We (and friends) spent two days in January. Spotlessly clean, nice rooms, pretty views. Ilona is not only a charming host (quadrilingual, knowledgeable about the area) but an excellent cook. We had reserved a dinner the first night, which was an excellent 5 courses with good local wines. The second day we got back late and didn't feel like going out. Ilona produced yet another superb meal with local ingredients with no warning.
We - and our friends - would go back in a heartbeat!

Villa Cardeto is a beautiful facility, conveniently located in the country around Anghiari. You can reach Anghiari in 5 minutes and Arezzo in 20 minutes by car. I spent here a very nice weekend, also including the new year's eve 2012, with my family (wife and a two years old kid) and some friends. I found rooms clean and homely, the common areas lovely and the atmosphere in general very relaxing. I traveled in Winter, but this facilities should be even more pleasant in Spring and Summer. Mr. Rolf and Mrs. Ilona are very kind and friendly people. They did their best to satisfy any request. Overall, I would recommend it.

Ilona und Rolf Weber sind keine gelernte Hoteliers! Dafür sind sie wirklich gute, mit viel Herzblut, grosser Wärme und ganz viel Charme. Vor zwei Jahren haben die beiden die Schweiz verlassen und die Villa Cardeto wieder auf vordermann gebracht. Rolf blickte dabei auf eine über 30jährige Karriere als Spitzentrainer in der Leichtathletik zurück, zuletzt als Nationaltrainer Sprint/Hürden.
Vielleicht sind Eigenschaften aus dem Spitzensport (Streben nach Höchstleistung, Beharrlichkeit, Präzision, etc.) ja auch in der Gastronomie und Hotellerie gefragt. Auf jeden Fall war unser Aufenhalt ganz wundervoll. Der Tag fing jeweils mit einem herrlichen Frühstücksbuffet an und ging dann mit Sport (Wandern, Biken) oder dem Besuch der vielen sich in der Nähe befindlichen toskanischen Sehenswürdigkeiten (Sansepolcro, Assisi, Arezzo, Cortona...) weiter. Auch Siena und Florenz sind nur eine gute Autostunde entfernt.
Anschliessend darf man die kleine und sehr feine Sauna ganz für sich alleine aufheizen lassen und erholt sich angenehm, bevor es zu den kulinarischen Abend-Abenteuern geht.
Denn dann kommt der lukullische Abend! In der Nähe der Villa gibt es zahlreiche kleine "Geheimlokale", die man nie finden würde ohne die Hilfe der Gastgeber, die sich wohl durch hunderte von Restaurants "durchgegessen" haben. Auf jeden Fall herrscht akute Suchtgefahr nach diesen lokalen, die für Schweizer Verhältnisse schon fast unverschämt günstig sind.

Wir kommen auf jeden Fall wieder!

A hidden gem in the Anghiari countryside.
We have just returned from two weeks at the beautiful Villa Cardeto where Rolf & Ilona played hosts to our large wedding party.
The villa is a gem set in the countryside within easy reach of the beautiful town of Anghiari and Rolf and Ilona are the perfect hosts. Not only did they help us with the organisation of everything for our wedding, they also sourced local suppliers from Anghiari, including florist, hairdresser etc. nothing was too much trouble, as Ilona constantly said to our requests “no problem”. Catering for our 30+ guests on the evening of the great day, they both worked tirelessly to provide the perfect venue and ambience for all of our many guests who stayed at the villa. The villa functions as what could be described as a boutique B&B establishment offering individual rooms and family apartments. It proved to be an absolutely perfect venue for our large wedding party which booked out the whole villa! With the grounds gated, no one had to worry about the children; they could discover and play to their hearts content in safety.
Villa Cardeto is set in its own beautiful grounds with a magnificent swimming pool overlooking the the valley, filled with sunflowers and with views across to the distant mountains. Guests have the run of the villa including all the amenities including lounges (2), bar, internet access, mountain bikes etc. (except Ilona’s stunning kitchen, a beautiful Italian classic that we all drooled over!) The rooms / apartments are furnished simply but tastefully and most have wonderful views. The charming Tuscan character of the old villa has been retained throughout and the bedrooms with en suite bathrooms provide modern facilities. Ilona’s perfectionism and attention to detail shows in the cleanliness of the rooms and the way in which she presents them – small details like mineral water in the rooms, complimentary toiletries and a small chocolate on the turned down bed! An experienced and expert chef, she provides an exquisite breakfast and will cook evening meals on request at a very reasonable price which includes drinks. To stay at Villa Cardeto and not sample Ilona’s cooking and Rolf’s wines and Grappa would be a sin!
The gardens and the villa are maintained to the highest standard and Rolf and Ilona have totally mastered the art of being attentive to guests but never intrusive. You can always find a quiet, comfortable and shaded spot to relax away from other guests if you want to, but the hosts will respond immediately to your every request.
For Sara and I the hilltop town of Anghiari (with its stunning mediaeval architecture and friendly locals) is a destination in itself, but guests staying here can reach Arezzo, Firenze, Sienna, Assissi, Cortona and Perugia easily together with other tourist destinations such as, San Giminano and Montipulciano possible also.
Nothing is too much trouble for these charming multilingual Swiss hosts; they will do everything and more to make your stay perfect. To sum up our stay, if you want a relaxing holiday in a beautiful ‘non-tourist filled’ part of Tuscany that remains truly Italian, then Villa Cardeto represents excellent value in magnificent surroundings.
We recommend it very reluctantly because it is so special that we would really like to keep it as our very own private secret!!
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