Buon Giorno Fellow Fodorites! It's been a bit since I've planned a big trip, but I'm at it and need your help! We are planning a fall 2011 trip to Rome and Tuscany. We've done Tuscany before with two other couples (6 total) and loved it. For that trip we stayed in a villa in a small village (San Giovanni D'Asso) and LOVED it! This time we are two couples only and there just aren't as many villa options for smaller groups. Much of what I am seeing are "apartments" or "agritourismo" (farm apartments). My question is this...is it possible to stay in an apartment/farm apartment that will still feel like a villa? We want to visit towns (Montepulciano, Pienza, Siena, SG, maybe Cortona) during the day and retire to our "abode" in the evenings to cook wonderful meals and enjoy good wine and each other's company. In a villa we would have privacy, a decent kitchen and outdoor space for dining with incredible views. Can we find the same in an apartment or agritourismo? Any suggestions (specific places or rental outfits)? We would be interested in taking cooking classes and vineyard/winery tours, which some agritourismo places may offer, so that's a plus. Mille grazie!!

Here are some good options. We will be at the Politian apartments in Montepulciano in May---excellent location and prices. Self catering may not be easy:

BOB’S FAVORITE DIGS IN TUSCANY
A. RURAL LOCATIONS: All have parking and good food options nearby

1. Relais La Saracina www.lasaracina.it 230 to 300E
Fabulous country home near Montepulciano—helpful owners

2. Cretaiole Agriturismo http://www.cretaiole.it/ Good value for families
Isabella also has 2 apartments in Castelmuzio for rent—a good option.

3. Terre di Nano www.terredinano.com 100 to 155
Both rooms and apartments at rural Agriturismo near Monticchiello

4. Casanova di Pescille http://www.casanovadipescille.com/ 100E
Rural B&B 3 KM from famed San Gimignano—we loved the views of San Gim.

5. Fattoria Tregole www.fattoria-tregole.com 110E to 180E
Has both B&B and apartment accommodations. Near Castellina in Chianti

6. Agriturismo apts. near San Quirico— www.poggiolo.info/ About 110E

7. New historic B&B north of Pienza. http://www.camprena.it/index.htm
Site of filming for THE ENGLISH PATIENT About 90E for double

8. http://www.borgoargenina.it/index.html A special rural B&B in Chianti.
The lovely owner, Elena, will make you feel like family. 170E for double

B. IN-TOWN LOCATIONS: For walking convenience to shops & ristorantes.

1. Palazzo del Capitano www.palazzodelcapitano.com 170 to 210E
Very nice small hotel in center of San Quirico—perfect location to explore.

2. Vecchia Oliviera www.tuscany.net/oliviera/ 150 to 200E
Nice 4 star hotel at the gate into lovely Montalcino---has pool.

3. Palazzina Cesari www.montalcinoitaly.com 80 to 110E
Lovely small B&B in heart of Montalcino—great value—2 night stay minimum.

4. Locanda di San Francesco www.locandasanfrancesco.it 180 to 200E
New boutique B&B in a lovely location in Montepulciano—great reviews !

5. Politian apartments http://www.politian.com/ Good value apts. with
minimum stay of 3 nights in Montepulciano---helpful host---85E

6. Palazzo Ravizza www.palazzoravizza.it 130 to 180E
Very nice & popular hotel in Siena with parking.

7. Fattoria Vignale http://www.vignale.it/eng/ Four star hotel in Radda in the heart of Chianti. About 230E for double

kireland,
Try La Crociona http://www.lacrociona.com/
They have two apartments(first floor and second floor) in a sperate building a little apart from the other buildings. It has its own patio with table and chairs.

La Foce, Iris Origo's estate (see Tedgale's current Montepulciano trip report), has a house for four people that rents for 1400 Euro a week in the fall: Casa del Bove.

Check out papavero rentals. You'll have to wade through listings for larger villas, but they do have quite a few for two-bedroom, independent villas

http://www.papaverorentals.com/siena...ionNumber=1219

and here are other choices

http://www.tuscany-villas.it/vacation_rentals/48394/

http://www.tuscany-villas.it/vacation_rentals/26121/
I think you can find winery tours and cooking classes indepedent of the rental. I would put the emphasis on privacy, comfort (two bathrooms?) and a good location convenient to the towns you want to visit.

(By the way, I'm sure you already know you don't want a 4-star hotel in Radda.)

Thank you to everyone for your speedy replies! La Foce looks promising and so does Terre di Nano! The villas and apartments of Cretaiole are nice too, but there are no prices listed on their site so I have emailed a request for rates. I especially like that the units at Terre di Nano do not require a full week's rental. If we can I think we want to do 5 nights in Tuscany and 3 in Rome. Our next big decision is whether to do Rome at the beginning or end of our trip! Any opinions?

We'll be staying next June at Podere Patrignone - http://www.patrignone.com/ - which is in the countryside near Castellina in Chianti, midway between Florence and Siena. The villa apparently dates back about 500 years, and over that time several separate apartments were grafted onto it to house the extended family and tenant farmers. It's on an organic olive farm run by an ex-pat British family, and it gets rave reviews on TripAdvisor.com (84 out of 99 reviews grading it "excellent"; another 10 giving it "Very Good").

I can't speak from experience, but it's what we chose after a lot of research.

If you fly home from Rome then make it last.
The apartments that Isabella has in Castelmuzio are worth a close look. I forget the prices but she will be prompt to answer and speaks perfect English.

Sent an email to Isabella re Castelmuzio - waiting to hear back. Spoke with Alice at Italian Enterprises in DC (I am a local and they have been excellent at getting back to me with info) and Casa del Bove won't be available in October 2011. It wouldn't have worked in any event as one of the bedrooms has two singles, which cannot be pushed together. In the Italian Enterprises brochure they sent me (overnight!) I did find a small, luxury villa called "Villa Agresto", which is just 3 km from Siena. It looks perfect for us - 2 bedrooms with ensuites on two separate levels (privacy!), a nice living room, kitchen and outdoor dining. It is a bit more than the daily rate for an apartment at Terre di Nano, but at $1580 US/week it will work out to $316 per night for five nights ($158 per couple), which is in our price range and it's for astand alone villa which we wanted! So things are looking good in the villa department so far!

As for Rome - I did some looking around for hotels and found the one I stayed at last time (Hotel delle Nazioni). It is rated well online and close to the Trevi Fountain, a good location. It's a bit pricey (though maybe not for Rome?) at approx $360 per night, but I know it's a good hotel in a great location. I'm also thinking aobut the Hotel Pantheon and the Albergo Cesari, which are around the same price.

Bob - you mentioned staying in Rome on the front end (yes we are flying in/out of Rome). Why do you recommend that? I have been weighing the pros and cons of each:
Rome First
- pros: don't have to take a long drive after overnight flight; can hit the ground running and fill the day with sight seeing; peace and quiet of Tuscany awaits after hustle bustle of Rome.
- cons: have to get back to airport to get rental car for drive to Tuscany; have to leave early from Tuscany to drive to airport and return rental car before flight.
Rome Last
- pros: can rent car at airport on arrival for drive to Tuscany; easier airport transfer for return flight from Rome hotel than from Tuscany.
- cons: will leave peace and quite of Tuscany for hustle bustle of Rome which might not seem so relaxing.

So much to consider!

If you fly home from Rome then try to avoid staying there twice--does that make sense?

Some great links. Bookmarking