We spent a wonderful week in Villa Granchiaia.
We first met up with Genka who drove us to the villa. It is located on top a hill, in between two mountains, with no neighbors anywhere close by!
We were 2 families, one from France, the other from Canada; 2 couples with 3 kids total. Everyone got to have their individual room and bathroom! The pictures presented on the site are representative of the reality but don't describe the actual layout. On the main floor, you have a bedroom with a complete bathroom, the living room, dinning room and kitchen. On the second floor, the master bedroom is huge even with the king bed and has a walk in shower and water cabinet. Another room has a queen bed and is adjacent to a room with bunk beds and a complete bathroom. The fireplace is on the second floor and is a den area. It is adjacent to another room with 2 single beds and bathroom with shower.
The house and garden are very well maintained, as well as the salt water infinity pool. We enjoyed long breakfasts in the outside dinning area and everyone enjoyed the benefits of the pool.
During the week, we made daily trips to different Tuscan cities: Pisa, Siena, San Giminiano, Firenze, Cinque Terre, Lucca, Vinci, to name a few. We would usually sleep in until 9h or 10h, have a long breakfast, enjoy the pool and leave for our daily city choice mid-afternoon. By doing so, we would avoid the mid-day maximum heat and get into cities just when the tour buses and cruisers leave the sites, therefore being less crowded. For photographers, the light is also much better in the later afternoon.
There are very good restaurants near by as well as supermarkets. There a also 2 villages you can drive to.
Given the villa is located in a wooded area, there are a lot of bugs; spiders, mosquitos, etc... You will also see lizards and bats. Therefore, it you don't want nightly visitors, I recommend closing the windows but it does get really hot during the day. We didn't mind it though, it was part of the rustic Tuscan experience.
I would definitely rent this villa again as it gave us the peace and quiet we needed. I therefore highly recommend it and the owner, Genka, is a gentleman very attentive to guest comments.