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> SlowTrav > Italy > Vacation Rentals > Reviews > Tuscany Chianti Review 2565: To Tuscany, Angolino
3bed/2bath house near Radda in Chianti, Tuscany Chianti 
WhenOct 7, 2006 - Oct 14, 2006, 1 week (7 nights) LocationThe villa was located up on a hill about two kilometers from the small town of Radda in Chianti. It was in a quiet, semi-private residential area and adjacent to the owner's own villa surrounded by olive groves. Very nice location with beautiful countryside views, especially from the rooftop terrace, yet close to a town. Nearby AmenitiesThe town of Radda in Chianti was two kilometers away, which had a small grocery store, several restaurants, and a few other small wine, cheese and meat shops. To walk to the town from the villa would take awhile, especially since the villa was at the top of a hill. It's much easier to do the drive into town with parking available upon entering. The House/ApartmentThe villa was a 14-century home still in very good shape. It had a split-bedroom style where one of the three bedrooms was completely on one side of the house with its own bathroom. Two other homes were nearby, one of them being the owner's house. This was an individual private villa where the owner also held cooking lessons in the basement portion (none while we were renting). There was a TV, which the owner showed us how to operate, yet we didn't watch. There was no phone available at the villa. You can view the house directly: Angolino. GardenAs a private home, there was an outside unheated pool with seating both around the pool and in a overhead covered section next to it. (We did not use the pool as the weather was too cool.) There was also a good-sized rooftop terrace with seating (and wonderful countryside views), and even chairs outside the front door entry patio way. Furnishings/Cleanliness/Living AreasThe villa was clean and the furniture was in good shape, although some items were antiques and some were modern. We mainly used the kitchen for our sitting and gathering around. In fact, there was a separate dining area with a large table and six chairs which we never ended up using! Bedrooms/BathroomsThe beds were comfortable and for the most part the bedrooms were nice. Two of them were decorated in a modern-mix kind of style that didn't seem to go with the rest of the house. Both bathrooms were great -- never ran out of hot water. KitchenThe kitchen is where we spent most of the time while at the villa. There are two fireplaces in the villa, one being in the kitchen. Plenty of mix-matched dishes, pots and pans. We used the gas stove top coffee maker daily. It held a large refrigerator along with a kitchen table and chairs (four) for our nightly card games. Problems or BonusesWe did have to request our laundry service (it was suppose to be included in the rental rate) from the owner after several days. To our amazement, she pleasantly and happily washed the laundry, but it was all given back totally wet! I guess we were not aware they do not dry the clothes. We hung the garments every place possible to dry in time before our departure! Agency and Representatives (and price)The agency was very good to work with. Upon arrival we dealt directly with the owner who spoke very little English and was very charming. The villa was actually larger and nicer than what we could gather from the description and pictures on the website. We declined using the heating service since that incurred extra charges and for our stay during that time of year was not needed. We paid $1,350.00 plus a 2% booking fee from using a credit card on this rental for October 2006. Do you recommend this vacation rental to others?I would highly recommend this villa to anyone, or group, wishing to stay in this area. If I were to come back to this exact area I would certainly consider it, yet it is a large villa that accommodates six people. Most likely the next rental would be in another region or town in Italy to explore different areas. Things to do in this areaWe constantly went into Radda in Chianti since it was so close. They also have a great gelato place upon entering the town. Plus we needed to go in for the phone booth to the calls back home! We ate several meals, both lunch and dinner in this town. There are several small shops with antiques, tourist items, wine and cheese, etc. They even had a tourist office available. From Radda we picked-up the bus that took us into Siena for a day. Locally, we hit a couple wineries. This was a good starting location as we ventured out to other towns for day trips such as Siena, Castellina in Chianti, San Gimignano, Voltera, and Cortona. We even had a chance to see a wild boar cross the road in this area! This review is the opinion of a Slow Travel member and not of slowtrav.com. |
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