We truly felt at home here â the house and the entire property are a real oasis of peace and relaxation. By car we needed only 5 minutes to the town near by and 15 min to Lucca or to the beach at Viareggio.The two hosts are fantastic â warm, welcoming, and full of helpful information and great tips that made our stay even more enjoyable.Our children were absolutely thrilled â especially with the pool and, of course, the animals.
From start to end the stay was absolutely fantastic. Giusy & Martin are the perfect hosts. They have created a little paradise on earth. The place and surroundings are so beautiful and the place itself clean, nice and well functioning. Combined with the helpful and friendly hospitality from Giusy & Martin we had the perfect stay we will always remember with joy. Also many lovely places to visit by car
We found this the perfect spot for a weeks family holiday. The garden and views are stunning, the house impeccably decorated. It's also very well placed for day trips to wonderful nearby towns.
For us the first time in Italy, after many years in the south of france.
It was a very pleasent stay!! A beautiful house and Martin & Giusy are very friendly and helpfull!!
Had the most relaxing and enjoyable stay. The villa is furnished to an exceptionally high standard with the most beautiful pool and views, yet not too far from the town and everything you could need. Our hosts couldnât have been more friendly or helpful. Lots to do in the area so the perfect base for sight-seeing. We plan to return!
We spent one week here and enjoyed every single moment. The view is fantastic, the pool really large, the garden is great etc. If you want to spend your vacation in Tuscany close to Lucca, Pisa and the coastline (by avoiding all the crowded places like Forte dei Marmi, Pietrasanta etc.) this is the place to go!
We had a wonderful vacation here. The house is beautifully situated, has a beautiful, very well-kept garden and is exceptionally clean. Giusy and Martin were very pleasant hosts, they were always present if we had any questions, but otherwise they always stayed discreetly in the background.
Our children had a lot of fun with the animals and of course with the great pool. The location of the house is also suitable for excursions, we were in Lucca and on the beaches of Viareggio. We are looking forward to our next visit!
Family of four - two kids age 6 and 8. We stayed for two weeks. Great house. Nice bedrooms with a/c. Well-equipped kitchen. Very cosy living room. Nice patio. Pool was superb and a favorite with the kids. Beautiful surroundings and views of mountains and ocean. Very easy distance to small beautiful villages (not touristy) and the well-known Lucca and Pisa. It makes for a fantastic vacation spot and we highly recommend it.
A wonderful prestige villa (typical Tuscany style house) with a big pool in a huge Mediterranean garden surrounded by grapevines and olive trees. The house is simply fantastic; spacious rooms, well equipped, great taste furnished and with a nice patio. A nice place to relax and to enjoy the quietness, only few minutes from Viareggio. We felt very much at home here and we definitely miss the company of the cats, the dogs and the alpacas :-))
Vi ringraziamo tanto Martin e Giusy for the great hospitality - you were great hosts and made our stay unforgettable!
Ci vediamo, un saluto Fausto & Patricia
My husband, 13 yo son, 11 yo daughter and I based ourselves at this amazing property for 3 glorious weeks. From this location we were able to do day trips to many different cities in the region - Lucca, Pisa, Siena, San Gimigano, Florence, Cinque Terre, etc. It was a great way to visit the area while being able to return to the peace and quite of our own oasis and jump in the pool. Our kids logged many hours in the pool. The property and accommodations are absolutely gorgeous and everything is very clean and updated. Martin and Guisy were delightful hosts and were helpful with recommendations and suggestions. We had a great time talking with them and getting to know them. It was a truly magical vacation for us and I hope we can return one day.
This villa is finished to a high standard and is well equipped. The owner will request a 500 euro deposit on arrival.
All rooms are of a good size and the two bedrooms both have a/c which was badly needed.
The pool is fantastic, large size with a sloped entry making it ideal for young children and situated within good sized gardens.
This was our first time in a villa with owners on site. This was fine other than when they went out of an evening their two dogs barked incessantly which disturbed some of our evenings.
We all suffered from mosquito bites sitting out in the evening, so take plenty of repellent and bite cream!
The villa is ideally located 40mins drive from Pisa and is close to both the beaches and points of interest such as a Florence.
Stunning!! When we first arrived to Giusy's and Martin's house, it took our breath away. Everything was just lovely. An open and quite surrounding in the middle of nature with a spectacular view. A pool just waiting that someone jumps in. A house with more than enough space for 2 grown-ups and 2 kids which offers everything you need for a good stay. 2 owners that help you in every possible way - to make your stay enjoyable, but also beeing very discreet - to give you your privacy you need.
The house is located away from the noise and crowds of the city but near to everything you will need. Viareggio is just a 15 min drive and get to Lucca and Pisa it will take you just 25 min. Even in Florence is 1 hour drive. So a good base to explore Tuscany.
It was really a lovely place for all of us and we wanted to stay longer. Thanks to our hosts Giusy and Martin for a wonderfull vacation. And by the way, the kids miss Milo and Peggy.
