mommyofthree

My family -- husband, wife, 4 kids between the ages of 8 and 3 -- are going to be in Tuscany the end of July. We are looking for an agritursmo to stay at for our visit. We would love to have an apartment or house with a kitchen. A pool would also be fantastic.

I would prefer a nice place that offers activites for the children, as well as a tranquil atmosphere for the adults. Internet is a must as my husband will be working. We prefer to be near Florence, Arrezzo and/or Siena if possible as we plan to rent a car and do lots of daytrips.

I basically want someplace nice to have as a home base while we explore Tuscany. Because the agritursmo don't have star ratings, it is hard to tell what you are getting, even with the reviews. I would prefer something that is akin to a 4-5 star rating.

Any suggestions would be most appreciated.

CaliNurse

check Vila le torri http://www.letorri.com/index.php?dis...hianti-tuscany

we chose somewhere else b/c Le torri had a 5 day minimum as i recall. There is a pool, and there are two bedroom apartments. Gabriele the owner, will return your enquiries quickly

ekscrunchy

An agriturismo, by definition, is a working farm. Do you mean that you want this, or do you want a luxurious rural property with charm? There are many of the latter category and this is what you probably should be looking for.

Not sure if a tranquil atmosphere for adults will also offer lots of activities for children.

What kinds of facilities do you want when you say that you want something akin to a 4- or 5-star hotel?

Do you plan to visit Florence/Siena on a daytrip from this location? With a car?

Have you been to Tuscany before?

Brigolante

Try checking the listings at www.ciaobambino.com.

You may also want to check my Umbria with Kids (it can be applied to Tuscany, too) blog post for them http://www.ciaobambino.com/ciaobambi...ion-with-kids/

DonTopaz

I stayed at Fattoria La Loggia a few years ago, and it was fantastic. Others I know who have stayed there more recently have told me that the accommodations and standards are still extremely high. The apartments are gorgeous, there's a good-sized pool, and the setting is calm and beautiful. The farm, less than 5 mins off the highway between Florence and Siena, produces olives and grapes. Dunno about Internet.

Website is http://www.fattorialaloggia.com/index_gb.htm

bobthenavigator

I always say this,but only because it is so true. You need to decide your location in Tuscany first--it is quite large.
There are dozens of nice places to consider but the location will limit your options for day trips. Do you know where you want to be??

Zerlina

Like Ekscrunchy, I think what you're looking for is a contradiction in terms on two levels: it's either an agriturismo or a luxury resort; it's either tranquillity for adults or activities for children.

ekscrunchy

Absolutely agree, Zerlina.

Are you looking for an agriturismo or are you looking for a luxury hotel in the country?

This site has an explanation, along with links to agriturismi and country hotels:

http://www.bella-toscana.com/agriturismo.htm


And this one has a list of agriturismi, arrnaged by location; the following 69 properties are in Siena province but you can do a search for any province within Tuscany:

http://www.italia-agritur.it/en/agri...rov=SI&comune=

StCirq

"Luxury Agriturismo" = Oxymoron.

mommyofthree

Thanks for all your replies. I will try to be more specific, and I will check out your suggestions.

We plan to do daytrips to Siena, Lucca, San Gimiginagno as well as several half day trips to Florence. Hope to visit Arezzo and Pisa as well. We are really open to driving and exploring everything. We are staying for two weeks, and don't want to switch hotels midway so we know there will be lots of driving and are ok with that.

As for the luxury part, I understand that it will be a working farm. I think my family would enjoy that; we don't need super fancy but I was hoping to avoid a stay at someplace like a Holiday Inn. I don't need marble bathrooms and fine china, but nice sheets and towels, and good service would be great. At first we were looking to rent a villa but I was worried that we would be too isolated. I would love to have other kids around for my kids to meet and play with. That's why I thought an agriturismo would be great; like a villa but with others around to meet and feel more like we are in Italy.

I hope this is helpful. Looking forward to more suggestions.

bobthenavigator

Here are some places to consider---both in Chianti since you want visits into Florence, which will limit your options:

http://www.fattoria-tregole.com/

http://www.ricavo.com/filosofia-e.htm

J62

We stayed at a rural farmhouse property near Montepulciano a few years ago - similar to an agriturismo but didn't classify as a working farm.

I think you're looking up the wrong tree to find your luxury, service, and activities you list. An agriturism can be just as isolated as a single occupant villa.

Here are some things we learned.

I'd say all the properties we looked at were small. 2 to 4 to maybe 8 total rental units on a property. Most were 1br, suitable for 2 people, with larger units mixed in on each property. So if every unit were filled, chances of finding even a single family with kids the same age is very small. It's not like a big US resort with 100's of families on-site. Other families, if they are there, will be on their own schedule, so don't count on meeting play friends. Might happen, but strike that from your wish list.

