took the family [14 of us] including 5 children, to villa Avanella for a week as we had a wedding to attend. on arrival we were all amazed at the space of the villa with all bedrooms an average 18x18 a living room the size of a small barn -with enough seating for 14, as was the kitchen. the grounds had two full size bbq's and a pool 20mx 10m approx. which was maintained daily. the views -amazing, Francesca the manager was extremely helpful and if required was just a phone call away. an amazing place to stay.

Nous avons passé trois jours inoubliables dans cette magnifique maison, pleine de charme, spacieuse et idéale pour un groupe de 9 personnes, dont un enfant. La rénovation et la décoration sont de très bon goût et on s'est senti tout de suite chez nous. Une seule suggestion: il faudrait peut-être un peu plus de plats et d'ustensiles de cuisine (épluche-légumes par ex.), ce serait plus pratique quand on est plusieurs à préparer le repas! Quant à la vue depuis la maison, elle est juste IDYLLIQUE... même sous la pluie! C'est vraiment la Toscane telle qu'on se l'imagine: les collines, les oliviers, les cyprès, les vignes et une lumière qui ravit tous les amateurs de photo! L'endroit est super bien situé, on a l'embarras du choix quand il s'agit de décider d'une excursion. Merci beaucoup à Ann et Charly qui nous ont fourni des informations et tuyaux fort utiles et nous ont accueillis très chaleureusement - nous regrettons seulement de ne pas avoir eu plus de temps pour papoter! Ce sera pour une prochaine fois!

Just finished up an amazing stay at Charley and Anne's farmhouse in Tuscany and I can't say enough about how great this place is! Charley and Anne were both amazing hosts, the house itself is spotless and full of character, and the view alone is worth the price of the rental. We stayed with a group of 6 and had more than enough room with each couple (3 of them) having their own rooms and bathrooms. The house is very centrally located and is less than a 10 minute drive away from the highway, close to several charming Tuscan villages, within driving distance to Sienna and Florence, but still very secluded and quiet for amazing glasses of wine looking over the Tuscan countryside. Laundry is offered at 5 euros per (large) load, however they will do it for you and our clothes came back to us clean and dry the next day (well worth the price). Charley and Anne were great hosts. Very communicative through the booking process, and very much available during our stay (they live right next door). We followed a couple of Charley's suggestions for dinner and both were amazing! This is the Tuscany we were looking for!

This was an opportunity to get together with family from 3 different countries. The house itself had character, its thick walls betraying its age. Nice views from the outside table where we ate our evening meals and breakfasts. The owners live in the adjoining house and were usually available to assist with various small matters, and were always helpful. House was clean and beds were comfy. House was well equipped A few points to keep in mind: The pool is lovely, but is not on the property, it's about a 3 minute walk on a neighbouring property. Wi-fi is available (free) but is patchy, probably (I think) due to the thick walls; I think it's from their own home next door. There is nothing else in the immediate area except fields; you can go for walks, that's about it. For anything else a car is essential. Our group of 10 had 3 cars so it wasn't usually a problem. There are some interesting places in the area; Florence (Firenze) is about 30-45 minutes away, there is also Sienna, San Gimignano, a few places do wine tasting, there is old Certaldo with a funiculaire. Pisa is less than 3 hours. The house has some tourist brochures. There is a railway station not too far away (but too far to walk). We had a lovely week here and the sun shone most of the time!

A genuine tuscan house with an amazing view, surrounded by nature, peace and charm. It's located in the heart of Tuscany, but easy to find thanks to Charly's indications. It's a large house decorated beautifully and with taste, with all appliances needed. Ann and Charly were very kind and helpful anytime we needed any information. We appreciated a lot their help, and we're looking forward to coming back someday. We felt like we were at home.

Nous avons beaucoup apprécié notre séjour chez Charly et Anne. La maison est magnifique, accueillante, avec une belle terrasse et une vue splendide sur les collines toscanes, dans un site silencieux et reposant. Les indications pour parvenir dans cet endroit éloigné étaient parfaitement claires (même de nuit avec la pluie!) et nous avons été très bien accueillis et conseillés par les propriétaires. La cuisine est bien équipée et le guide pratique pour les hôtes s'est révélé très utile. Les chambres sont spacieuses et permettent à plusieurs personnes de cohabiter confortablement. S'il fallait relever un seul point négatif: les matelas sont plutôt durs ! Encore merci et au plaisir de peut-être revenir un jour. Cordialement Pierre et Anne Krämer-Piguet, Auvernier, Suisse

Tuscany is one of the most beautiful places in the world and this restored farmhouse gives you a box seat to the beauty of Tuscany every day. Charlie and Ann are great hosts and this restored farmhouse is large, comfortable, and perched high above the rolling hills of Tuscany with the towers of San Gimignano in the distance. You won't be disappointed.

