Traveler863

I have to EXTREMELY agree with Rex here...I have travelled to Italy with self catering accomodations with large groups of people MANY MANY times! It is #1 very difficult to find a place that suits everyone and #2 that place has trade offs always, as Rex says some get double beds others might have bunks in attic. Some insist on a pool...it gets VERY tedious picking the right property to make everyone happy. Though fortunately with my group(s) I travel with several they are all ones to not really care too much but once that PERFECT propery has been found! Again, pick the property then decide on other logistics. And most of all have fun and make sure if you have any whining bozoos and/or late risers they have their own car rental!
Merry Christmas and happy travels!

Traveler863

I might also add, people I travel with are heavy travelers as well and don't go anywhere with "that dream" mentality...they all expect to return in a relatively short duration so therefore anything they experience is yippy skippy and adapt to location and potential experience or inexperience vs. some crap they read in a guide book. Know your group! Another important thing!

bobthenavigator

OK, I give up. Just be sure to go to slowtrav.com and read what they have to say--especially the property reviews by real renters. If pampering to creature comforts is your primary thrust, then just get some rooms at a Marriott in Chicago and rent some movies set in Tuscany. If you want to see the best of Tuscany then try hard to stay within an hours drive of just that.It will take some homework to meet both goals, but is very doable.

rex

Well, not to harp on Christmas Day, but I don't think you get it, bob...

A Marriott - - whether in Rome or in Chicago - - is NOT even vaguely close to the experience of an appropriately sized villa in Tuscany. A Marriott has no living room, nor kitchen/dining room, nor (private) pool, or any of the other private outdoor spaces a villa provides.

And I think it's just flat wrong to suggest that location is more important than the avoidance of close friends quietly fuming inside over their paying $1000 for a week in a place where they feel like they got screwed. If the five couples can afford $10000 or $20000, then there are some very serious choices to be made. If the budget is one half that, or one fourth that - - then the choices are all the more critical. And location is, at best, one half the equation.

bobthenavigator

I apologize traveler04, I was merely hoping to get a rise out of rex and it worked. So, forget the Marriott idea and look at this one:
http://www.lemanzinaie.it/HOMEI.HTM

Good luck !

rex

I looked at http://www.lemanzinaie.it and personally I cannot imagine recommending it. Four apartments? Might as well be in a hotel?

In fact, at the risk of sounding so discouraging, I looked at 43 of 43 properties on cuendet.com (searching sleeps 14) and I wouldn't really recommend any of them.

Judi

Betsy, do you know Villa nell'Oliveto personally? That is the one I picked for myself and nine girlfriends next June! It looks great and the reviews are all very positive. It does not appear to have any bad bedrooms but we will "buddy up" and draw straws to see who gets which room.

I chose this villa because it is in a little town, Castlelmuzio. I really like being able to walk to restaurants, bars and the grocery. A lot of villas are remote and everyone would have to get in a car to go anywhere.

I also know the area because I have twice before stayed at a villa very near Montisi, about ten minutes away. It is a beautiful area and an easy drive to Pienza, Montepulciano, Montalcino, Siena.....

Please check out Villa nell'Oliveto's reviews on Slowtrav. I think you would be happy with it.

Betsy

Judi, I know the area around Villa dell'Oliveto, having attended a SlowTrav picnic just down the road in 2001. I've booked it for a week in April when I'll be traveling with nine of my best girlfriends to Italy. I decided on the booking because of several very positive reviews on the SlowTrav site. Rebecca, at InTuscany, has been a true delight to work with, even offering to build a ramp for one of our group who has slight mobility problems; we don't need the ramp, but I think her offer was beyond accommodating. Although there are two restaurants and a grocery nearby, I understand the town is tiny. E-mail at the above address if you want to correspond about the villa and the area, etc.

Traveler863

Bob,
I checked that link, I like the place and like the individual units with shared pool and grounds. Actually we look for just these types of properties where you're together but separate. Works well for those, particularly couples and some families, that don't necessarily want to be on top of each other constantly.

Rex, most of the Cuendet searches are by date so you have to flex weeks to get a good dump on all the properties they offer. Many are just like Bob's link where they are a large farmhouse broken into several smaller units but can sometimes communicate internally...like opening a connecting door in a hotel. Sodi in particular is a very nice property and I highly recommend it...it is several units in one villa but can communicate internally if you choose.

rex

Well, you are absolutely right that my "43 properties" represent a snapshot of one particualr week in September 05 (I don't remember what dates I checked).

I think that what I would like, or bob, or t863 - - they're only borderline relevant - - only traveler04 knows the personalities of the five couples involved. I think that a good rep - - at rentvillas or domani-usa or the Parker company could be very valuable in helping to hone in on price, location AND features.

Traveler863

Rex,
Don't chalk off Cuendet, certainly does have the largest inventory of villa rentals in Italy. Its not just concentrated on Tuscany/Umbria. There are rentals in North Lakes region, Venice/Veneto, Emilia/Romano, Lazio, Amalfi, Sicily, Sardinia. BTW, Rentvillas.com list Cuendet properties, Domani is ok and Parker Villas good, I love the one in that village I can't remember name but sleeps up to 20, walk to restaurants, a great rental...haven't done it but in the consideration bin. Happy travels.

rex

I'm not discounting Cuendet. I just don't know of any "infrastructure" available by telephone here in the US. Indeed, the rental in Ambra that we enjoyed in 1998 was "rented" to us by a company iun Vancouver - - www.regencyintapts.com - - but as we subsequently understood, they located it in the Cuendet catalog.

