There were 4 of us ladies using this lovely villa for 10 days. Very comfortable and wonderfully located. Bring your own spices. Just little things need to be addressed, i.e. replacement of the cutting boards. Angelo and Fiona were responsive to all of our needs. Angelo took us to town to pick up our rental car and came right over when we found that several light bulbs had to be replaced. We were fortunate to have superb weather for our entire stay, which enhanced the views from the villa.

The photographs did not do the property justice. This is a lovely house. One review we read before going said it needed a little TLC and in terms of updating (getting rid of) floor mats, replacing cupboard liners, putting easy wipe covers on the two main tables and putting a curtain on one of the upstairs showers, it does. The oven was difficult to light and a sharp knife and larger frying pans would be an asset to the kitchen. The fans in bedrooms were a Godsend! The views spectacular. We have been taking family villa holidays for nearly fourteen years and we did not have to worry about living in a show house for two weeks so we could all really relax.This is so obviously a home and we hoped we respected it. The pool was brilliant as it was all one depth. The teenagers and children made very good use of it (bring your own pool toys). The gardens, view and generally situation of the house were beautiful. It was generally clean,towels for pool and bathrooms were provided as were sheets. TV channels are limited. You really need a car to get groceries. The local mini-market was closed until September so it was Lucca for food shopping- local taxi drivers grumped about taking us back to the house with shopping. Buses are cheap and easy to access to Lucca but shopping for ten people necessitated several grocery trips there. Bus stops are signs and little else. It was a bit hairy crossing the busy roads to catch buses.The local butcher had good meat and supplied milk/eggs/water. There is a pizzeria within ten minute walking distance and the food is magnificent!! However some of our party have difficulty walking and so we only went once. A car is a necessity here. One of the best things about this rental was Fiona and her father Angelo. Angelo checked the pool/garden everyday and kept an eye on how the rubbish was organised. He was friendly, helpful yet unobtrusive. Fiona rescued us twice, she very kindly picked two of us up from the supermarket after working all day and she also arranged for transport from Florence when another two of us were directed onto the wrong train from Rome. She and Angelo offered to take us anywhere we wanted to go but we did not want to intrude. A family friend, Lorenzo, also gave us a lift to Lucca. Rosey fixed the washing machine and Fiona arranged our pick up and returns from Pisa- again a very kind lady. Highly reccomend this home! The most relaxing holiday we have had in a long time!!(Brownlee-Hall)

The photographs did not do the property justice. This is a lovely house. One review we read before going said it needed a little TLC and in terms of updating (getting rid of) floor mats, replacing cupboard liners, putting easy wipe covers on the two main tables and putting a curtain on one of the upstairs showers, it does. The oven was difficult to light and a sharp knife and larger frying pans would be an asset to the kitchen. The fans in bedrooms were a Godsend! The views spectacular. We have been taking family villa holidays for nearly fourteen years and we did not have to worry about living in a show house for two weeks so we could all really relax.This is so obviously a home and we hoped we respected it. The pool was brilliant as it was all one depth. The teenagers and children made very good use of it (bring your own pool toys). The gardens, view and generally situation of the house were beautiful. It was generally clean,towels for pool and bathrooms were provided as were sheets. TV channels are limited.You really need a car to get groceries. The local mini-market was closed until September so it was Lucca for food shopping- local taxi drivers grumped about taking us back to the house with shopping. Buses are cheap and easy to access to Lucca but shopping for ten people necessitated several grocery trips there. Bus stops are signs and little else. It was a bit hairy crossing the busy roads to catch buses.The local butcher had good meat and supplied milk/eggs/water. There is a pizzeria within ten minute walking distance and the food is magnificent!! However some of our party have difficulty walking and so we only went once. A car is a necessity here.One of the best things about this rental was Fiona and her father Angelo. Angelo checked the pool/garden everyday and kept an eye on how the rubbish was organised. He was friendly, helpful yet unobtrusive. Fiona rescued us twice, she very kindly picked two of us up from the supermarket after working all day and she also arranged for transport from Florence when another two of us were directed onto the wrong train from Rome. She and Angelo offered to take us anywhere we wanted to go but we did not want to intrude. A family friend, Lorenzo, also gave us a lift to Lucca. Rosey fixed the washing machine and Fiona arranged our pick up and returns from Pisa- again a very kind lady. Highly reccomend this home! The most relaxing holiday we have had in a long time!!(Brownlee-Hall)