We have just returned from a fabulous holiday in Tuscany at Il Giardino. The house is just beautiful, much bigger internally than it appears in the photos and the outdoor space is brilliant for children - a big grassy area where they could play, fantastic pool and Martin is happy for you to wander around the rest of the grounds. It's so peaceful and we really enjoyed the terrace too - it was lovely to sit there admiring the views and listening to the chimes of the bell tower on the hillside above. The house is well equipped, immaculately clean and full of beautiful pieces that the owners have collected on their travels. Martin's house is very close, but he didn't intrude at all, yet was always on hand and approachable if needed to give advice and recommendations and he was very interesting to talk to having led a very colourful life! The house is well placed to visit lots of places - Cinque Terre, the Garfagnana, the coast, Pisa, Lucca and Florence. Our boys loved Martin's dogs who were very well behaved and didn't venture into our part of the garden unless invited by the children. All in all we had a wonderful time (despite the mosquitoes) and can't wait to return, in fact we're worried about raving too much in case someone else wants the same week as us!
The best part about the property is the outdoor area - which is superb. A secluded area with a lovely pool and surrounded by greenery up in the hills. The owners were inviting - they live behind the rental property although largely did their best to give us complete privacy.
The main downside for us was that the downstairs inside area (lounge and kitchen) was hot (and had no air conditioning) - for a property of this price, that should be rectified quickly as itâs inevitable that there will be hot days (over the course of summer) when itâs not possible to be outside all day. To be fair, the upstairs bedrooms do have AC (although we did not want to shelter in the bedrooms).
We were unfortunate that for 2 days there was a nearby wildfire. It was, we were told, 5 miles or so away although we did have quite a long time where the air was so smoky that it materially affected our breathing. In the end we told the owners that we were (for health reasons and because we had been confined indoors) leaving two days early as the smoke was still awful in the morning. We asked the owner if, as a goodwill gesture, they would refund at least one night of the weekâs accommodation (as we only stayed 5 days out of seven; and two of those days were under smoke filled conditions - as our photos evidence) - we were surprised that the owner would not entertain any refund at all!!
All in all we came away disappointed that we had stayed at the property as the owners didnât seem to overly care that we had a much affected stay (or at least that the owners prioritised keeping the rent that we paid for seven days, even though we only stayed five days). We acknowledge that the wildfire was not of the owners making (of course), although we felt they could have better recognised that it completely pulled our vacation apart (to have two smoke/stress filled days before we then left two days before the booking officially ended). Note: We did, out of courtesy, forewarn the owners that we would raise this in our review.
On a different note (and picking up on earlier reviews): An earlier review noted that the owners have 2 large dogs. This is correct although we noted to the owners that our daughter is scared of dogs and, as a result, the owners completely kept the dogs away (so I donât think the presence of the dogs should put future visitors off). Another reviewer noted the presence of mosquitoes. There were some mosquitoes, although not a big issue.
Was fĂŒr eine Oase der Ruhe und Erholung in bester Lage zu Lucca, Pisa und auch Florenz. Wir haben uns sehr wohl gefĂŒhlt und unsere Gastgeber haben mit Ihren Empfehlungen und Insider-Tipps wirklich zum perfekten Urlaub beigetragen. Noch einmal unseren herzlichsten Dank.
We enjoyed our stay at Martinâs and Giusyâs little paradise. The kids loved the spacious and warm pool as well as playing with the dogs. The alpacas were a bit shy.
The house is fully equipped with everything you could possibly need (even a piano!). Martin and Giusy are very kind and helpful hosts, who provided very useful recommenations.
The area is full of nice sites to visit and explore. Plenty of good quality restaurants are to be found within 15 to 30 minutes distance by car.
All in all a 5/5 experience. Thank you for a wonderful time. Weâd love to come back!
Lovely place and very kind owners! We enjoyed every minute in the old but beautiful renovated house and on the nice pool. Martin gave us some good suggestions for having dinner and the best beach place. Thanks Martin and Guisy
This estate is absolutely amazing. Situated on a hill over the small town Stavia the location of the property is pretty unique. The old house has been renovated with a lot of effort and passion . We found everything as described and expected. Bedrooms, kitchen and bathrooms were all fine.
But the USP of this property for us was the huge and nice garden and the big and clean pool. We enjoyed our time in the garden with this unbelievable views and no disturbance at all.
Martin and Guisy have been the best hosts you can imagine. Respecting the privacy of the holiday, but always there with tipps and support when needed.
If you ever want to leave this property, Lucca and Viareggio are close by, and also Pisa and Florence can be visited easily.
For us it was the ideal spot to visit Tuscany.
Es war alles wunderbar. Das Haus ist super. Pool und Garten ein Traum. Es gibt viele Orte und PlÀtze in der Umgebung, die sehenswert sind.
Giusy und Martin sind perfekte Gastgeber - stets freundlich und hilfsbereit.
We had such a nice stay! The house, the view, the swimming pool, the chickens, the alpacas, the pets and not to forget the great hosts Martin & Giusy, made our stay perfetto. Our little boy of 3.5 years old enjoyed it big time as well. His favourite? The dogs Peggy and Juno ;-)
The place is nearby Pisa and Lucca, and also beaches and restaurants are within driving distance. In the small town there is a nice snackbar/pizzeria where you can sit and eat. There is also a nice take-away pizzeria.
In short, a very nice holiday in a very nice house :-)