Monte Rotondo - 4 bedroom villa, private pool, walk to restaurant

Rustic charm and stunning views

Reviewed on 08/20/2020

Nicholas Landauer

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The property is typically Tuscan - stone built under a tiled roof - and features a double-height lounge on the first floor. The bedrooms are adequately sized and the showers functional, if quirky! The kitchen is quite dark and has an enormous slate-topped table, stone sink, modern hob/oven, dishwasher, washing machine, microwave and fridge. Most of the crockery is random 2s and 4s but fully functional. Outside there is a large covered eating area - with a second fridge, useful for beers! - looking out onto the unheated pool only a few metres away and then out across the amazing views to the Appenines beyond.

Fantastic House with a fantastic view

Reviewed on 10/30/2019

Andrew Tugwell

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Great house to rent. Amazing views, outdoor eating space and great communal space inside. Big pool and lots of Garden. Really nice restaurant 5 minutes walk away. Enrico the owner does a great job of ensuring you have fantastic holiday. He cooked for us and arranged to take us out at the end of the holiday to show us some of his favourite places. He really made this trip special. Loads of places to see close by. I can heartily recommend.

A fantastic stay in the mountains

Reviewed on 08/14/2019

Paul Edwards

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We booked last minute, on a whim, based purely on the photo of the pool with the view of the mountains. What a lucky find! We cannot reccomend it enough. The property and location were even better than the photos suggest. What an amazing way to relax, sat by the pool or floating on the water with such a view down the valley and across to stunning hills and mountains. Inside, the converted building is clean, bright with spacious ground floor kitchen/dining area and huge upstairs living area. However we spent all our waking hours outside by the pool or under shade at the huge outdoor table. It makes a great impression when all the little things you don't want to buy for a week away are supplied like washing liquid, dishwasher tablets, washing machine powder and lots of loo roll! Enrico, the charismatic owner, stealthly ensured the pool is clean each morning before woke and surprised us with little food gifts every so often. He was proud of his property and wanted guests to have the best time possible. Thank you for the welcome pack of food and drink as well. If it helps others booking, the house is about an hour and 15 minutes drive from Pisa airport via Lucca, which is 45 minjutes from the house. The road by the house couldn't be classed as busy, you'll hear the odd honking of Italian drivers at the blind bends but the area I would call quiet and restful. We booked a rental car via the link the owner provided after booking. The price was as good as the cheapest we could find elsewhere but via their link, additional drivers were much cheaper, so worked out well. We went early August, I was worried it would be too cool in the mountains but the weather was clear and very hot. The small town in the valley is 5 minutes drive away and pleasant enough. The little supermarket has almost everything you need and friendly staff to help hapless English tourists. Coffee and croissant breakfasts are cheap and good at various pavement cafes. We chose to eat out at various tiny medievel villages in the area rather than the town for more of an atmosphere. The owner leaves a good list of where to go. One exceptional place is just 4 minutes walk from the property. The pasta with wild boar and the hazelnut ice-cream are out of this world. Again, everyone in this area is very friendly to people who can't speak Italian. It's an area of very few tourists, which is a good thing. All in all - a great property and location

Reviewed on 06/25/2019

friendsoftuscany

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We were two families (4 adults, 4 children between 6-12). Due to the good distribution in EC and OG everyone had their own area, everything was available, the kitchen was absolutely adequate. There was even an extra fridge on the terrace, really great were the two giant tables in the indoor and outdoor area, where all had space. The veranda with canopy is worth gold, sun, rain, no problem. The whole area is very well maintained, you have the feeling of being alone in the middle of Tuscany. Only the road is sometimes a bit annoying, but ok. The sometimes criticized narrow staircase to the upper floor is actually tight, but feasible, even for our 6-year-old, we were actually only to sleep on the floor. Absolute highlight: THE POOL !!! Stress-free for the parents, the hit for the kids. Oh so: A big thank you to Giovanella for the great handover including wine and treats and of course to Enrico, who took great care of the pool (and also the chocolate cake surprise for breakfast). Except for the stupid backwater at Brenner a mega holiday, THANK YOU !!!!!