Delightful villa tucked away in a quiet village not far from Lucca, and a half hour drive from Pisa airport. Helpful and friendly owners, who responded very quickly to any queries, before and during our stay. The villa is an older style house, immaculately clean on our arrival. Fresh linen on very comfortable beds, beautifully soft towels - including towels to use poolside. The focal points for our stay were the pool and the dining table on the terrace - with fabulous views to the mountains and Lucca. Pool was clean and also cleaned midweek during our stay. It was a joy to return to after sightseeing! There ARE lots of mosquitoes - BUT we saw many tourists with multiple bites when we were out and about. So, not solely a fault of the villa and grounds, but an issue in the entire area. There were various insect repellent burners at the villa to be used in the evenings, but do go prepared. The internal stairs are a spiral staircase - not easy to negotiate for anyone with mobility issues. However, there is a downstairs bedroom/bathroom. Also, upstairs can be accessed by an external staircase. One of the bathrooms (of off the twin bedded room) has a bath with shower over - but no curtain/enclosure for the shower. So not practical to use as a shower - can be an issue if everyone likes to have a shower. The showers in the other two bathrooms were in good sized corner enclosures. Kitchen is well equipped. We didn’t find lots of shops in the village, but Lucca is only a 5-10 minute drive away and has quite a few supermarkets outside the city walls (Carrefour and Esselunga). If using Satnav/Google maps/Apple maps beware them trying to take you into the walled city if looking for Carrefour! The larger supermarkets are outside of the walled city. There is a very nice patisserie/gelateria about 2-3 minutes drive from the villa on the road to Lucca.

Delightful villa tucked away in a quiet village not far from Lucca, and a half hour drive from Pisa airport. Helpful and friendly owners, who responded very quickly to any queries, before and during our stay.The villa is an older style house, immaculately clean on our arrival. Fresh linen on very comfortable beds, beautifully soft towels - including towels to use poolside.The focal points for our stay were the pool and the dining table on the terrace - with fabulous views to the mountains and Lucca. Pool was clean and also cleaned midweek during our stay. It was a joy to return to after sightseeing! There ARE lots of mosquitoes - BUT we saw many tourists with multiple bites when we were out and about. So, not solely a fault of the villa and grounds, but an issue in the entire area. There were various insect repellent burners at the villa to be used in the evenings, but do go prepared.The internal stairs are a spiral staircase - not easy to negotiate for anyone with mobility issues. However, there is a downstairs bedroom/bathroom. Also, upstairs can be accessed by an external staircase. One of the bathrooms (of off the twin bedded room) has a bath with shower over - but no curtain/enclosure for the shower. So not practical to use as a shower - can be an issue if everyone likes to have a shower. The showers in the other two bathrooms were in good sized corner enclosures. Kitchen is well equipped.We didn’t find lots of shops in the village, but Lucca is only a 5-10 minute drive away and has quite a few supermarkets outside the city walls (Carrefour and Esselunga). If using Satnav/Google maps/Apple maps beware them trying to take you into the walled city if looking for Carrefour! The larger supermarkets are outside of the walled city. There is a very nice patisserie/gelateria about 2-3 minutes drive from the villa on the road to Lucca.

We absolutely enjoyed our stay at this villa. It has plenty of space for the kids to run around, great pool, and wonderful views over the valley from both the pool and the veranda. The villa is located in a quiet village 5 min outside Lucca (where there are plenty of grocery stores and restaurants). The whole place felt very private and we loved that. The owners had installed mosquito repellents in every room and we used spirals for the veranda so overall we didnt have a problem with that. There are a few minor things that need to be fixed, such as a door not closing properly, etc., but overall the house was exactly as we expected it. There were no pantry items available and we had to stock everything from scratch and obviously had to leave a lot of unused things behind. I would recommend this villa to anyone visiting the region. Its a great base to explore this paft of Toscana - we drove to Barga in Garfagnana, the beach in Viareggio, took the train to Florence, and had wonderful time in the hill top village of Montecatini Alto.

We absolutely enjoyed our stay at this villa. It has plenty of space for the kids to run around, great pool, and wonderful views over the valley from both the pool and the veranda. The villa is located in a quiet village 5 min outside Lucca (where there are plenty of grocery stores and restaurants). The whole place felt very private and we loved that. The owners had installed mosquito repellents in every room and we used spirals for the veranda so overall we didn't have a problem with that. There are a few minor things that need to be fixed, such as a door not closing properly, etc., but overall the house was exactly as we expected it. There were no pantry items available and we had to stock everything from scratch and obviously had to leave a lot of unused things behind. I would recommend this villa to anyone visiting the region. It's a great base to explore this paft of Toscana - we drove to Barga in Garfagnana, the beach in Viareggio, took the train to Florence, and had wonderful time in the hill top village of Montecatini Alto.

