What were the highlights of your holiday? Lovely accommodation and pool. Hostess/owner (Roberte) was lovely. We had problems with the DVD and a new one was delivered the same day. Nothing seemed to much trouble. We had her mobile in case of anything (which we didn't need) but we liked the fact that she didn't keep coming round! The pool was cleaned very early in the morning so we didn't even know they had been.
What was your overall impression of the accommodation?    Very high standard with everything you could need. Often 'lounges' are pretty basic with not enough comfortable seating for everyone. This certainly wasn't the case with La Valle. The garden was lovely and the pool great. Views lovely.
Did you have any unpleasant surprises during your stay with us? We only booked this accommodation because it had access to a nearby shop and restaurant. The way to the village was through a wood and it wasn't possible to use this route in the dark. Access via the road was too far to walk. Therefore we had to drive to the restaurant which was a disappointment as we couldn't have a drink. The shop was also closed for the first two days we went down to the village. Although we noticed it was open later in the week when we drove through the village - we had given up.
Do you have any other comments regarding the accommodation or service? The hostess was very welcoming. Cake on arrival was lovely (and a surprise when she brought another one when she came to change the linen). We arrived during a bank holiday and therefore the 'welcome' pack wasn't sufficient, especially in terms of bread (which obviously went stale very quickly). If you are flying, you can't bring foodstuffs with you. Perhaps you could consider offering a larger pack (obviously costing more and accepting it would be move 'english' focussed as this would be the first few days) which would could see you through 2/3 days (when shops and restaurants close). I would have chosen this just so I had peace of mind that we had food to eat - cereal, pasta, a jar of sauce, a veg (frozen peas?), cheese, frozen chicken pieces perhaps. I appreciate people don't always arrive during festival but most arrive at weekends when access to shops etc more difficult.
Jillian Gregg
United Kingdom
August 2010
The shop was closed because a member of the family passed away. The starter pack is being improved for 2010 to include items such as pasta and a jar of sauce.

Was waren die Highlights Ihres Urlaubs? Es hat einfach alles gestimmt.
Wie war Ihr Gesamteindruck von der Unterbringung? Hervorragend.
Gab es unangenehme Überraschungen? Nur solche mit dem Autovermieter, dafür können Sie aber nichts :-)
Haben Sie andere Anmerkungen? Das Haus ist zwar teuer, aber der Service (auch die liebevolle und doch zurückhaltende Art der Besitzer) war perfekt.
Markus Notter
Switzerland
Juli 2010

What were the highlights of your holiday? La Valle itself, Malborghetto restaurant in Lecchi (not only great food but the owner was kind enough to give us a lift back to La Valle at the end of the meal), the friendliness, courtesy and helpfulness of everyone we came across in Chianti, some fabulous wine tastings, and a lovely meal for 11 of us (a family reunion) cooked and served at La Valle thge day after we arrived by Emily of Tuscan Chef.
What was your overall impression of the accommodation?    Excellent. Roberta and Orario were wonderful, and La Valle is a gorgeous, peaceful and well maintained villa with lovely gardens. They took such trouble, and have clearly put alot of thought into making this the great destination that it is.
Did you have any unpleasant surprises during your stay with us? We found the walk back up to La Valle a little harder than expected, especially at night with a pram! Not really unpleasant, but it made a difference.
Do you have any other comments regarding the accommodation or service? Wherever we went in Chianti we found friendliness, courtesy and helpfulness. People were good to us. A car is vital, and we were pleased to be at Lecchi where the tourist density felt a little less than, for example, at Greve. Tuscany is gorgeous, and we loved exploring the villages, vineyards etc.
Georgina Salier
Australia
June 2010

What were the highlights of your holiday? We had such a fabulous time. We visited the beautiful Pisa, Siena and San Giminiano. It was great having such a wonderful alimetari within walking distance and a great restaurant within a 5 minute drive.
What was your overall impression of the accommodation?    Excellent, great location, fabulous views and the garden was beautiful
Did you have any unpleasant surprises during your stay with us? No
Do you have any other comments regarding the accommodation or service? Thank you for such a great holiday!
Ian Clarke
United Kingdom
May 2010

