Help page for finding your Italian villa or apartment rental on our site.

Below you'll find a selection of comments made by previous guests and those who have used the services of Renting In Italy and Dr. Cristiano Castellani.

We pride ourselves on the personal touch, and would love to hear from you and learn from your experiences. Enjoy browsing the entries further down the page(see also some archived entries - one, two and three), and, if you'd like to send us a message for the guestbook, then please do contact us. Thanks!
Name:
Victor and Phillip , Linda and Lucinda
E-Mail:
Supplied
Comments:
Good morning Cristiano.

Just a few lines to let you know that we all had the most wonderful and relaxing summer holiday staying at the Villa IL TURCO.

The Villa and Tuscany was far better than can be imagined by reading and looking at internet pictures or books. It allowed us to step back in time and feel and breathe the real history of a magnificent building and a delightful and charming area of Italy.

Perhaps words can not describe the true feeling we all felt but ?Falling in Love? is perhaps the closest.

Also the hospitality shown by your father and all the staff was overpowering, we were not treated as tourists but as though we had been close friends for many years and the food and wine, eaten in a beautiful surrounding, will be sadly missed.

Our visits to Florence were very educational and all the Museums and Galleries we visited were wonderful and travelling on the local bus made us feel part of the community.

We will, having fallen in love with your country and people, without doubt visit Italy again next year to see more of the area and hopefully travel to different regions and perhaps stay once again in IL TURCO (with a better fluency in Italian)

Please pass on to all at the Villa (and Mario who gave us a tour of the Wine Cellars), especially you father, our warmest thanks to all who made our stay so happy.

Thanking you also for all your help and information given to us.

Kindest Regards

Victor and Phillip , Linda and Lucinda

Name:
Marķa
E-Mail:
supplied@email.address
Comments:
Dear Cristiano

Villa Pietreto was just perfect. Five minutes after our arrival, we were ALL saying we wanted to stay there forever” San Donato was so beautiful.

The garden in the villa was magnificent, and the apartments we stayed in were great. We felt independent having my brother just 5 metres away in them other apartment. Concerning the owners, we couldn“t ask for more. Gianna and Aldo were so kind ( we were said to take everything we wanted from the garden - lettuces, peaches, kiwis ... ) and they also invited us for a great great dinner.

The whole place was incredible, the view from the gazebo was incredible, the place so silent and quiet...

Hope this answers to your question. Sure we will love to repeat it and sure will contact you.

Best Regards,

Marķa

Name:
Dona
E-Mail:
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Comments:
Lisa, we loved staying at the Villa Il Prato. The property was well kept and very clean. An absolute pleasure to wake up every morning to the olive groves and the view of the country side. It was also very secure and convenient.

We did not pay for the wheelchair directly. Please charge the credit card.

Also, I had sent you an e-mail regarding the possibility of my prescription eyeglasses being left at the Villa. They would be in a black hard case. Please let me know.

Thank you,
Dona

Name:
Catherine Owens
E-Mail:
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Comments:
Dear Lisa,

The property we rented, the Zenzero apartment at Il Borghino, managed by Le
Renaie Hotel, just outside San Gimignano, was perfect in every way. The
directions to reach it were precise and correct, the hotel's procedure for
getting us the key and showing us into the apartment were just as promised,
and the apartment itself was clean, well-maintained, breezy, and completely
delightful for our entire stay. We appreciated the use of the Renaie pool,
and felt that their restaurant was fine, with great food and service. The
best thing about this holiday was that there were no unpleasant surprises,
everything was just as you promised.

You can quote me, but please do not include my email address.

Catherine Owens
Director, Centre for Academic Development
Al Akhawayn University
Ifrane, Morocco

Name:
Fred
E-Mail:
Supplied
Comments:
Dear Lisa,

A group of 5 of use rented Villa La Costaglia in Tuscany last July.

We were very happy with the location and the accommodation. Personally, I was also very impressed with the owner's willingness to facilitate us with special arrangements re dates and rent. So we got a 10 days rental which was exactly was we required.

We also enjoyed being able to visit the wine factory in the original house and sampling the products on offer.

The swimming pool is a real bonus as well - very clean - and quite welcome on a very hot afternoon.

Hope this is what you required.

Thanks for your good services.

Fred

Name:
Richard Halton
E-Mail:
Supplied
Comments:
Torre Apartment - Tenuta Cennina

Terrific place, great staff and we'd go back!