La Magnolia was a fabulous Italian villa to spend time visiting with my cousins. It had 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms and everyone seemed totally comfortable. The outside veranda was the place to be to eat. It was a beautiful setting and close to Lucca and it’s besutiful sites.

We were four couples and found the villa had plenty of space. Nice outdoor eating area and good pool. Quiet location but not too far to travel for shopping and sightseeing.

Comfortable and well equipped but looking a little tired and could do with some TLC .

Perfect large home for grandparents, adult children and young grandkids . Great meeting place for all to come and go and we did in fact do separate day trips and combined trips. The setting is so beautiful and we had a local photographer come and take family pictures. How often can you all gather in one such stunning location. We ate several meals there including bringing in local pizza. Host Fiona and her father, Angelo were responsive to all our needs. You will need to stock the pantry and don’t forget extra toilet paper when you go to the store for supplies.

A wonderful holiday was had by all 10 of us. Fiona couldn't have been nicer. We really enjoyed our stay (apart from the pesky mosquitoes) I would totally recommend this villa but buy lots of mosquito repellent!

We stayed in this fantastic villa tucked in the Tuscan countryside with 8 adults and 3 small children. The villa offered all we needed with plenty of space and comfort. The pool was perfect and plenty of garden space to enjoy the magnificent views. The owners were nothing short of excellent. They couldn't be more helpful. We chose not to have cars, but Fiona was kind enough to collect us an initial shopping list and take us to the main supermarket later in the week. A level of service we were not expecting but very grateful for. She had also booked a local restaurant for the group on our first night which was wonderful. Overall we had a great time and would recommend this villa to anyone. Locally we found restaurants, pizza takeaway, a butchers and local mini market. All within about a 15 minute walk. Best of all was the patisserie and gelato shop, which was excellent. A helpful addition would be a book/folder of local information such as the shops, restaurants etc. But otherwise we coul find no fault. Thanks once again

The villa was very nice, very well appointed, with a lovely clean pool, large table on the veranda, large and airy bedrooms and a good kitchen. Very close to both Lucca (13 minutes to train station car park), Pisa (30 minutes) and the local Esselunga hypermarket, with access to a local ice cream and patisserie shop within walking distance and nice restaurants. We thoroughly enjoyed the visit and would be tempted back again. Lucca is a gem, low pressure, nice shops and the town itself is charming. While we could have travelled to Florence and Siena etc, we were quite happy to spend time exploring the locality. Enjoy.

We have returned from this beautiful house after an amazing 2 week holiday. Where to start - the people, nothing was too much trouble for Fiona and Angelo, pre arrival shopping, directions and even allowing us to indulge our gardening passion in letting us deadhead the beautiful roses. The house was spacious enough to allow our large group enough space for privacy with great together spaces like the large verandah where we ate every meal! The kitchen and utility room are well equipped and ample enough to support the whole gang. The bedrooms were lovely, cool, spacious with loads of storage space, 3 well equipped bathrooms meant no queues. The pool area was the star of the show, a brilliant pool - same depth throughout meaning a real swim or fair volley ball. The sun beds were great not the usual flimsy type and the lighting meant plenty of late night dips. As well as the kitchen there's a good b-b-q close enough to the table to ensure the cook is always part of the action. The location is excellent for Pisa, Lucca, Florence, Cinque Terre and the lovely Tuscan countryside, we drove down and got the ferry to Elba, it's lovely, 25 euros per adult or 150 euros for the car and all passengers. There's plenty of supermarkets, Carre Four in Lucca is best but you need a geography or orienteering badge to find it - so do a big shop. Just down the road is the lovely ice cream parlour, closer - at the bottom of the lane is a great deli Bellinis and for a taste of local life visit the bar. Lucca stole our hearts, it's lovely far superior to Pisa, great eateries, go to the opera in the church 18euros and well worth it. The boys found the real ale bar - great beer, a real alternative experience, the girls found cocktails a few doors down and a lovely outside garden. Walk the walls, eat nougat and buy beautiful handmade handbags, the perfect place every night we always found great food at reasonable prices - 7euros for pizza and 9 euros for a good main. Public transport is brilliant, buses to Pisa and Lucca are regular and the train to Florence from Lucca is 8 euros and avoids the drive. We've done many owners direct holidays which have all been good with accurate descriptions, but this lovely property tops the list for accuracy and meeting our varied ideas of a perfect house/holiday villa. I have recommended it to family and work colleagues, if you are looking for magical memories ... Love Rowena, Peter and the whole tribe.