What were the highlights of your holiday? Breakfast in the shade by the pool, dinner on the terrace. Peace and quiet and tranqulity.
What was your overall impression of the accommodation?    Beautiful location and gardens.
Did you have any unpleasant surprises during your stay with us? The DVD player requires inspection and attention, thankfully we had a portbable player to keep our young children resting during heat of mid-day sun.
Do you have any other comments regarding the accommodation or service? The kitchen lacked some basic items that maybe are found in UK but not in Italy. Kettle and measuring items...Prehaps not the most toddler friendly villa and we had to re arrange some of the delicate furntiture to ensure no damage.
Frank Howell
United Kingdom
June 2010

What were the highlights of your holiday? Seeing the villa for the first time & cookery lessons in local restaurant
what was your overall impression of the accommodation?    Perfect
Did you have any unpleasant surprises? The owners turning up at 07.00 on the departure day to work in the garden & the pool with their friends!
Do you have any other comments? The footpath down to the local village needs some better signage as, on our first attempt, we marched through someone's garden & they were not impressed!
John Pocock
United Kingdom
August 2009

What were the highlights of your holiday? Enjoying the Tuscan countryside and the small villages and hilltop towns. We also had great days in Pisa and Sienna which were easy to get to from our villa.
what was your overall impression of the accommodation?    Excellent. The landlords were very hospitable and gracious. The layout was perfect for 2 couples to share, but not get in each other's way. The setting was gorgeous--loved having our coffee on the terrace, listening to birdsong from the forest and gazing out through the olive groves.
Did you have any unpleasant surprises? Just not as much sunshine as we had hoped! Didn't even get to use the pool and it was mid June.
Do you have any other comments?
Robert Graham
Ireland, Republic of
June 2009

What were the highlights of your holiday? The cooking class with Simone was amazing. His restaurant is fabulous. He also sent us to a lovely village called Volpia where we sat on a terrace and had a wonderful lunch and a great glass of wine.
what was your overall impression of the accommodation?    The house was picture perfect. It was in a beautiful location with an amazing view of Lecchi. I loved the proximity of the house to the village too. Far enough away to feel that you were on your own but close enought to be able to pick up supplies or go for a lovely lunch. The house was clean and very well maintained.
Did you have any unpleasant surprises? The only thing that spoiled it for us somewhat is that we had to pay for heat because the house was freezing. In our opinion, heat, like hot water, is a basic need. We didn't think that it was right that we were charged for it. Furthermore, we ended up paying for all of the energy we consumed because the reading that was taken from the meter totalled all of the energy consumed together (lights, heat, hot water, pool pump, washing machine etc). We were disappointed that this was done.
Do you have any other comments? I would absolutely recommend this house for the location, the beauty of the house and the village but I would warn them of the energy consumption expectations.
Shannon Rudberg
United Kingdom
May 2009

Overall impression: Beautiful
Highlights: The welcome from the owners, the view and the weather
Unpleasant surprises: None
Elaine (UK)

Overall impression: Fantastic! Very good value for the price - immaculately presented. The property managers were so welcoming and had prepared some food for us on arrival, which wasn't expected, but was much appeciated. We also had a power cut & they were out within a half hour to sort out the problem -can't sing thier praises highly enough.
Highlights: Too many to mention, but the overall view from the villa & location were perfect in themselves.
Unpleasant surprises: No - only good!
Kate (UK)

Overall impression: Superb, the owners were on hand to welcome us and kept in touch (discreetly) throughout the week to make sure everything was OK.
Highlights: Fresh fruit salad, home made cake and bottles of Asti Spumante and Chianti on arrival.
Unpleasant surprises: You describe the accommodation as a villa with external stairs.  It is more accurately described, in the owners own literature, as two self contained apartments.  This is particularly important for families with young children.
Stephen (UK)

Hi there,
I was going to send you a note to let you know how thrilled we were with our holiday and the ccommodation and recommendation of the chef.
Overall the experience was fantastic and the accommodation wonderful. Having stayed in Tuscany before, we were able to compare and while the house was smaller it was so clean and well renovated with great bathrooms and kitchen and pool. Please pass our thanks to the owners of the property who were waiting or us on arrival with Champagne and a home cooked cake which was such a lovely touch.
We would highly recommend this house. Also the food the chef prepared was sensational and he and his partner were lovely people so once again highly recommend them.
We will be looking to rent a house in Italy in the future and will certainly come to you first for suggestions.
Thanks again for all your help
Jane Brook & Jimmy Tansey  (Australia)

A brief video of La Valle