House/villa in Italy or France
 

In the summer or early fall of 2016 I'd like to find a nice house or villa for a group of 9. We'd need 5 bedrooms but the rooms can be small. The ages will range from 6 and 9 years old to 80 years old. A pool would be great for the kids (and the rest of us). Depending on the cost we can stay for a week or maybe even two. We'd like to be within a half hour's drive of a town (something like Florence or Lucca, or perhaps St Remy, or similar). Hoping for something beautiful and fun, lovely and special but it doesn't have to be luxurious. I'm open to suggestions. Thanks!

Just wanted to add - when I say "open to suggestions" that includes other countries - maybe the perfect place is in Spain or Portugal? I haven't done a family reunion out of the US before and it's daunting!

http://www.summerinitaly.com/

http://www.my-amalfi-coast.com/

Couple of ideas to get you started.

There are literally thousands of locations in Italy that fit the very general criteria you've posted. Do you want to go to Tuscany? What would be the "perfect place" in Italy (or France, Spain or Portugal) is unknowable without knowing whether anyone in your group speaks Italian or any language other than English, whether your group all has good mobility (climbing stairs/long walks on uneven surfaces) or if anyone has food allergies or strong dislikes/preferences, and how much you want to spend. Most of all you need to figure out whether you are traveling in summer or early fall (in Europe, summer ends Sept 21). You will not find many pools open in early fall. You will not find air conditioning in many locations Tuscan villas in summer.

You might also want to give some thought as to what you want your group to be experiencing when they are away from the rental and how you are going travel inside Italy as a group of 9.

What really matters when you go shopping for a villa in Italy is how many bathrooms you need (and their location) and whether the beds are the right kinds of beds for your group. Many villas with 5 bedrooms have no twin beds in them. Some have bunk beds. You should also think about whether you might prefer to rent a couple of conjoined apartments on a farm that also has a restuarant or serves dinner to its guests so you are not shopping, cooking and cleaning every day. It is also a good idea not to rent a villa for 9 people without knowing how far you are from the nearest supermarket. Many locations in Italy only have small individual food shops nearby -- there is a butcher, a baker, a fruit seller, etc -- and shopping to make even the simplest meals means going to 4 or 5 stores, all of which keep restricted hours. So it helps a lot to have a supermarket.

If you have never been to Europe, would help if you would familiarize yourself with the differences in restaurant customs in Italy and France (and Spain or Portugal). Meals start late in Italy, they tend to take a very long time with multiple courses, they are only served in restaruants at fixed hours, not earlier or later. Doesn't always work well for six-year-olds or 80 year olds.

Thousands of families every year visit Europe and rent a large house in the countryside with a pool and have a great time. But if you simply leave it up to strangers on the internet to tell you: "Go to Puglia and stay at the villa I did. It's a blast!", you could end up pretty unhappy. You've got to make your own choices about what's good for the group, whom only you know.

>>>We'd like to be within a half hour's drive of a town (something like Florence or Lucca,<<<<

There are ZTL's for Florence/Lucca (as there are for many towns in Italy) so I don't see how being within a half hour's drive would be helpful.

There is plenty of parking at the periphery of Florence and Lucca that is well outside the restricted areas known as ZTLs. Thousands of tourists every year rent villas within a half hour's drive of Florence and Lucca and drive and park and walk into town without any problem whatsoever.

Just about any tourist town you go to in Italy, France, Spain, Portugal or Germany or the UK these days has blocked off areas against motor traffic or non-resident vehicles. It is certainly something to be aware of and to follow the law. It is not a reason never to drive there.

kybourbon,

Have you ever driven a car to Lucca or stayed there in a rental? If not, maybe that is precisely the reason why you can't see how being in a villa within a half-hour's drive from Lucca would be enjoyable for a family.

This is the villa we stayed at on the outskirts of Lucca and found it convenient to visit cities and towns.

www.villalachiusa.com

I have always wanted to stay at La Foce with a big group but have never done so. It is a lovely property and well located, about 20-30 minutes from Montepulciano and surrounded by beautiful landscapes. They have several houses on the property.

http://lafoce.com/

If you are interested in Provence, we have stayed twice with Beverly Hills Luberon. Her houses are lovely.

We stayed here in Provence last year and loved it!
http://www.puyvert.com

This post is my first on Fodor's Forum and I can't get over how terrific it is! I'm so appreciative of your thoughtful replies. I realize there's a lot more to figure out in planning this trip than I realized. Your comments and suggestions will be a great help.

Hi Eileen! If you are looking to come to Tuscany (and I would HIGHLY recommend it, you won't be disappointed!). I have been living here for almost 20 years (NYC native) and would be happy to help you out with any questions you have and advice you need (although I must say the above commenters have done a superb job, especially sandralist!). If you would like, please take a look at my portfolio of villas in Tuscany -- I have personally visited each of these and have chosen them for my listing because of the high level of comfort in each one.
http://www.ladolcetoscana.com/villas.php
If any interest you, I can answer your questions and offer you personal accounts of each so that you can be sure to find the proper one for your group. Hope to hear from you and if not, have a great time planning your trip (that's half the fun!!!!).
BTW...contrary to what sandralist mentioned above, there ARE many villas in Tuscany available with AC and pools are normally opened through to the end of September.

Yes, both our villa's had A/C, although one was in Montefalco on the border with Tuscany.

The other outside of Lucca.

We planned a family reunion a few years ago for 11 and let the kids vote on Portugal, Spain or Italy. Italy won. Our main concern was finding a reputable rental agent. We ended up in Panzano, Italy half way between Florence and Siena. The agency we used is based in Panzano but covers most of the Chianti region. www.chianti-and-more.com. Karen Dietz is the owner and highly responsive to emails. We requested a pool and it was wonderful, not just for the kids, after returning from a day's touring.