August OFFER: Private Villa with Pool with stunning views

Thank you for your lovely review of your stay at our villa, it means a lot to us. We very much enjoyed hosting you and welcome you back another time.

Thank you so much for your kind words, they mean a lot to us! You’re welcome back any time!

Thank you again for visiting our little piece of Italy, glad you enjoyed your stay. Yes it takes a bit of technique to keep the house cool naturally during very hot weather. We find the use of AC very impactful environmentally and thus have elected instead to give tips in the villa book on how to manage with fans and open windows at night and using shutters during the day, to control the temperature as the locals do.

We were very saddened and extremely disappointed to receive this review from these guests. The guests understandably were upset to experience a theft (not a robbery!) whilst on holiday, however to argue that the property is unsafe is grossly unfair. The guests avoid mentioning how the thieves entered the property - through an unlocked gate and an unlocked door. For them to mention a fence, which is a boundary fence and in place to keep wildlife like deer out of the garden, is misleading and entirely irrelevant. All doors in the property as well as the gate are lockable and in addition all windows and doors have external shutters. Neither the villa nor the area are “unsafe”. The guest mentions how much he paid for his holiday but neglects to mention the reason that his travel insurer denied his claim for compensation, namely due to it being an uninsurable event (door left unlocked). Likewise, our insurers declared this an uninsurable event when we sought to claim loss of income due to the early departure of the guests and their request that we refund 100% of the unused time. Essentially, in legal terms at least, they had not ensured that the property was secure. There was no suggestion of any property defect contributing to the theft. The guest does not mention that we refunded half of the remainder of their stay as a goodwill gesture, despite their insurers not being able to help. They left with 12 hours’ notice, giving us no opportunity to attempt to resell the dates at the height of the summer season. Neither do they mention the emergency funds we organised and had delivered to them at the property, when again their insurers, credit card companies, friends etc seemed unable to assist. There were issues with the pool pump for the first two days of the stay – we refunded an additional amount as a goodwill gesture due to this. There is a curious mention of the lack of air conditioning (property not advertised as having), rendering the bedrooms too hot. Yet their 17 year old son chose to spend much time there apparently, including on the day of the theft whilst the parents were at the pool, the latter which was allegedly unusable. It is a great shame that these guests have used this opportunity to pass the blame of the theft onto the property which they left unsecured. Perhaps it is easier to do that than accept some personal responsibility and appreciation of the efforts made to assist. Maybe they feel justified in writing such a vindictive review but we imagine prospective renters and other property owners may come to a different conclusion.

A rather puzzling review. During her stay the guest reported what a lovely family time they were having. The message sent to us by the guest when we checked in first was “The house is great, the pool is great. We already cooked good meals. Kitchen is huge and well equipped”. A little strange for a 2 star review. A minor issue with a missing aerator on an otherwise fully functional tap was resolved when the guest found the tap swirl provided which resulted in “ flow much better” in their words. No other issues were mentioned during their stay. After their departure though, the tone changed. Apparently they had been unable to attach the tap swirl, had to move the washing machine on manually to spin and claimed that all pots and pans should be changed ( they seemed to dislike any coated pans although the kitchen contains both non coated and coated pans) . This was presented as a valid reason for compensation, and a “small sum” of 300 euros suggested. When pressed on why nothing had been raised during the stay, the guest then explained that they had deliberately not contacted ourself or the managing agent claiming nothing could be done and instead sought recompense on a “ moral” basis. When this was not forthcoming the 2 star review immediately followed. We really value hosting guests who enter into the rental of the villa in a spirit of collaboration. It is not one way traffic. We want to be able to resolve any issues as quickly as possible for the sake of current and future guests. We have rarely encountered anyone who has decided for whatever reason not to communicate these during their stay and sought monies afterwards. On a further note the villa needed significant additional cleaning than usual due to the condition it had been left in by the guests. In theory we could have levied an extra cleaning fee but “ morally” it didn’t sit well.

Thank you very much for your kind review. We're so pleased you had a great stay at the villa. Kind regards Will and Bettina

Vielen Dank für Ihre tolle Bewertung unserer Villa – wir wissen das sehr zu schätzen. Danke auch, dass Sie so gut darauf geachtet haben; Sie sind jederzeit wieder herzlich willkommen!

Vielen Dank für Ihre freundliche Bewertung der Villa und dass Sie uns mitgeteilt haben, wie schön der Urlaub für Ihre Familie war. Wir freuen uns sehr über Ihr Feedback und laden Sie herzlich ein, uns in Zukunft wieder zu besuchen. Will & Bettina

Dear Julia, thank you for your comments. Really glad that you liked the house and its location. We do complete a full check of all items several times of year and are happy to replace those that may need upgrading. We welcome guests to report any issues during their stay so that we can sort out promptly. For info, we have replaced 3 out of 4 mattresses in the last 12 months. Mattress toppers are provided but may not be to everyone’s preference and can be removed if a firmer mattress is required.

Thank you for taking the time to write your review. We are really sorry that some of the elements fell short of the standards expected. Some very good points are mentioned which would have been easy to resolve if you had raised these during your stay.. Glasses for example do get broken during the season and we do rely on guests to make us aware so we can quickly replace. Water pressure is very low in the countryside hence why a pump is needed, which only operates when water is used. We will be installing netting next season on bedroom windows as suggested so that they can be kept open. Two bedrooms already have netting over the bed which fulfil the same purpose. Undoubtedly you will find cheaper properties with shared pools or with owners living on site. These are relatively easier to maintain but with less privacy. However we feel that our offer is still very competitive in the local area, certainly when booked direct. Thank you again for the feedback though and we are glad that you enjoyed the pool and the location.The covid situation prevented us visiting the villa earlier this year to prepare as we normally would so the quality assurance standards appear not to have been maintained on this occasion and we will raise with our managing agent. Kind regards, Will and Bettina