Nice sheets & towels? Most if not all places will air dry their linens, so don't expect fluffy, plush towels or silky sheets. Expect utilitarian linens. More important is the comfort of the beds. European standard bed seems to range anywhere from hard-as-plywood to hard-as-concrete. Plush pillow top mattresses aren't ubiquitous. If that's important to you then definitely check out user reviews for 1st hand experience.

As for service, I'm not sure what service you're expecting. Many places are self-catering - you get a small apartment and prepare most of your own meals you're on-site. Others may offer a communal breakfast room. One thing to look into is communal dinner opportunities. Some properties offer nightly or less frequent dinner for their guests. The place we stayed hosted a weekly dinner which was quite enjoyable. I've heard of other places where you may be served dinner and you have a chance to meet other guests, but it's not like being invited into Grandma's Italian kitchen for a family meal.

Self catering may also mean that linens or towels aren't changed daily, or might be for an added fee. For a 2 week stay you'll probably want to have access to laundry, at least once. Some properties have washing machines. Others will do laundry for you for a fee. The good thing about Tuscany in July is that even the heaviest jeans will air dry in about 10min. Maybe 15min on a cool day.

Don't expect a snack bar to be open or a hostess to serve you drinks or snacks poolside - you're likely to be left to your own privacy. I like that. Others who want service may not.

You should also check into air conditioning. When we were in Tuscany in July it was 104F every day. No AC. Didn't bother us a bit since we cooled off our apartment at night and kept it well shuttered during the day. The heat did limit our afternoon touring time - just too darn hot to be outside in a stone piazza at those temperatures. Daily pool time was the norm. If AC is important to you then be make sure it's available, and check if there is an added electricity cost/meter.

Pool. Expect the pool to be solar heated, and also radiant cooled at night. Mid July, 104F air temp we found our pool to be on the chilly side, but this is from kids who like 85F water. Don't expect large pool with water slides or lazy river. Expect a basic 20x30' hole in the ground filled with clean water.

I'd do the same thing again in a heartbeat - I enjoy slow travel but it's not for everyone. Be sure you know what you're in for so reality matches your expectations.

CaptCanuck

We have stayed at Villa Vignamaggio near Greve twice before. Two nice pools, large grounds, and it appears there is a children's area as well. It's about a 10 minute drive from Greve where we would do our grocery/market shopping...and good proximity to other Tuscan towns.
http://www.vignamaggio.it/english/accommodation.html
cheers,
CC

mother_walker

mommyofthree, apologies for reopening this aged forum post, but I was wonderign if you found the perfect place that fitted all of your criteria? We are looking for exactly the same thing...

My children are 11, 7, 6 and 3 and two boys, two girls.

Looking forward to hearing back from you.
Thank you!

mother_walker

Ooops, wondering... spell check.

finzidad

Sure there are luxury "agritourismos"... we stayed in one like that up near San Gimnignano. They had a pool, a little cafe where they had breakfast and even dinners or snacks. You got charged WAY more for the extras like breakfast, unless you booked in their B&B rooms. We had an apartment with not so fully stocked kitchen. These places are designed to lure wine folks--and the wine is the tourist crap, not the good stuff. They usually make their own wine and olive oil and sell it at overly high prices. We didn't even get any samples even though we were renting a 2 bedroom apartment. They will have pools, but not much else for kids. They will charge extra for their tour of the wine operation and olive oil, etc. They will be nice, but not really "luxury".

With kids, I'd really suggest thinking about a true agritourismo... these are working farms that involve the guests--and kids--in making pasta, olive oil, cooking lessons, making cheese or actually helping out on the farm with the animals--a great experience for kids. Some are all inclusive... including food lessons, demonstrations of how they make the wine, oil, cheese, etc. After all, why take the kids to another culture and then just plop them in a luxury hotel with game room, pool and fast internet where they will stay glued to their iPods?

BTW... do NOT count on fast internet in Italy--especially in Tuscany, where most are single router setups with satellite service. They are SLOW and drop out all the time. I could barely keep up with our blog while we traveled. Same goes for TV in these places. Rome has good internet and TV... the rest of the county is spotty.

You can check out a real agritourismo at Agriturismo Podere San Gregorio near Pienza.... or .... Agriturismo Cretaiole di Luciano Moricciani. These are more authentic places. A bit rustic, but the kids would have lots to do.

mother_walker

Thank you Finzidad... Really appreciate the advice.

europhile

booking marking this thread...great info!