I'm just saying that it's going to be quite hard to find a property that works, affordably for five couples unless there is an understanding about the "pecking order" of who gets what in the property.

Traveler863

Rex,
If Rentvillas.com handles Cuendet properties, would that be your 'infrastructure'? They may not list everything on Cuendet's website but if you call you can certainly deal with any Cuendet property and they could probably mail you a printed catalog.

For a place for 5 couples, ideally they are all double bedrooms with ensuite bath. In one large 5 bd villa it is hard to find that configuration. You might really look to one that is broken down into small apartments, the cost might be a bit more, but only slighty and each has a bedroom/bath and kitchenette and more importantly some time to their selves! Trust me in all my traveling and renting with large groups it does work best. Happy travels.

rex

I guess it all depends on the group of adults. I have had experiences where the common spaces were far more important than the "separateness". A hotel provides good separateness.

I'll go back to... neither my impression of what adults (that we know or have traveled with) want matters - - only traveler04 can gauge what the group in question wants.

Traveler863

Rex,
Its a different "separateness" than a hotel. A hotel you are separate yes but also mixed in with all the other guests. A shared property where people have their own units but share the common areas but only amongst themselves gives the feeling of their own resort and definite TOGETHERNESS...there's plenty of common areas around the property and if traveling in summer no one typically shares indoor areas too much anyway. Its a great way to go with couples, in particular.

rex

<<if traveling in summer no one typically shares indoor areas too much anyway>>

Again, not my experience at all. Breakfasts, gathering around the fireplace on chilly mornings or evenings, the big dining room where a prepared meal can seat everyone, happy hour time (before going out to dinner), "living room time" - - at cards, playing billiards, watching TV - - all of these are good memories for me.

traveler04

We've tried contacting cuendet and haven't heard back. How are they typically to deal with? Has anyone else tried calling and not heard back? Not sure if maybe they're closed through the new year.

rex

I've never dealt directly with Cuendet - - and when I did rent last, it seemed that they served other agencies - - almost like a wholesaler. But others may be able to share with you more recent experiences, or totally different dealing with them directly.

joegri

traveler04: Unfortunately, some of the more aggressive responders on this thread will have it their way and their way only. That doesn't help you with your dilemma. Certainly, one can focus on location AND amenities. In fact, it would be shortsighted not to.
We had a similar situation and while we only required four bedrooms and we were family, we thought it important that each room would be about equal in size, decor and comfort as my children are all adults. We also wanted to be well located. We used tuscanynow.com and saw a hundred and seventy villas of all sizes, locations, prices and facilities. We chose I Limoni, a three story, sixteenth century villa in the hills above Lucca. We were forty-five minutes from Florence, an hour from Siena, an hour from Pisa and had easy access to Lucca with all its charm and things to do and see as well as the Garafagna about an hour away. For some, Lucca is not a "destination" location, but it is very well located and we enjoyed it very much. I Limoni actually has six bedrooms, four baths (one on the ground floor), a parlor on each level, a huge dinning room, an ancient kitchen with modern appliences and a huge area perfect for alfresco dinning right outside the back door. There is also a huge pool with cabana and many lounge chairs on a little hill above the villa. The lights of Lucca below were beautiful. Yes, there is a grocery store about five to seven minutes away.
I Limoni is a bit pricey, but split five ways, not bad.
There were villas listed that were larger, even much larger than I Limoni that could accommodate upwards of ten people. When you go to tuscanynow.com, click on the request for a catalogue and you will recieve (free of charge) a beautifully colored and heavily pictured description of their library of villas.
Simone in London, England runs Tuscany Now and he could not have been more helpful or more accommodating in providing for our special requests. E.g., we arranged for a prepared dinner to be available on arrival day; antipasti, pasta, entre, salad and dessert. We requested a local chef and the use of local ingredients. After twenty hours of traveling, this was a welcome assist. We had local wines, red and white, laid in. We had the "fixings" for our first breakfast brought in (orange juice, fruit, eggs, Italian Bacon, etc.) so we wouldn't have to run around on the first morning.
Don't know when you are going, but if it is for this coming Summer, you are wise to look and select soon. The villas are rented well ahead of time.
It was really fun to visit the modern shopping areas around the outside of the walled city of Lucca. Got a chance to see how the locals lived as there were few tourists in these areas.
Wherever you stay, your going to have a marvelous time. It is, sometimes, a little difficult to have everybody on a vacation like your planning happy with all things at all times. This is true even within famlies. A little conversation along those lines, perhaps over cocktails on that first night, will go a long way toward mollifying in advance those that might feel slighted in some way during the stay. Have a great trip.

traveler04

Thank you all so much for your responses. They were very helpful. We did hear back from cuendet...i'm sure with the holidays it probably takes a little longer than usual. There were so many great recommendations on villas. As it turns out, we have 11 people now instead of 10, so we needed a villa that slept more than 10. I had read great things about villa nell'olvieto on slowtrav and it seemed like a great location, but accommodates 10 people, not 11.

Thanks again!