Bill

My extended family is considering renting a villa next summer in the south of France or north of Italy. Any recommendations for reputable agencies that handle a good number of properties? How about a specific property that you know about? Looking for 6+ bedrooms. Cost is not a major concern, but should be less than stratospheric. There would be some teenagers and late-preteens along.

Martha B

For France, check www.gites-de-france.fr. I think this is the largest organization of this type in France. Gites are self-catering vacation rentals. They rent by the week from Saturday to Saturday. Prices range from reasonable to embarrasingly low. It's hard to find one with 6+ bedrooms, though, so start really early to make arrangements. (I'm assuming by "next summer" you mean summer of 2000.) The specific property we rented through gites-de-france was an 18th century manor house, which the whole family loved. Only 4 bedrooms, but it gives you an idea of what you might find. Good luck!

Bill

Thanks. Yes, we are planning for summer of 2000. One option we are considering would be to get a smaller place for 2 weeks and take turns. Half the group hangs out at the villa while the other half travels further afield. Still looking for 4 bedrooms; indeed, 6 for the whole group would be a crunch.

Beth

I can't give a recommendation based on experience but the Parker Company has several large villas in Italy. There's one in particular near Lucca that looks particularly nice, and sleeps 14. Might be too expensice though. Check out their listings at www.theparkercompany.com. I've rented from them for this coming September, they seem to have a good reputation.

elvira

I have information for France only: <BR> <BR>I did a search earlier this year for a similar large house and found a couple of sites with large houses: <BR>http://www.riviera-isp.com/reflet/html/france.html <BR>http://www.francevillas.com/indexuk.html <BR> <BR>The alternative might be to find a complex with several condos, and rent a couple (that's what we did in Greece). <BR> <BR>RENT ASAP! Seems these rentals (i.e. vacation places in the summer) go VERY fast, and the recommendation is to rent a year in advance. <BR> <BR>

Barbara

I second the choice of The Parker Co. in Boston for rentals in Italy. I just returned from Italy, where we rented an apartment (six of us; three double bedrooms)in Chiusi. It came to about $100 each for the week! We were all very satisfied, and one of our group had used them before and had a good experience as well. Good luck, sounds like fun.

Helen

We rented homes in both locations last summer and can highly recommend both properties. In Italy we used "Doorways" (on the net) run by Kit Burnes. In France we rented from a lady named Bettina Aldor-Demolm found through RDI (Rental Directories International). She has a great 4 bedroom house in Malaucene,(Provence)France. Write if you want more info.

Terry

Dear Helen, I would love more info. about your rental in Provence. Thanks

Terry

Dear Martha B. Could I get some info. from you about the gite you stayed at? Did you send away for the gite info. and choose the one you stayed at based on the info. in the book?

jeff

try these guys---there are three villas on a "campus" at the top of a mountain overlooking the Niccone Valley on the Tuscany/Umbria border. They can accomodate most any sized party, due to the flexible nature of the three villas: <BR> <BR>http://www.italiareservations.com/ <BR> <BR>We loved this place---the write up on the web page is not overstated in any way---just beautiful! <BR> <BR>

Yvette

Go to your web browser and type "classic tuscan homes". That will take you to the properties around Cortona managed by Rupert and Donatella Palmer. We have stayed in two of them and are planning a third trip. The properties are available in all price ranges for all size groups. Casa Giotto with its 2 guesthouses would probably suit your needs. We stayed there early June 2000 and LOVED it. The property is spacious, quiet, and well-maintained with a beautiful view. Cortona is a delightful hill town founded by the Etruscans. Day-tripping to other parts of Tuscany (Siena, Montalcino,Florence) or Umbria (Assisi,Orvieto,Todi) is a breeze.

twalker

My sister and I had good luck with italianvillas.com -- you can search for price, location, size, etc. Site includes pictures. I've only used it once, but we were happy -- and it was reasonably priced.

Carey

Bill, <BR>We have rented an estate on the Amalfi Coast for 23 people. It is $5300 for a week for that many people! A steal. We renting in the off season, so it was a lot cheaper. check out www.omnia.addr.com <BR>they have a lot of place for larger groups if I can remember correctly.

topper

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