Reviewed on 09/19/2018

Annabel

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This was an absolutely beautiful spot - the photos actually don't quite do it justice. The view from the pool, from the outside dining area and from the 1st floor balcony & living room is just wonderful. The place is incredibly peaceful with only one other house in eyesight. The pool is a good size and Enrico took great care of it, cleaning it out almost every day. The beds and sofas are comfy, the living areas are spacious, light but also cosy, and have everything you need. There is a really good restaurant just 5 minutes walk away which we visited twice and the town of Castelnuovo a 5 minute drive away. Lots of things to do nearby should you wish although we delighted in relaxing by the pool and enjoying the views as we were blessed with lovely weather. One other thing to note was how incredibly hospitable Enrico was and he presented us with a fridge full of delights on our arrival and topped us up with home baked goods at least twice more during our week's stay. Could not recommend this highly enough & really hope to get the chance to stay again. One thing to be aware of is that the stairs from kitchen to living room are quite steep if you have very small kids or the immobile - although there is an alternative way of accessing the upper floor via the outside if anyone in your party is uncomfortable with the stairs and for transporting any luggage upstairs. A wonderful Tuscan holiday - thanks Enrico & Molly, we all loved it.

A beautiful holiday home as in a picture book

Reviewed on 07/23/2018

Corinna Hellwig

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10 days we spent in this beautiful house and are very relaxed. The house is stylishly furnished and has many memories of the past, whether indoors or outdoors. The highlight was a huge pool overlooking S.Carlo (in the valley) and the Apuan Alps. Enrico, the Italian owner, is very personable.

Incredible location and property.

Reviewed on 07/16/2018

Elliot Crockett

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The villa was beautiful and enrico the landlord was incredibly helpful. Only a few minutes by car to the picturesque small local town with a good selection of restaurants. Nothing would beat laying in the pool watching the sun set over the mountains. Would recommend to anyone.

Reviewed on 07/03/2018

James Lambton

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Fantastic villa with a stunning view and great location, would definitely stay again! Great local tips, everything went seamlessly, Enrico was a fantastic host!

Very good

Reviewed on 08/31/2017

Susan B

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Very friendly and helpful owner location was beautiful.

July 17 just returned

Reviewed on 08/15/2017

Paul R

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Had a great holiday at this villa.The owners were very good at communicating on our arrival.A car is essential as the walk back is too steep although you can taxi back for €15.The nearest restaurant which is quoted in other reviews is poor.One member of staff was very rude and made it obvious that she didn't like the British..The only critisism is that the garden furniture needs replacing as it's quite old now.Lucca is a delight,as is Barga with some good restaurants.Tritti is the best restaurant in Castelnuovo ,and the local supermarket is good.All in all a very relaxing holiday .

Great holidays

Reviewed on 07/10/2017

Vincent V

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We have had really great holidays in Monte Rotondo. The villa is typical, with lot of space. The first time we used the showers it was a bit disappointing, but it was in fact very convenient. The bedrooms are perhaps a bit small, but we have spent 99% of the time outside, so no trouble with this! The view is just incredible, and the swimming pool is very big! Enrico, Stefano and Giovanella, who have welcome us, are very friendly and always there if you need anything! When arrived, we have had the really good surprise to find lots of drinks, food, fruits... it's was really very cool! To summarize: really good holidays, in a very nice place, very quiet... we will be back for sure! Thanks once again to Stefano & Gio for all they made for us! :)

Fine Holiday Home in beautiful area

Reviewed on 08/15/2016

Kenny B

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We had a great time in this excellent holiday home. We arrived to a fine welcome pack of bread, cheese, fruit, milk and wine from the kind owner, Enrico. It was a warm day so we all immediately dived into the pool, a very big pool which was well used during our holiday. The house was well equipped and spacious, although the bedrooms were small. The garden is very peaceful, with plenty of space for kids to run and explore, so different from the city. I enjoyed walking down to the local town Castelnuovo, which had a good market and loads of cafes. There are excellent wine shops in town, and there seemed to be a lot of events on. My favourite place to visit was Barga, a little farther on, which is a town we visited some evenings for the music festival and market under the stars. We also took a train to Lucca, a fabulous town, and one day picnicked in a old castle in the mountains…we were the only people there, brilliant! We also enjoyed a couple of delicious surprisingly inexpensive meals at the local restaurant, which is highly recommended. We would love to go back sometime soon.