Overall we enjoyed our 10-day stay at Lorenza’s place. There are many pros to the house (especially value for money) but there are also a few cons that it would be good to be aware of.
The house is in a very scenic spot and near the charming town of CastelNuovo. It should be noted that the location is rural and some distance from the main sites (around 1hr – 1hr 30 mins to historic towns: Siena, San Gimignano and the coast) along windy roads.
The house is very spacious and served our party of 10 well. What may not be apparent from the Vrbo photos is that the apartments are on the top side of the building and have their own kitchens, while the shared sitting room and kitchen is on the lower level. You have to walk around the outside of the house to get from one level to the next. The shared kitchen is small for the size of the property and not well equipped. The same goes for the sitting room which has some rather tired and tables and chairs. The fridge was broken for the first half of our stay. After sending a reminder, Lorenza switched it over for one from one of the apartments. The pool was excellent and clean. There is a clothes washing machine in a nearby building. You pay 4 euros per wash.
Lorenza and her son Jacopo were very friendly and communicative. Lorenza very kindly organized a cake and balloons for my nieces whose birthday it was the day we arrived. This was a really lovely touch.
On the downside, we did find it rather odd that Lorenza would often arrive at the house and walk in unannounced. Although we were very grateful for her regular gifting of apricots we thought it would have been nice to check with us first if we were ok for her to come over.
Our check out was also not ideal. We’d confirmed with Jacopo that we’d check out at the Vrbo stated time of 10 am. However, the gardener started cutting the grass outside the bedrooms at 7:30am. He was followed by Lorenza and the cleaning team at 8:30am. We asked if they could hold off cleaning until the agreed check out time. They then hung around the house until we left which was quite awkward and unfortunate.
Note that there’s no welcome guide or info on the Vrbo app so it’s important to ask lots of questions at check in which may be challenging if you don’t speak Italian, as Lorenza doesn’t speak English.
Overall, good value if you don’t mind basic accommodation, a few interruptions of privacy and longish drives for sightseeing.