Staying in an Italian Villa?
 

Have you ever stayed in a villa in Italy? We are thinking of this for next fall. We will day trip and stay in the same place for about 7 to 10 days.

LyndaKaye, there is heaps of information on this concept at the Slow Travel website

www.slowtrav.com

and its associated discussion board, Slow Talk

www.slowtalk.com

Not to mention a heap of stuff on this board.

Search this forum for "agriturisimo".

Is Europe too loose, Lautrec?

Belay that last post. It was intended for a differnet thread.

Go to slowtrav.com and see reviews. But, define what you mean by " villa".
The are over 700 rental properties in Tuscany--they come in all flavors. And, pick a location before you get too serious about specific rentals. That is the most crucial criteria.

<i>It was intended for a differnet thread.</i>

Yes, but seeing it here for the second time was no less funny that seeing it there the first time.

We have rented a restored farmhouse in Umbria and an apartment on the Amalfi Coast. SlowTrav is an excellent source of information and you can always Google &quot;rentals&quot; in the area you are considering. We loved the experiences.

Ira -- too funny, here and there. =D&gt;
((c))

Yes I have stayed in villas in Italy and so have many other posters here. Search villas in Italy and you will find more than you can handle. A villa can be anything from a humble farmhouse in the middle of nowhere to a luxury estate also in the middle of nowhere.

They usually rent from a Sat to a Sat so 10 days might be a problem. As others have said, check out slow-trav too.

Hello LyndaKaye, we have stayed in villas in Italy (Massa Lubrense) and France and absolutely loved the experience. We have also rented apartments in both Italy (Sorrento) and France (Villefranche) which were also wonderful - far better than staying in one room in a hotel. Just make sure that you are very certain of what you are renting. Ask lots of questions about the place you are renting and the surroundings. Before we sent the deposit, we actually called the rental people and asked more questions. When you arrive, be sure to go over everything (do a walk around) with the person who meets you upon arrival. We used villeinitalia.com and were very pleased.

Have a great trip!

We have stayed in villas in France and Italy but have decided we don't want to do it again. The main problem for us is whatever the description says, we've found it impossible to find one which is really within walking distance of restaurants and bars. We like our wine &amp; don't want to have to drive home after dinner. We've also decided we don't want to have to go shopping all the time - even eating out most of the time, you still need to get bread, milk etc every day. And don't even consider one without a daily maid service - you don't want to have to make your own bed &amp; clean your own bathroom on holiday, do you ? (In my experience, villas usually have sheets not duvets).

In fact I'd say the only advantage to renting a villa, over staying in a hotel, is having the pool to yourself.