I read a short review by Tory reguarding Il Castagno near Gambassi Termi. I was wondering if Tory could tell me a little more about the apts. It sounds like you stayed in la Guardia (the guard house) which is what we have booked for Apr. Can you tell me a little more about the actual apt.? How it was furnished? Were there enough dishes,pots and pans for cooking? Was there enough light? I would really appreciate any additional information you can give me.

Thank you in advance

We really loved Il Castagno. We were there in July (very end of June into July, actually) for one week. Our unit, which I believe was la Guardia, had three bedrooms and two bathrooms. It was clean and spacious. The master bedroom has an en suite. Both bathrooms have showers (no bathtub). One bedroom had a single bed (and we had them add a crib which fit in nicely). The master bedroom had two beds made up as one and the other room had two beds made up separately (I'm sure you could ask for them to be made up as one, we just didn't think of it ahead of time). All of the bedrooms have wardrobes which are large enough for your clothes and shoes etc. Towels are provided and there is ONE washing machine for the whole property which you can use ... we did but we had to wait our turn to use it and it has an unpredictable cycle (front loading washers, do, I understand) so it was only due to some luck that we got to use the washing machine. Every unit has a drying rack which came in handy once we had washed our clothes.

The kitchen is well stocked but we did not cook ... we warmed up some pizza once and used the fridge, however. There were pots and pans, although I can't recall how many. There were lots of glasses and cups and plates and cutlery. We ate all breakfasts in (and generally ordered brioches the day before to be delivered for the next morning ... they were fine, not fabulous but very convenient). We shopped in Poggibonsi (sp?). I will try to check my notes tonight to see what the name of the place was. We also took out food from the trattoria at the end of the laneway (and ate there a few times, too). The little office at Il Castagno sells some wine and olive oil. I think olive oil was provided in the kitchen. You won't believe how reasonably priced the wine is in Italy!

The living room/dining room has a couch and some chairs plus a nice table and chairs. The light in the bedrooms was good for reading but I'm not sure that the light was that great in the living room/dining room. We were able to look at our maps and books and plan the next day's trip in the dining room ... I just don't think the light was perfect. We often sat out on the terrace for a meal or in the evening (candles were provided). The terrace is really special. It is covered with a grape arbour and the table and chairs are wrought iron. Our unit had the nicest terrace area. You could see the surrounding countryside from it. I'm not sure how warm it will be in April but I hope you get to use the terrace.

The apartment is pretty but simple. I wouldn't call it luxurious but it was far about adequate.

The women in the office were extremely nice and helped us with directions, booked our tickets for the art galleries in Florence (we did a day trip on the train), helped us contact our rental agency for our apartment in Rome (including an internet search) ... etc. The caretaker and family were also very friendly. They have two (I think) smallish children.

How many are in your party and are there children? We were four adults and two young children (2 years and eighteen months) and the unit was the perfect size for us. If I can think of any other information, I'll add to this post. You will have a wonderful trip! I'm envious!

Tory
Thank you so much for responding to my queery. The property and apt. sound great! Sometimes it's just nice to have the opinion of someone who has been there. I also hope it's warm enough to spend some time on the terrace and possibly dine outside a few nights.
This is out third time back to Italy but the first time we are staying in an apt. We have 4 adults in our party but I had wanted one of the other units and they were booked. It was easier to take Guardia than to start all over again searching for another site. Besides I really liked the property, especially the out doors!
Thanks again for helping me out.

It was fun recalling the great time we had! I checked, and the store we went to in Poggibonsi (sp?) was the Co-op. It is a big grocery store and more. There are smaller ones elsewhere (Il Castagno will give you a handout with a list of shops) but we liked that one quite a bit.

Let me know if you think of more questions and have a wonderful trip. Please post a report when you get back!

Tory

Considering this property for an October stay. Anyone have any first hand experience. Kerrie, did you end up staying there?