Can anyone suggest a villa in Tuscany - near Florence and centrally located to take day trips to Pisa, Sienna, etc.. with at least 5 bedrooms (we are 8 adults and 7-8 children). Thanks.

Hi P,

If you end up with a house with 5 bedrooms, how are you going to "breakdown" the arrangements for 8 adults and 7-8 children. It sounds like you may need 2 villas.

I was thinking one bedroom per family -with some kids in sleeping bags/couches or the young ones in beds with parents. Maybe we need 6 bedrooms.

Go to www.slowtrav.com and look at rental reviews---best source on the web.

You've got a large project on your hands! Check out Villa Cinciano at www.cinciano.it It is also called Villa Zabalina in the Parker listings. They have a large facility that can sleep 16 as well as numerous other smaller apartments. It is located north of Poggibonsi with easy access to San Gimignano, Florence, Siena and the chianti areas. Good luck. Paul

Take a look at Relais Villa L'Olmo in Impruneta, 9 miles from Florence. There are some trip advisor reviews on it as well as the main website (you can Google both).

I got a card in the mail from Villa Luciano, which is the countryside about 45 min from Florence, 1 hour from San Gimignano, 1/5 hours from Pisa and Siena. You might want to check out their website VillaLuciano.com, to see if it interests you. I know nothing about them other than what I received in the mail. Good luck!

Sorry- that should read: 1.5 hours from Siena or Pisa. Thanks!

Thank you for your suggestions.

Try this site http://www.poggiacolle.com/farmhouse-tuscany.html
This place is on a hill just across from San Gimignano. We stayed there 3 times: once with the whole family, another time with6 couples (friends) and once with our grandson. We love the place.

Wow that looks great. Thanks. Which of the apartments did you rent for that many people?

Well, it is actually a very old house in a working farm (vinyard and olive trees). The house has 2 enteraces. The back enterance has 5 rooms all ensuite (facilities in the room) and a big central room which is a diniong room and a kitchen. If you rent all the 5 rooms then no one but you will use the kitchen. The owner has a additional dining room in an adjacent building where he serves breakfast. We found that with children we preferred self catering. You can rent the place with or without breakfast. The rooms are simple, clean and have nice beds and rustic looking furniture. There is a very nice swimming pool which can be used in the summer. My kids and grandkids are contantly nagging me. They want to reurn to Poggiacolle!

Plumtree....I just found this great site..My Italian Vacation. There is a selection of Villas for largers groups.
It may be worth checking out.

www.myitalianvacation.com

Eri,
We're seriously considering Poggiacolle thanks to your suggestion and just had a couple of questions. Is a car necessary to travel to Florence? Or is it possible to go by train? We will be arriving by train from Venice, so hopefully we can get to Poggiacolle from the station without too much difficulty. Also, was there a store nearby where you were able to get groceries? Thanks so much.

Also, is there a/c and is it needed? Thanks so much.

1. I wouldn't go there without a car. You do need it. You could go to Florence by train from Poggibonsi. But you'll need the car to reach Poggibonsi. It is very difficult to reach Poggiacolle without a car. The train station is in Poggibonsi, the farm itself is situated on a hill. You would most probably would like to visit Siena, Pisa, San Gimignano, Voltera and other exciting small towns and villages in the area and in Chianti. I think that it is almost impossible if not a torture doing it without a car. We traveled several times by car from Poggiacolle to Venice and back and found it very easy.
2. There is a Coop supermarket right by San Gimignano, about 2 miles from Poggiacolle. There is a big supermarket in Poggibonsi (8 miles from Poggiacolle). You will need the car to shop there.
3. There is no A/C in Poggiacolle. But since it is a very old building with extremely thick stone walls. It is rather cool in it, especially in the evening since it is located on a hill.

Tenuta Quadrifoglio, about 10 mins. drive outside of San Gimignano.

Beautiful property with several pools, children's play area, vineyard, etc. Wonderful, gracious staff. Has multiple apartments you could rent or take over a floor of the main building.

www.tenutaquadrifoglio.it/uk/home_uk.html

BowenLinda,
Wow, that looks incredible, but I bet it's very expensive. Have you stayed there?