Six of us booked this villa for 10 nights on the strength of the wonderful reviews, the great images of the place and the fact that it was heavily booked up. The owners were good communicators and we arrived full of expectations on a Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately the owners had been called away as a relative was very ill and we never met them. This, I am sure, had a bearing on what followed. We were met by a lovely Italian lady (I think her name was Emma) who showed us around. We were enchanted by the lovely view from the terrace and were extremely satisfied with the look of the bedrooms, the kitchen, dining room and lounge. We arrived in the middle of a heat wave and were very keen to view the pool shared with the neighbours. The pool was across the road and up several steps (not on our property as we had wrongly envisaged) . We arrived to find a crowd of people ensconced around the pool. Our lady was a bit embarrassed but told us that we could have use of the pool on the Sunday and the whole of the next week as the people over the road would be away. My wife and I are not great pool people but this did not go down well with the other two couples. To cut a long story short, the following day and the Monday there was once more a crowd of people enjoying the pool. They appeared to arrive from elsewhere by car (there were about four cars in the off street parking) and were unfriendly when we pitched up. I might add that they stayed well into the evening. So, we were , once again, unable to make use of the pool during the almost unbearable heat wave that lasted the entire time of our stay. By this time we were MOST unhappy. We were able to contact Charlie who promised to do something about the state of affairs. However, the same thing happened on the following Saturday and Sunday. While no one can arrange the weather, even the (magnificent) evenings were very hot indeed. The bedrooms upstairs are all equipped with standing fans and mosquito guards but there is no through draft, (the wall between our abode and the owner's section appears to preclude the free circulation of air) despite us all leaving our bedroom doors open. The result was that it was stifling and we never had a good night's sleep during the entire stay. Mosquitoes!!!! They attacked us day and night, inside and out, despite all kinds of potions and lotions, citronella candles of various shapes and sizes (one of which exploded!!) and this also made our stay less than comfortable. Another disappointment was the fact that the advertised washing machine was nonexistent. One certainly needs to do some washing during a 10 day stay. We managed the old fashioned way. (There was a notice about E5 a load, so we surmised that the washing machine was in the owner's section next door). The above sound like Jeremiah's lamentations but were VERY relevant to our stay and spoiled our stay somewhat. On the positive side: We spent 10 days driving hundreds of kilometers through THE most magnificent scenery and visiting so many beautiful towns,villages and abbeys. The farmhouse is well situated. The farmhouse itself is large and generally well appointed. The view IS wonderful We ate out at fantastic restaurants within a 10 to 20 minute drive. To summarise: Our stay could have been so much more enjoyable - had the weather been a bit cooler (no one to blame). - had we had daily access to the pool - and,even better, had it been on our property - if our bedrooms were better ventilated/air condtioned -if we had not been absolutely inundated by mosquitoes and,maybe, if our hosts had been there. I trust that I have been as fair as I possibly can. -

The house is in between Siena and Florence - Great Location: close to everywhere but in a secluded and very beautiful area. Few restaurants close by and a small supermarket. We ate breakfast in the garden, in the lovely view "sipping" the beauty of the Chinti area that was revealed to our eyes. The house is well equipped and you also have a dishwasher that was very usefull. The "landlord" is a very nice person and very helpfull with all your needs and questions. We had a great time in the house. Cons? The only thing I can think off is that in the evening the house was freezing as the temp. droped a lot.. There is a heating stove in the house but you are told not to use and to use only the AC appliances in the house and we did but we found that they were not effective.

Words cannot do justice to this holiday home. The photos on this website do not do it justice. The farmhouse is truly exceptional. It is huge and comfortable and Charley and Anne have thought of everything to make it perfect. It has all the rustic charm you could hope for and it has all the modern comforts with a magnificent kitchen, great bathrooms, central heating, Wifi, the list goes on. The views have to be seen to be believed, honestly you will not find better views anywhere. We loved eating out on the terrace and looking out over the rolling hills. The house is private and quiet and you feel like you own Tuscany when you look out over it! Even though it was very private, Charley was on hand whenever we needed him and provided us with maps to help us find parking in Florence, did our clothes washing for us, looked into postage for us, he was amazing! The location is brilliant, many day trips to be had from here across all of Tuscany. We did some by car and some by train, both were fine. The nearby towns are quiet and beautiful but still with great supermarkets and restaurants. San Gimignano only a half hour drive away is a must-see. I could rave about this house for pages- just go there and see for yourself!