Richard Halton

Name:
Pierre Gervais
E-Mail:
Supplied
Comments:
good afternoon,
thank you for requesting our feed back with the recent booking we made at VILLA LA LOGGIA.
In a nutshell, the stay was fantastique.

the location: of the house was very central between Florence, Sienna, Pisa, Montaione and other sites.
the view: was marvelous. Located in between vineyards and olive trees.
the road instructions: were clear.
the property: was impeccable. A bit noisy at night with a house close by with some dogs
the people: were very friendly and ready to provide help when asked.

I will not hesitate to consult your services on our next trip to Italy.

Warm regards.
Pierre Gervais
Canada

Name:
Ine van Haaren-Dresens
E-Mail:
Supplied
Comments:
Dear Ms Lisa

Herewith I inform you that we stayed very agreeably in the apartment
Edoardo we rented in Osteria del Piano in Castelnuovo de Gargafagna. The
property was very nice and the staff was really extraordinary friendly
and helpfull. We only regretted that we had to go home and could not
stay any longer!
If for anything you might point out in your information that the
apartments are on the second floor and that Edoardo has no balcony or
so. Furthermore the road instructions were not that clear as the exit of
the motorway was not adequate or at least not signposted as in the
instructions; the local directions should also be added. For us there
were no real problems as we contacted the staff and were given the
adequate local instructions by phone.
Thank you for your services!

Kind regards ,

Ms Ine van Haaren-Dresens

Name:
Bonnie Bailey
E-Mail:
Supplied
Comments:
Dear Cristiano: August is usually holiday time in Firenze, so I am not sure if you got my email that I sent when we returned from Cortona a month ago. It was a wonderful month at a beautiful villa, and we are all very grateful to you and your staff and the family for making it available to us. Was there any difficulty at the end with Liviana and/or Mr. Silvano? I left a day earlier than Nanci Chazen. I left on Thursday, and she left on Friday. Mr. Chazen and my husband had gone back to the States July 15th. Nanci does not speak any Italian, and she seemed to not understand what was asked of her that Friday. Liviana had gotten several extra orders of bed linens for us the last two weeks of the month because there were new guests coming in at various times. I know we owed Liviana for those charges, but I am not sure if she got her money. Also, was there any problem with the deposit? We really enjoyed being there, and I want to make sure that all debts were met and paid. Liviana was wonderful for us, and always so pleasant. Please tell her how much we appreciate her attention to us. Please let me know if we have any balance with you to be paid for any of the extras, etc., and I will get it to you to distribute accordingly. Thank you very much for everything. I hope we can have another such wonderful vacation soon.

Bonnie Bailey

Name:
Marilyn and Keith Martin
E-Mail:
Supplied
Comments:
RE: Il Fienlino

We were completely satisfied with our accomodations at the villa Il Fienlino in Lastra a Signa
near Florence. It was everything we had been looking for as a place to rent for a week. It was so picturesque, clean, beautifully decorated and comfortable. We ended up cooking several evening meals at home, just to watch the sunset over the olive groves and cypress trees. It is so convenient to the village for shopping for groceries at the Intercoop, having dinner out, or catching a bus into Florence. Paola was our hostess and was so helpful(as well as her two children) and full of recommendations. Plus she even left us a bag of her favorite cookies on our doorknob one day. Her dinner suggestions were wonderful, both local ones in the village and in the city. She made us feel very welcome. It was also a convenient spot for day trips to San Gimigianno, Pisa, Cinque de Terre, and Sienna from the autostrada.

The bedrooms were spacious, comfortable and had great views out of the windows. The local rooster did wake us up in the morning, but it was better than an alarm clock. The kitchen was set up nicely, just needed a few more glasses. Bathrooms were spotless. We did our laundry and luckily had plenty of sun for drying them outside. Loved all of the lemon trees and fresh rosemary on the patio.

We definitley felt like we shared a tiny piece of heaven for a week. A truly great find.

Marilyn and Keith Martin

State College, PA USA

Name:
John
E-Mail:
Supplied
Comments:
Hello,

Good afternoon.

Just like to say that we had a marvelous holiday in Tuscany
last month at IL BORGHINO.

We are very interested in coming back next year to same place, but
in the superior apartment Zenzero ( upper ). The period would be
either from sat 10 June to Friday 23 june inclusive, or from
Saturday 17 june to Friday 30 June inc.

We would hope that we would get good rates for booking early !!

Look forward to hearing from you,

Regards,

John

Name:
Louise and Sam Fry
E-Mail:
Supplied
Comments:
Hello Lisa,

Of course you will receive our very positive feedback. Sorry to be slow in replying - we were out of town.

