8/10 Good
Russell R., Lavenham, Suffolk
5 Shaw., 2019
Liked: Cleanliness
Great position, close to Montalcino, busy road directly beneath and rather like Monte Carlo at times
We arrived at the house and we were really pleased with its setting. On a hillside with beautiful views overlooking the vale with its vineyards and far-reaching mountains beyond. The house itself is a lovely building, solid and on three levels. At the top are two en-suite bedrooms, below, the lounge area and another en-suite bedroom. On the lower level, a large area with doors opening onto a terrace and then the kitchen and laundry room, The garden is terraced and the views could be spectacular but for too many trees planted much too close to the house. The pool is also lovely with great views and olive trees but much too cold, even in early September, to swim. Our overall impression of the property is that it is tired and lacks comfortable areas to sit. I have no idea how 6-8 people could stay there - the only place in the house to seat 6 people is the kitchen table and outside, a very uncomfortable long table with benches either side. The mosquitoes were a real problem, seeming to live in the foliage and we were bitten mercilessly.
We used the house as a base and for that, it was ideal as it is amongst some of Tuscany's finest hilltop towns and beautiful scenery. I think our biggest problem with the house was the lack of privacy. We rent houses in Europe twice a year for up to 4-5 weeks at a time and so we are quite discerning about what we like. We really value our privacy too and like a quiet, uninterrupted life in the countryside. With this house, in the whole two weeks we were there, we did not get a single day without someone coming to the house. The plumber twice, the pool men, and every day the man who looks after the property in the absence of the owner. He would turn up early in the morning and clean the pool and generally do stuff around the place. Sometimes he came twice a day. But our biggest problem with him was the lovely Spaniel which he owns and which is chained up 23 hours a day outside, only being let off when he was at the house. It would then bark incessantly for a good hour after he left and then at odd times throughout the day. I let it off the chain sometimes but it jumped up our car and scratched it all over the bodywork so in the end we asked them to take it away. It took 48 hours but eventually it went. The ladies who clean the house are lovely and do a good job. We had no internet but came to an arrangement with the owner, whereby we were reimbursed. We would not return but for some, it's probably perfect.