We had a wonderful week in this villa which is spacious, peaceful with lovely gardens and beautiful views of Lucca, one of Italy's most attractive cities. The house and pool are excellent and the location is very hard to beat as it is less than 10 mins to Lucca and less than half an hour to Pisa and the beach. From Lucca it is only seven euros by train to Florence if you don't fancy driving. It is good to have a car, however, as the villa is also a great base for exploring the very beautiful Garfagnana area. Barga is worth a trip and is not far away. Mind you, you could spend a week in the villa and be very tempted not to move far as it is so peaceful and well equipped. We very much enjoyed eating our meals on the terrace and looking over the spires and domes of Lucca. Fantastic place and I would thoroughly recommend it. Eve Cameron and her husband, Angelo, could not have been more helpful and deserve praise for the upkeep of the lovely garden.

Villa La Magnolia: Situated in the village of San Lorenzo a Vacolli in the hills near Lucca, Ideally located around 40 mins drive from pisa airport, and a short drive into the renaisance jewel that is Cittadina di Lucca. The villa is in a quiet location above the main street of the village, and has great views of Lucca from the pool terrace. Eve and Angelo the owners had everything ready for us ( 2 couples) having bought a "welcome pack " of grocieries at our request, the villa was very well equipped, and clean. The gardens were just starting to show spring flowers, but it was unseasonably cold for the time of year, so not as far on as one would normally expect.The heating and hot water was perfectly adequate for our needs. the pool area was very clean and tidy, but too cold for a swim ( unless you were very brave). We hired a car, but there is a bus service that runs from the village into Lucca. Eating out: What can we say, we did not have one bad meal, we ate at posh restaurants like La Buca di San Antonio, but our favorite place was Da Leo, packed full of Luccese ,very tasty food and not too expensive. Environs: Lucca is a charming walled town which is full of historical architecture, and you can still walk around the walls overlooking the town. Puccini lived there, and there is an Opera Festival each year dedicated to his works, if you get there at the right time of year, well worth attending. Florence and Pisa are within easy reach by car or public transport. In conclusion we would reccommend a stay at Villa la Magnolia, a very spacious villa , with Eve & Angelo easlily available for help and advice on what is going on in the area Stephen & Avril.

The Villa, was tucked away in a small pretty village between Pisa & Lucca, it was in a central area for both the beaches of the Tuscan coast and the historical heart of Tuscany, The villa was very comfortable for 2 large families of 5 and 6 persons, with everything required for a nice relaxing holiday. The pool was fantastic ideally placed above the house but a stones throw from the large exterior eating area and inside kitchen, the house itself was very welcoming and we felt at home from the moment we arrived, I would certainly recommend it for families with children ours were between 5 and 14, but ensure the pool gate is closed for the young ones. We were lucky to be there in a heat wave, and my only comment would be a portable air conditioning unit for those odd weeks of extreme heat would of been great. Thanks for a great holiday the area never disappoints. All the best Mark

The house was exactly as described. It was clean and well kept with ample towels linen etc. The gardens and pool were wonderful, secluded and private. The house location is idyllic and relaxing, sitting in the evening with a cold beer looking over the hills and olive groves, with the bats flitting about, marvelous. Plenty toys for the wee one and some garden toys for the daft ones made days by the pool fly by. Pisa 1/2 an hour away to the tower, Florence a good hour but easy to get to. Lucca is ten min down the road, it has everything you need for supplies in the new town. But best of all are evenings in Lucca old town, wandering around the shops, eating out in the piazzas. Restaurants vary from basic pizza to fine dining. decent average was about 15 euro/head. The hotel Da Carlos restaurant in Santa Maria del Giudic, on the SS12 toward pisa, provides a very good meal for the price of a pizza meal in Lucca. Eve and Angelo provided a warm welcome and all the information we needed. They were flexible over an early arrival. A lovely couple who try to ensure you enjoy your stay. The pictures of the house are accurate and if you google map Traversa Prima Via di Vaccoli.it is the end house with the pool. If your looking for comfortable accommodation in peaceful surroundings, you will not be disappointed with this house