Our whole experience with Renting in Italy, from initial electronic introduction, to leaving the property in Tuscany, was wonderful! The search and reservation process, handled through the Internet, was very easy. Questions were always answered promptly. Directions to the property were very good. The property was even more beautiful than the web pictures. Il Torrino is a real gem! Mr. Bertilli and his employees are great. The villa was clean, beautiful, and restful. We especially liked the location of the property, near Montaione. Our welcome on arrival was warm and inviting. And, we felt the rental price was reasonable for the accomodations.

We have already recommended your company to our friends. Thank you so much for your help and professional service. We look forward to working with you again in the future.

It is fine to use this information in your marketing.

Louise and Sam Fry
Olympia, Washington
USA

Name:
Diane
E-Mail:
Supplied
Comments:
Hey Cris,
I am home!! We had a great stay in the B&B on the Ponte Vechio. It is a
little secret!! The rooms were clean, good sized and the beds were
comfy!!! Good job again, Cris!!!!

Diane

Name:
Michelle
E-Mail:
Supplied
Comments:
My husband and I, and our
family and friends had our wedding at the villa we rented, Villa Meleto, in San
Miniato. The overflow of guest stayed at La Vista Vista. Everyone
who stayed with us at Villa Meleto, and with you at La Vista had a wonderful
time. Both locations were absolutely more than we could have imagined.

Please let me know what information you need from me, as I am more than
happy to help.

Warm Regards,
Michelle

Name:
Mr and Mrs Bill Abernathy
E-Mail:
Supplied
Comments:
Hello Cristiano..we are back in the US still marvelling about your beautiful Italy. We have encouraged all of our friends to go and actually 3 families have plans for next summer. I have given your web site and shared with them the good and not so good..overall thank you for a wonderful trip..I understand you were Prince Rescue for my friends when they arrived in Pisa..I had totally mixed up the date and thought they were arriving the next day..I would have liked to meet you..but as we are planning another trip tp Italy hopefully we will connect next time.

Our first rental in Cortona (VILLA DELLE CONTESSE) was lovely but we cannot recommend it to our friends because of the kitchen problems. We couldnt use the oven and the freezer broke and we lost our frozen food..we had to eat out more than planned but as the restaurants were wonderful it wasnt a hardship..just more costly than we had planned..at the checkout the lady who came in to clean insisted that everything was working just fine in the kitchen but it definitely was not. dishwasher didnt work and flames shot out of the oven..we had to do our wash and didnt have hot water for several days as no one had turned on the switch for it and we didnt know there was a switch needed..the villa itself is beautiful but it was a hassle on many occasions.

My husband unfortunately backed into a large clay flowerpot and we certainly expected to pay for it..but we were told by the owner it was $250. dollars US. We had actually priced equal pots in town and they were not that expensive,,but as all this was happenening as we were leaving we let it go.The second Villa MELETO was lovely though a bit far up the hill..we enjoyed it and the owners and cartakers couldnt have been more gracious..the main problem was at checkout they insisted on cash for the balance..clearly in our paperwork it said cash or traveller checks. My husband went to several banks for over 2 hours to try to get cash and had to pay ove $300. dollars in fees to obtain the cash. Men followed him to his car and he was almost robbed had he not called for the police. So the checkout was not as we had planned.My children and family loved Italy and we thank you for your arrangements.

Please take these suggestions to heart as I know you try to make each rental a most pleasant experience.

THank you so much..Mr and Mrs Bill Abernathy(Ellen)

Name:
Major Joe R. Richardson
E-Mail:
Supplied
Comments:
> We have returned home from Italy and I wanted to tell you how much
> we enjoyed our stay at Tortori. Canaiolo was a delightful apartment
> and the view was wonderful. We look forward to returning another
> time.
>
> Please pass my commendation for the property manager, Nicola
> Gebendinger, on to the owner. Nicola was very helpful and handled
> our needs and requests with great competence.
>
> Thank you for all your help.
>
>
> Joe
> --
> Major Joe R. Richardson, USAF (Ret.)
> Economist by education;
> Fighter Pilot by training;
> Warrior by temperament; and
> Writer by golly.

Name:
Danny Robinson
E-Mail:
Supplied
Comments:
Caro Cristiano,

Vi ringrazio x la nostra vacanze bellissima. L'appartamento era ottima e la
gente pure.
Speriamo di vederci presto.

Grazie

Danny Robinson e famiglia