Vacation Rentals by Owner

Unforgettable Experience

Guest: George (Baldwin City, KS)
Date of Stay: 10/15/11 Review Submitted: 11/02/11

We recently spent an October week at Cascina Bricchetto near Alba and the Langhe in Piedmont, Italy. Out two-bedroom, two-bath apartment on two floors was beautifully finished and decorated in exquisite taste. The kitchen was spacious and well-equipped. The villa is surrounded with vineyards, a mosaic of plots varying in autumn colors according the varieties of grapes, changing like a kaleidoscope as the sunlight changes...In the distance, the shadowy outline of the jagged Alps. . The most important feature of Cascina Bricchetto was was our host, Giovanna, who was constantly concerned with our comfort, offering suggestions. She is a passionate ambassador for this fascinating part of Italy, well-informed about local wines, food and culture -- and just a lot of fun to be around. She opened many doors for us in the neighborhood which would be overlooked by the average tourist. We had an unforgettable meal of local specialties with her at Osteria Italia.We left with the feeling of having made a new friend and are already planning a return. Note: A GPS is invaluable help in finding your way through the maze of small towns.

Owner response:Have you caught the particular beauty of this season and the beauty of the house that you lived, you have cooked our recipes, you shared a little about our experiences and our challenges (eg narrow roads and hairpin bends), you have been extraordinary guests. Your desire to understand and enter our world has meant that your holiday is "Unforgettable", I think it stems from all the emotions that you have tried and brought with you. Thank you for what you have written, and also for having appreciated the suggestions I gave you, this is a sensitive relationship with the guests, sometimes seems to be an invasion of their privacy and other times seems to be trying to get me further gains ... while only way to facilitate understanding and to enrich the experience. Dear new friends of Kansas, I'll wait to share emotions and other beauties!

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

Fabulous Stay in The Langhe

Guest: James (San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA)
Date of Stay: 09/11/11 Review Submitted: 10/12/11

Highly recommended accommodation set in the beautiful hills and vineyards of The Langhe. Cascina Bricchetto is situated on a hilltop with stunning 360 degree views of Italy's finest wine region and out to the Alps. It is a place of incredible beauty and tranquillity. The location and the quality of the accommodation were perfect for a 5-day visit to the Barolo and Barbaresco areas of Piemonte. The unit was very clean, well equipped and comfortable in every way. But the best part of our visit was the wonderful warmth and hospitality of our host Giovanna. What an absolute joy to have such a special person like Giovanna to look after us - it felt like staying with an old friend! With her local knowledge, she provided excellent guidance and recommendations for winery visits and restaurants. Our visit would not have been the same without her. Already making plans to return next year -- thanks for everything Giovanna!!!!

Owner response:Thank you so it's nice to see recognition of the quality of the house and location, and also the peculiarities of my relationship with the guests. This is the best reward for our work! The love I have for this place and the people who live there would like to share with our guests, book restaurants for you that I think are most appropriate, book tours to the wineries that I appreciate not only for what they produce but for their hospitality, special events and places to report, are my way to share this. Thank you for having understood and appreciated, and finally writing your experience. I wait for the next year we will celebrate your return! Giovanna

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, sightseeing.

Beautiful property surrounded by vineyards

Guest: Harriet (Australia)
Date of Stay: 06/12/11 Review Submitted: 07/14/11

Giovanna is a warm and welcoming hostess with a beautiful spirit. Her breakfast is exquisite, organic, homemade and delicious. The farmhouse has a home away from home feel. We recommend a week's rental to settle in, and enjoy the surrounding countryside...bring family and friends.Thanks Giovanna.

Recommended for:Age 55+, girls getaway, romantic getaway.

