood that Cortona is on a steep hill but we are looking for a villa which is walkable to town since we will likely cook some evenings and go out some evenings. We are all big walkers and the villas are pretty clear on what "walkable" means. Thanks

meece

We will be staying at a villa called Le Due Sorelle at the end of June. This is very walkable to the town of Cortona. It is set up into two separate units. Four couples will be staying here, however, if I remember correctly, there is an additional bedroom. I cannot tell for certain what it will be like, but it had some good reviews and Barbara, our contact has been most helpful. If you Google the villas name you should be able to pull up information, reviews and some photos. Contact info is: Barbara of Rent Villas, 1-800-726-6702 x 102. If you aren't planning to travel right away I will be happy to give you a full report on this villa after I return in early July.

StCirq

What time of year are you planning on renting? Cortona is fairly delightful in off-season, but IMO absolutely unbearable in summer, when it is a solid wall-to-wall mass of Americans and Brits and other tourists speaking amurican.

What meece suggests sound nice, though I would never place myself that close to Cortona. I'd be over on the shores of Lago Trasimeno, a short hop from Cortona but with a beach and market and so much more.

TJinSOMA

Report would be great meece. We are planning on early May 2013 (pre school being out so more off season as StCirq mentioned. We prefer the walkable to town as I enjoy some space but like walking into town to get my espresso in the morning and also walking to/from dinner (everyone ges to enjoy their wine). We then tend to do our day trips away when the hoarders of day trippers invade. We did this approach for San Gimignano a few years ago and it worked well as it was a different town without the day trippers.

StCirq

Just to add a small detail - I highly doubt you'll find a place with 5 bathrooms. It's just not the norm in Europe to have a bathroom for every bedroom. You might need to modify your expectations on that account. When I bought my house in France, which has four bedrooms, it was considered highly unusual that it had two bathrooms.

Mimar

When renting self-catering accommodations as a group, I prefer a single big property rather than multiple individual units. I look for one with a big dining table and a big outdoor table, so we can have dinners together. In fact, we've had some dinners catered, which has worked out to be very reasonable in price compared to restaurants.

Of course, you might sacrifice individual bathrooms to get this.

Huggy

I have worked in the past with Vacanza Bella, run by Daniel Morneau. He has large properties but not sure anything is adjacent to Cortona. I noted on his web site that several properties have baths for each bedroom. His web site is vbella.com. He is extremely reliable.

meece

TJinSOMA, I just returned from my trip to Italy and I have to say I would HIGHLY recommend the villa we stayed at to anyone! The owners are such wonderful people!!! We felt like family. I had the best meals there as well. The owners are amazing cooks as well as gracious hosts. There are 5 bedrooms and 5 baths. Three of the rooms are in the "big house". These offer the most privacy and have separate entrances as well as the main one. The other house has 2 bedrooms that are fairly small and right next to each other. You don't get a great deal of privacy in this house, but you do get your own bathrooms. It was spotless and had everything that we needed. (Of course, do remember that it is in the country, so you will see "critters" througout your stay. If you aren't a country person, you'd be better off staying in one of the towns.)

You are able to walk into the town of Cortona from the villa. You said you are "big walkers", so that's good. It is a bit of a hike, but a very scenic and safe one. The owner has even installed lighting to help with night walks. The town of Cortona is charming. It is one of my favorite that we visited. It had much less visitors than some of the other hill towns.

If you're still interested in more details, let me know how to contact you and I can pass on the information. Happy planning!