Villa Orchidea: Tuscany villa with swimming pool

Fantastisk utsikt mot San Gimignano. Huset er fra 1600-tallet og er rustikt innredet med antikke møbler noe som gir en unik følelse av å reise tilbake i tid. Perfekt for 3-4 familier.

Vi var 3 generasjoner ialt 12 personer fra 10 til 70 år, som hadde et fantastisk opphold i vakre Villa Orchidea. Huset og området rundt svarte absolutt til forventningene, det lå deilig og fredelig til med fantastisk utsyn til åsene rundt. En kveld fikk vi laget et toskanske måltid av en lokal kokk. Oppfølgingen fra norsk kontaktperson før turen var meget bra.

Wir (Großfamilie, 13 Personen) hatten eine wunderschöne Woche inmitten der Toskana. Besser geht nicht!

We stayed in this villa with our friends for ballroom dance holiday purpose. Villa is really beautiful, with inviting pool with beautiful view to the Tuscany hills and San Gimignano. It is very quit around, we didn't met any neighbor. There are some recently renovated rooms with beautiful bathrooms, but other rooms are not renovated in the recent years and bathrooms are smaller. So, not every couple got the same level room and bathroom. But for families it would't be problem, I suppose. We enjoyed, that the gardener and pool cleaner staff came early in the mornings, when we were still sleeping:) This villa really made our holidays memorable! :)

We were wowed by the villa’s charm, history and decor. We especially enjoyed evenings drinking a glass of wine in front of a roaring fire built upon the original 17th-century hearth. The villa has plenty of common spaces to spread out and relax. The kitchen was well-equipped for preparing meals. The beds were comfortable. The ladies were captivated by
the beauty of the surrounding area which is resplendent with picturesque vistas of rolling hills, winding country roads, olive groves and vineyards.
Its location was the perfect home base for a self-drive vacation exploring Tuscany and the Chianti region. Day trips less than an hour away included Certaldo, Greve, Castellina-in-Chianti, San Gimignano, Siena and more. Pisa and Lucca were about 1.5 hours away. Drawbacks were minor ones: The drive is steep with a 45 degree angle off the main road and may require turning around and approaching from the other direction. Six bedrooms have a private bath, while the 7th bedroom’s guest has to enter another bedroom in order to access a bathroom. If renting during hot weather, not all bedrooms are air conditioned. All-in-all a beautiful property which I am booking again.

To begin with, this villa is huge. Not only are the bedrooms large, but the dinning rooms and sitting rooms are spacious. There were 11 of us in our party and we still felt there was more than enough room.
Of the eight bedrooms, six are on the 1st floor (i.e. one staircase up) and are accessible via a steep set of stairs when you enter the main door. The two bedrooms at the top of the stairs might be a bit noisier than other bedrooms because of the proximity of the stairs. The other four bedrooms on the 1st floor share a kind of large sitting room with enormous couches and a table. I hung out there in the evening because it had a nice little balcony looking out over the hills.

The remaining two bedrooms are on the ground floor and are more suitable for guests that cannot climb stairs. One of them is in it's own retired building beside the pool. The couple lodged there said it was very quiet. The last room is near the kitchen and has it's own private TV room as a kind of parlor.

We found the building to be very cool and well insulated. The walls are so heavy, you can barely hear what is going on elsewhere in the villa. I imagine that it stays fairly cool during the summer but I can't say for certain. We never had to run the A/C or heat so I cannot comment on how well those work.

The kitchen was very good and had most of the cooking utensils that one would need. We made full use of the stove, microwave and convection oven when we were there. Interestingly, an American style coffee maker is not in the kitchen arsenal so be noted.

The pool was perhaps the best feature: It was very well maintained and has a spectacular view of the surrounding area. One interesting thing is that you can easily spot San Gimignano in the far distance with its many towers. I wish now I had spent more time just enjoying the view from the pool. It's so quite and secluded.

As a final note, the region is very nice for walking and there are a few very good restaurants within a few kilometers. (We would like to especially recommend Il Paese dei Campanelli in Petrognano). Certaldo is only 17 minutes away by car, and that is where we did most of our shopping. Also, trains down to Sienna and up to Florence depart from there on a fairly regular schedule.

Overall we were enormously impressed, and would recommend this villa to anyone. We would like to thank our hostess for the opportunity of staying here and enjoying such a wonderful venue!

The house was amazing. Like staying in a stately home. We ate meals in 4 different locations just because we could. I'm sure there are many wonderful stories about the lives of the family that lived there. So many rooms! Some of the bathrooms had issues but we managed. The grounds and pool were lovely. Stunning views. The pool was cold and the children soon noticed it but very refreshing for adults. There were lots of insects and some of our party were badly bitten whilst outside. Driving was a challenge as there are many farm roads to get lost on but once on a main road it was easier.
Would recommend for large family gatherings which would increase the value for money aspect.

We were a party of 15 and this villa was big enough to cater for us all. There was enough space for 4 cars on the drive, the bedrooms were all big. There were plenty of eating, seating and resting places inside and out. The only comment i would say is that the BBQ was a little small to cater for that many. The pool was large, lovely and warm and cleaned every day. All of the bedrooms bar 2 came with aircon and the remaining 2 had fans. The kitchen and dining room were well equipped. The only thing missing was any information on surrounding area, restaurants, supermarkets, towns to visit etc however we had lots of fun exploring the area. The villa is located in a very quiet region with spectacular views over the countryside. We had a great holiday and would recommend this villa.

Wir haben eine wunderbare Woche in Villa Orchidea verbracht und dort mit Großfamilie einen Geburtstag gefeiert. Für eine Gruppe von 14 Personen von 6 - 60 Jahren waren die großzügigen Räume und eigenen Bäder perfekt! Die Lage ist toll, absolut ruhig, inmitten der Natur, Olivenhaine, der Blick über den Pool in die toskanischen Hügel ein Traum. Die Ausstattung ist perfekt für eine große Gruppe, wir haben es genossen dort oft für alle zu kochen, auch draußen auf dem neuen Gasgrill in der Sommerküche. Der Pool hat eine praktische Flachzone für die Kleinen. Idealer Ort für Ausflüge nach Sienna, Firenze, Volterra, San Gimignano, aber auch Certaldo alto ist einen Besuch wert. Gekrönt haben wir die Feier mit einer Kutschfahrt durch die Chianti Hügel mit Lucca I Cocchieri di Chianti. Traumhaft! Villa und Umgebung absolut empfehlenswert! Das einzige, das wir vermissten, war ein Wasserkocher, da für 14 Leute Tee und Kaffee auf dem Gasherd zuzubereiten etwas lange dauerte und Kaffeemaschine und Espressokanne schon bessere Tage gesehen haben. Sonst alles top! Mille grazie!

Mooi groot huis. Prachtige ligging.