Tuscany is as beautiful as you can imagine and the Villa Maria is a tremendous property from which to explore the area. We rented the Villa for two weeks--the first with 11 adults who are friends, and the second with 8 family members. The Villa was everything portrayed in the description and so much more. The view of the valley, the ability to walk to a little town, the spaciousness of grounds and varied places to sit and drink wine, laugh and relax were wonderful. The driving direction to the Villa are tricky, but once you get there, it was easy to find the place again and again!

The Villa itself is charming, with a large living room, dinning room and kitchen. A few of the bathrooms had to be shared, but we were able to make that work. The pool area is large with places to lounge and sit in conversations. The pool was not heated, but that was refreshing during the warm days. There were limited supplies (toliet paper, paper towels, dishwashing soap, etc--so be prepared to shop after you arrive), but things like towels, and linens were supplied. The washer and dryer take time, but work fine. There is a groundskeeper on site so if anything needed immediate attention it was taken care of. The Villa is close to the train (about 10 minutes) so that people could go into Florence or elsewhere, and is close to a larger town (Reggello) for banks and supermarkets. Most the towns that you might want to visit (e.g., Siena, Cortona, San Gimignano) were about an hour away--traffic in the late afternoon getting back to the Villa was hectic, but not impossible!

Marco is a delightful host, and was there to answer all of our questions. Once our reservations were made, it was easy to work with him to transfer payments, and request help with events. For example, we used Danato as a chef for 3 meals. They were outstanding and far superior to what we had in restaurants--in addition to which he is charming and his little English is just enough to make it fun. Marco also helped arranged for a birthday dinner at one of the restaurants in the area.

All of us had a wonderful time, and regretted having to leave this beautiful place. I would highly recommend Villa Maria...and I hope to return someday.