Wonderful Views

Guest: Giuseppe (Skippack, Pa. USA)
Date of Stay: 10/15/10 Review Submitted: 11/26/10

Givoanna, Sorry for the delay in writing this review. There are not enough words to describe this lovely B&B, breathless views of the snow covered mountains that are hundreds of miles away. The hospitality of our host Giovanna was such a warm and welcoming experience that I would recommend this place to everyone. We had her prepare a breakfast for us with homemade Jams, biscuits, local cheeses & salami, it was so much it lasted us 2 days and then some. You definitly need a rental car, and not miss the small hill towns that surround the area.

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, pet owners, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

Cascina Bricchetto

Guest: Stephen (Nottingham, pa)
Date of Stay: 10/15/10 Review Submitted: 11/26/10

I highly recommend this place, it was wonderful!! Very, very clean, great accomodations. A well stocked full kitchen, big bathrooms, comfortable beds. The breakfast was a delicous assortment of local cheeses, homemade jams, bread and cake.And what a "Great location". From the Villa there were some of the most beautiful views I have ever seen and I have been to Italy five times now.You are surrounded by vineyards everywhere!. There are many small towns and winery's close by to explore through out the area. It also is a great base if you wish to drive farther (say 3 hrs) to the Cinque Terra region, as we did. I wish we had more time to spend at the Cascino though. The owner "Giovanna" was very pleasant, helpful and informative. Just a wonderful sweet woman!! I wish I could have stayed there for ever! Book it, you won't regret it. Ciao, Stephen R., Nottingham, Pa

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, pet owners, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

Among the Vineyards

Guest: EC (Luxembourg)
Date of Stay: 09/19/10 Review Submitted: 11/25/10

We stayed at Cascina Bricchetto for 2 weeks. The view there is magnificent. On clear days, you can see the mountains on the horizon. You smell the fragance of grapes around. The drive up the winding road to Cascina Bricchetto was a little bit scary, however, you get used to it pretty soon. Other drivers around the area are friendly and very efficient in giving you the way. The house is spacious, very clean and well-maintained. It is fully furnished (a child's bed and chair can be provided too!) with a well-equipped kitchen which is highly appreciated as it made it very easy for us to cook the meals for our 2 years old daughter. At the back of the house, there's an area for her to run around and a swing too (which was her favourite). In addition, there was a sand-pit for her to dig around in. It is very thoughtful that there is a huge basket of toys too. There's a huge amount of tourist information available so you hardly need to do any research of the area before arriving. The food and wine in this region is exceptional. I always thought of Italian food as pasta and pizza but this holiday showed me that there're much more variety and range in Italian food. All in all, we had a lovely stay at Cascina Bricchetto.

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, families with young children, sightseeing.

We have stayed here twice, and will go back again next year

Guest: Jonny99 (London, UK)
Date of Stay: 08/20/10 Review Submitted: 09/26/10

We stayed at Cascina Bricchetto (in the Ca der Forn house) for the last 2 weeks in August 2010. In summary the house is lovely, the location is great, the owner Giovanna is very welcoming/helpful and the rental rate was reasonable. We have stayed here twice now, and would definitely stay there again when we visit Piemonte for the 5th year in a row next year. Now for some more detail! The house, as described by other reviewers, is a converted old farmhouse that sits on a high ridge overlooking many surrounding villages (Trezzo Tinella, Neviglie) and with views to many further places such as Diano d'Alba and La Morra. The house sits off a small uphill road perhaps 2 km from Trezzo Tinella itself. Travelling by car, Neive/Barbaresco can be reached in about 10 mins and Alba in 20 mins. Towns further south in the Langhe such as La Morra, Barolo, Serralunga d'Alba, Monforte d'Alba can be reached in about 30-35 mins. The view from the house is fantastic, with a wide panorama of the surrounding villages and (on a clear day) the alps including Monviso. We've stayed in several locations in Piemonte and this is the best view we've ever had. Ca der Forn (and the other house) has some outside space in front of it, but this is not private and slopes a little. There is a shared garden area at the back of the houses that has garden tables and chairs at which you could choose to eat a meal. The kitchen has an electric oven, gas hob, dishwasher and fridge/freezer. There is plenty of crockery, cutlery, glasses etc. There is a washing machine in the ground floor shower room, and and iron/ironing board. There are 4 comfortable folding chairs that can be used on the balcony or outside the house. There are also reclining garden chairs available for use for sunbathing. Giovanna (the owner) is very welcoming and friendly. She is Italian, but speaks French and English (though she will tell you her English is not so good). We found trying to have a conversation in English on the phone with her was difficult, but in person was much easier. She is a generous host, offering to help book restaurants etc. and giving us fruit and vegetables from her garden. She offers to provide a breakfast (either a Classic at €6 or Special at €8 - difference in price being cheese) that lasted us at least 3 mornings, and delicious home-made cakes and preserves for a few Euros a piece. We enjoyed speaking to her often throughout our 2 week stay, and would now call her our friend