This is a lovely villa in a great village location, 10 minutes from Lucca and 20 minutes from Pisa. There's also an attractive beach resort 30 minutes away at Viareggio. The villa's gardens are very well-kept, and the swimming pool is generously sized. There are stunning views from the garden across the valley towards Lucca and the mountains. The downside is well described in the review by 'Lovelucca' below. The interior of the house has not had the same care as the exterior. There is a lot of old furniture and the kitchen was a bit musty. What's more, the oven didn't work properly - it took three hours to roast some potatoes - which was a bit of a problem given that we had small children and were confined to the house at dinner times. The hob and grill worked fine, though. Tips: the Esselunga on the way to Lucca is a very good supermarket; parking in Lucca is quite easy if you enter through Porta Elisa, where there's also a tourist information office; great restaurants in Lucca include Da Leo and Locanda di Bacco; and cycle rental in Lucca is very cheap and a great way to get around via the medieval ramparts.

This property was ideal for our extended family. It was spacious, well-equipped, clean, well-maintained. The plumbing deserves a special mention(!) - all the showers worked very well and we did not exhaust the hot water supply. It was ideally located for our purposes which was to be within driving distances to PISA (30mins top), LUCCA (20mins top) & beaches. Getting to Florence was easy on public transport too. The villa pool didn't taste (!) quite right and Angelo (who tended the gardens regularly throughout our stay) was quick to apologise for getting the chemical balance wrong - None were added in the second week and it did improve. It was fully usable and very pleasant throughout our 2 week stay. There were two flat screen TVs both attached to SKY which was a bonus to both the male 'Olympic' members of our party and the 'kids TV' crowd! There was also access to a phone for local calls and a wireless router was blinking upstairs so I guess internet access would be possible (we didn't avail ourselves of this). There were some excellent local restaurants and a big Gelataria nearby (walking distance). the local shops were a bit hit & miss for opening times but essentials could be had there (we mainly used the Carrefour in LUCCA or PISA -equidistant). We wished we had used the local butcher a lot more however - he was a late discovery but had some fantastic meat on display and was willing to try and communicate with us, even given our non-existant Italian. We could have benefitted from doing a bit more research on the local environs before coming (our fault) but would also have valued a bit more local 'tourist'-type information to hand in the villa eg the local shop locations and opening times, local restaurant recommendations, advice on good days out etc etc Although to be fair both Angelo AND Eve were very forthcoming when asked. TOP TIPS- The local tourist info at San Lorenzo a Vaccoli is excellent./ Parco di Pinocchio is for VERY little children only/ STEFANI restaurant down the road is excellent as is the Pizaria opposite the road. Parking for LUCCA> park for free outside the city walls and walk in. I would have no hesitation in recommending this to a friend. Lastly - DON'T rely on Eve's directions from the airport (sorry Eve!!) use AA autoroute or similar- It is a very simple route but I guess only if you're used to it!!!

The villa was situated in a nice village near Lucca with fantastic views and a lovely garden and pool. The quality of the interior was slightly disappointing though with torn linen and towels and no soap but was spacious and clean enough. A guide to where to find things in the property (spare linen, extra cutlery etc) and a little map of the local area showing nearest shop etc would have been useful. It also would have been useful for the owner to inform us the shops would be shut both Sunday and Monday after we arrived (as there was a National Holiday we were unaware of) as we were left low on food supplies until everything re-opened on Tuesday. There is also no dryer in the property which was in the specifications and is very much needed as the hills area can be quite humid and damp and we had to take trips to the local laundromatte to dry our clothes. The owners were pleasant but fewer visits would have been appreciated as we felt our privacy was infringed and we would have appreciated the owner making a convenient appointment with us to mow the lawn and strim as arriving unannounced late one evening and at 8am on our last day were certainly not the best times for us with our young children in bed asleep. The villa is in a lovely location but we felt the owners' enthusiasm was far more for the lovely exterior of the villa than the interior. Not quite the value for money we had hoped for.

We stayed here for a week in June as a family group with eight people ranging in age from twenties to eighties. It worked very well and the property was all we had hoped for. The garden is large and private and the house and pool are exactly as described. Everything was well cared for. We saw the owner briefly and there was maid service every day. We particularly enjoyed the big outside table for meals and views across to Lucca and the hills. The waterproof roofing to the terrace also came in handy during some thunderstorms. We made trips to Lucca (ten minutes by car) several times as well as longer ones to Florence, Siena and San Gimignano. We would certainly recommend this house to anyone wanting plenty of space in a quiet spot close to Lucca.