New Review Submitted for La Poggetta located in Cavriglia, Tuscany, Italy.
Rental Date: Saturday 24th of July 2010.
Renter: Mike B. (New York, New York, United States).
Renter Rating: 5/5.
Review Details:
This is a wonderful house, particularly for families looking for a good amount of indoor common space, good sized grounds, and a pool. It is attached to another house – the owner’s brother’s though we hardly even noticed this the whole week and there really is complete privacy. It is true that the place is much nicer than the pictures would indicate.
Pro’s:
•Centrally located in the region, and near the A1 highway. Much of Tuscany is only reachable through windy roads, which makes driving times longer than they would appear by distance, so access to the highway makes travel to Florence, Lucca, etc. much easier
•Grounds are well maintained, pool is in immaculate condition. Owner comes by to clean pool
•House itself is also well maintained, the 4 bedrooms are of good size (including one with bunk-beds in a alcove and 2 with an extra single bed) and good overall layout
• There are plenty of kitchen utensils, pots, pans, glassware, towels, etc
•The owners offered access to a large garden which to pick and eat vegetables from (delicious tomatoes)
•The view is pretty solid - not majestic vineyards, but open fields.
•Near town of Cavriglia – 30 second drive or 15 min walk. The town doesn’t have a ton to offer (couple of restaurants, cafes, grocery store, and most importantly one place for gelato) but it is really nice to have something close to pop over to pick up an espresso or a liter of milk
Con’s:
•Owners do not speak English, which is understandable, however, they did stop by several times and wanted to communicate with us regarding the house. Once they brought an English speaking friend which made it easier.
•There are NO supplies in the house. Toilet paper, paper towels, dishwasher soap, salt, olive oil. One should stop at the food store and buy the staple items. We left some of these items behind which I would assume the next renter could take advantage of (but since someone cleared out the place before us, this is not a certainty). We strongly urge the agency to bring this to the attention of the owners, as we were disappointed to see nothing there of this sort. Usually there is at least salt left in a rental!
•Some of the city-folks thought that the mosquito’s tended to be a nuisance - could have been the season. There are some loud roosters nearby that wake up early.
Highlight of being at La Poggetta:
Since we were 3 young-ish couples that had 4 small children who have anglo-saxon bedtimes, going out to eat in Italy is difficult. We hired a chef from the agency to come cook for us 5 nights, who worked out great. Lorenzo has a small specialty shop in a nearby town with his aunt, and is an excellent cook. He provided us the great Italian food experience without having to keep the kids up late or getting a babysitter. 4 amazing courses, and he brought local wine from his own cellar to pair with each (for prices not much more than cost at the vineyards). We had him give us a casual cooking class one day, which was really good – though probably not replicable by us amateurs. And his personality really made the trip – English speaking, very friendly and open to talk about all subjects from Italian politics to the fact that parmesan cheese should never be put on seafood pasta, and very passionate about the local area and food. He provided us with great food and good local insight
Pro’s:
•Centrally located in the region, and near the A1 highway. Much of Tuscany is only reachable through windy roads, which makes driving times longer than they would appear by distance, so access to the highway makes travel to Florence, Lucca, etc. much easier
•Grounds are well maintained, pool is in immaculate condition. Owner comes by to clean pool
•House itself is also well maintained, the 4 bedrooms are of good size (including one with bunk-beds in a alcove and 2 with an extra single bed) and good overall layout
• There are plenty of kitchen utensils, pots, pans, glassware, towels, etc
•The owners offered access to a large garden which to pick and eat vegetables from (delicious tomatoes)
•The view is pretty solid - not majestic vineyards, but open fields.
•Near town of Cavriglia – 30 second drive or 15 min walk. The town doesn’t have a ton to offer (couple of restaurants, cafes, grocery store, and most importantly one place for gelato) but it is really nice to have something close to pop over to pick up an espresso or a liter of milk
Con’s:
•Owners do not speak English, which is understandable, however, they did stop by several times and wanted to communicate with us regarding the house. Once they brought an English speaking friend which made it easier.
•There are NO supplies in the house. Toilet paper, paper towels, dishwasher soap, salt, olive oil. One should stop at the food store and buy the staple items. We left some of these items behind which I would assume the next renter could take advantage of (but since someone cleared out the place before us, this is not a certainty). We strongly urge the agency to bring this to the attention of the owners, as we were disappointed to see nothing there of this sort. Usually there is at least salt left in a rental!
•Some of the city-folks thought that the mosquito’s tended to be a nuisance - could have been the season. There are some loud roosters nearby that wake up early.
Highlight of being at La Poggetta:
Since we were 3 young-ish couples that had 4 small children who have anglo-saxon bedtimes, going out to eat in Italy is difficult. We hired a chef from the agency to come cook for us 5 nights, who worked out great. Lorenzo has a small specialty shop in a nearby town with his aunt, and is an excellent cook. He provided us the great Italian food experience without having to keep the kids up late or getting a babysitter. 4 amazing courses, and he brought local wine from his own cellar to pair with each (for prices not much more than cost at the vineyards). We had him give us a casual cooking class one day, which was really good – though probably not replicable by us amateurs. And his personality really made the trip – English speaking, very friendly and open to talk about all subjects from Italian politics to the fact that parmesan cheese should never be put on seafood pasta, and very passionate about the local area and food. He provided us with great food and good local insight
Please visit La Poggetta for more details about this accommodation. Visit this page for other villas in Cavriglia, Tuscany, Italy.
