Lovely old looking but totally modern house in tranquil valley with views.

The roads and directions to the house were kinda hard to drive/to find.Arriving until its still daytime is recommended.Plan some more time to get to the house because of the street conditions. Once you get there the little key box works easily.The house is very nice and charming. As soon as you open all doors it gets much needed fresh air and sunlight. It is fully equipped which is pretty good with kids.One bedroom is right next to the other (family-friendly), one is on the other side of the house.We were six persons and had enough space to be with each other and to have some time by ourselves.There are plenty of activities to do in the area.The little guide with regional advises and information helped out a lot. You will find this one in the house.The pool was kinda nice.It starts with lower water to deeper.It gets cleaned once a week.This can be kinda hard with using the pool a lot and having a lot of insects around.Also the beach chairs need to be renewed, but they are acceptable. But look forward to the nice new grill for bbq time.If you have kids you should take some outdoor toys with you.To get to places takes some time.there are not many things to do with kids within the next half hour.The next bigger grocery market is an half hr drive.The little village right next to the house is tiny but with a nice weekly market. Other small villages have these too. Adorable. Our stay was very nice though. A variety of relaxing,sightseeing in the nearer areas (Rome is 2.5hrs away for a day trip), pool-time.The sea had nice water,a long nice sandy way to walk in with kids.nice but expensive beaches if you ll need to rent an umbrella.Over all: whatever you need, the housekeeper is a very nice lady. She will try to help you out with anything you ll need.So we are thankful for a great stay and would definitely recommend this place.

The villa was good value and a great place to get away from it all. A glorious private pool, a divine garden with a wonderful array of beautiful flowers, olive trees and wild life. A perfectly appointed and well equipped property and a view to die for.

The villa is well well located to explore the fabulous surrounding Abruzzo countryside. We recommend a trip to Campo Imperatore and the Grand Sasso National Park. We loved our time there and we hope to visit again one day soon.

There are 2 properties more or less exactly the same on the plot about 50 meters apart. We booked with Ryanair and flew into Perugia airport 3 hours away. We landed at 3pm which was a lot better than getting the midnight flight to Pescara which is around 1 hour away. We got close to the villa (about 3 miles away). It took us another 45 minutes to find the place eventually using the coordinates given N & E and using mobile phone with google maps. This takes you to the beginning of the downhill driveway to the properties.. There are 2 properties one on the left , one to the right. The key was was on a door in a grey metal box about 3 inches by 2 inches. This was the main entrance and exit door for the villa. I was surprised how poor the roads turned out to be. Landslides , large holes , road fallen away down the cliffs , parts of the road dropped down etc etc. It was bad. Be very careful at night. Its mainly 1 car wide and very tight blind bends.

We found an Large Auchan supermarket about 1 hour away on the way to Pescara airport. It was Sunday and closed at 1pm. We did a full shop. The Villa is great with loads of room.2 beds with shower/toilet at one end and same again at other end of Villa. Living space and dining /kitchen in between. Pool very good 10m x 5 m. The main issue we had was sleeping as no Air con and the flies. We all got bad bites from mosquitoes and bought candles , cream spray etc etc to try and control. There was a very big climbing plant used to cover the patio area immediately outside the door to the pool and the outside eating area. It was in full flower and was a magnet for flies insects and loads of wasps. I regularly ( 3 times a day) had to use the net in the pool to scoop out 100 or so bugs , wasps etc. This and the fact the Villas is really 30-40 minutes from anything and 1 hour from coast made the car journeys not very nice. Its a better location for someone who doesn't want to travel anywhere or use it for a walking holiday. The kids didn't like being stuck in a car for at least 2 hours a day when we went anywhere. Overall we enjoyed the holiday but would look for somewhere on better roads or closer to civilization. Villa had everything you need to stay no issues.

Wayne Smith

We had a very nice welcome from Mila and Luca at our arrival. They were also very efficient to give us all the support and information during our stay, including the list of interesting sites to visit, etc.

The house was well prepared and comfortable, with large spaces. The swimming pool is very nice and the quality of water is pefect, and we used it many times a day, by the whole family (parents and thee children).

The village is also very pleasant and the people are very open.

We recommend this rental.

The villa is very large and spacious with a beautiful swimming pool and a well equipped kitchen. The view from the garden is stunning and it's very peaceful. This is the ideal place to get away from it all and discover the real heart of Italy. It's not a commercial area and you will rarely see other tourists.

Civitella Casanova is a beautiful old village with several lovely restaurants, a supermarket, butchers, bakers, two bars, florists and a few other nice shops. The local sausages made by the village butcher are exquisite and you must try Arrosticini at Macalusa. We spent many happy hours by the lovely swimming pool or cooking local produce in the fabulous kitchen. The villa is much larger than the photos suggest. There is a very comprehensive file with lots of details about restaurants, markets and things to do nearby which was very useful. The property manager is very helpfull and will go out of her way to make sure you are well looked after and have all the information you need. There is lovely wildlife in the garden and we saw pretty green lizards every day and a flock of Sand Martins which swooped down for a dip in the pool several times a day!

Our only criticisms are easily corrected by the owner. Directions to the villa need to be much more accurate especially as with late flights to Pescara, like us you may not reach the villa until the early hours of the morning and it is very hard to find in the dark. One of the bathrooms needs some work but the other two are lovely. The garden furniture looks a bit old and tired and needs replacing or a good varnish. The plant on the pergola in the garden looks beautiful but is an insect magnet! We had to sweep the patio three times a day as the fallen flowers attracted a lot of ants and the flowers on the plant attracted a lot of flies. It's the country so you expect insects but probably not the best idea to have a big plant which attracts them right outside the back door in the area where you want to sit and eat. If these small details were corrected it would be a first rate villa.

Overall we had a lovely holiday, in our favourite part of Italy and didn't want to leave!