Recommended for:Age 55+, families with young children, sightseeing.

August vacation with two kids

Guest: ronanmc (Portland, Oregon, USA)
Date of Stay: 08/18/10 Review Submitted: 09/07/10

We stayed here with a two year old and an eight year old -- and had a wonderful stay. The house is very clean and has everything you need to enjoy a comfortable stay. The house is peaceful and secluded without being too remote (a short drive to Neive for good butcher, baker etc). It is a great base to get around to Neive, Barbaresco, La Morra, Barolo etc. The kids had a great time with all the play things provided (sand pit, swings etc etc) and exploring the surrounding land with the fig trees, peach trees, vines and all. Giovanna was a wonderful hostess -- and always prepared to help with things from vineyard advice to restaurants to anything needed. Other reviewers mentioned the dogs -- but we had no issue at all with the dogs. In fact the kids loved them and the big dog was always under control. We'd visit again -- and would recommend this as a great place to stay for a blend of relaxation and sightseeing.

Recommended for:Families with young children, sightseeing.

Wonderfull Stay

Guest: mishka (Covina, California)
Date of Stay: 05/16/10 Review Submitted: 06/27/10

My husband, my brother and I stayed atCascina Brichetto in May. It was beautiful with wild flowers and fruit trees and vineyards all around us. The panoramic view was beatiful. The house was very comfortable and beautifully appoointed. The roads are narrow and very twisty but there is very little traffic at this time. We used the house as a "pied a terre" for touring Piedmonte and it was very convenient. Giovanna, the owner was very helpfull as she contacted and translated our needs to several property owners whom we wished to visit. In all, our seven day visit was very successful. A car is a must.

Recommended for:Age 55+, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

Spring visit to Alba Italy

Guest: Dav*id (Boulder, Colorado, USA)
Date of Stay: 03/20/10 Review Submitted: 05/17/10

We stayed at this farmhouse in March. The owner, Giovanna was very friendly, helpful and accommodating. She helped educate us about the region, and aided our travel among the villages and sights. She made restaurant reservations for us in advance of our visit so that we could be sure to hit many of the regions best restaurant. She really cared that we had a good visit. We would certainly stay here again, and recommend this location to anyone. The weather was foggy, rainy and gray, but the visit was very enjoyable. Each visitor needs a detailed map of all the tiny roads in the area because we spent time being lost every day and driving unneeded distances just because we could not figure out how to get back to the house from various directions. The signage is quite poor and there are many roads. The farm is at the end of the road, in a very hilly region, quite remote, and its impossible to walk to any destinations, therefore a car is essential. This produces a quite and very relaxing experience, but also travel time to all sights.

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, families with young children, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

Idyllic Location in Wine Country

Guest: Gary, Maureen (Hobart, Australia)
Date of Stay: 10/25/09 Review Submitted: 03/29/10

We stayed at Cascina Brischetto for a week in October 2009 with 2 other couples. The 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom apartment, Ca dra Topia is beautifully appointed & very comfortable. It was an idyllic location and Giovanna was a charming and helpful hostess. The apartment is some distance from the nearest village and a car is required.

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, sightseeing.