We were a group of ten looking for a villa from which to explore the hilltowns of Tusany and Umbria. Starting our research we looked at quite a few that would work for us but Il Rifugio seemed to be the right fit. Although one never is certain until the arrival, we found the villa created by Chuck Ofria to be perfect for us. Approximatedly 6 kilometers from Cortona the villa sits on a hillside facing west affording magnificent sunsets. We spent almost every evening outside at one of many exterior tables drinking the best wine we ever tasted watching nature close another day. The interior provides a niche for everyone to find a good place to read, nap or find solitude if needed, while common areas provided opportunites to gather and reflect on the day or plan the next. Each bedroom has a bath providing privacy and convenience. The kitchen is equipped with all the necessary tools to put together a meal. Chuck is great to work with, providing suggestions for your stay including side trips, wine and olive oil tastings, meals at Cortona restaurants, and the best meal catered at the villa. If you are an occasional wine drinkers, Chuck will arrange a tasting in Cortona with Marco who will enlighten the most unsophisticated palate. Be sure to book a walking tour of Cortona early in your stay with Giovanni Adreani. He will educate and entertain about history and life in Cortona. If you are looking for a quiet retreat with all of the comforts of home but an opportunity to experience Tuscany this is the place. We returned home with a greater appreciation of the richness that is Tuscany. But do not come expecting the familiar. Open yourself to the welcoming arms of Tuscany. The people you meet will enrich your lives and leave you better world citizens.

This house has everything you need. We stayed for 2 weeks with 3 related families (6 adults and 4 kids under 11) and it was amazing. The house has so many wonderful touches and all the modern amenities. the kitchen is huge and has all the things needs to make great meals. The bedrooms and beds are so comfortable. The property is secluded and the views are breathtaking. We had so much fun cooking and swimming in the pool and enjoying the local town of Cortona. The owner, Chuck and his wife, were amazing hosts and helped us with anything we needed. This is a special home and place to stay and our families will never forget it so if you are looking for a place in Tuscany I doubt you can do better than Il Refugio.

Six of us (three couples) stayed for a week at Il Rifugio. June 1 through June 8. The house is over 300 years old, modernized throughout and not lacking any immenities with plenty of room for twice the number of adults. Room to roam internally and outside in the beautiful Tuscan countryside. An active olive grove and vineyard are just two highlights but also the beautiful pool. The group simply fell into a very relaxed, vacation state of mind. We made multiple side trips to cities in the region but made Il Rifugio our home base. It is located about 8 miles froSm Cortona, a lovely city that has everything we wanted or needed - great food, entertainment, culture, history and friendly people. The highlight of the trip for me and what made it most easy to plan and experience was the service by our hosts Chuck and Shirly Ofria. Chuck worked with me to plan our week and arrange for drivers and tours. He was great! His property manager Lucio was also terrific in checking us in and helping us get settled during the week. Great people, great house and in summary a great week. I would do it again in a heartbeat. Next time I would drive locally.

Il Rifugio was the perfect place for our family vacation. The beauty of the home and property is beyond words and has all the amenities of the best hotels. We enjoyed our day trips to Cortona, Sienna, Assisi, and Deruta; but had our most fun at home in the evening preparing dinner. We loved the night we made fresh pizza in the brick, wood burning, oven using fresh herbs from the garden. Our hike each day up to the lake in Umbria was a perfect morning workout. Thank you Chuck for being such a great host, and to your wife for the delicious dinner she prepared for us one evening!

We were a group of 8 (and I might add some pretty picky people) who were all thrilled with the villa and our stay. The view, the villa, and the wine was all delightful. We too look forward to going back some day.

Il Rifugio is a truly authentic Tuscan experience! The house and the property have been lovingly restored and maintained by the owners. From the beautiful stone walls, wood beams and decorative iron grates on the windows to the well manicured olive grove that surrounds the house, you feel like you've stepped into another time. Yet, this house has everything you could ever need including a beautiful, spacious kitchen, an authentic pizza oven, dishwasher, washer/dryer, etc. Even the lovely swimming pool is beautifully incorporated into the personality of the landscape. We were a group of 7 and spent a lot of time at the house sitting together, cooking and enjoying meals together, drinking wine, laughing and just enjoying each others company. Yet, if you wanted to slip away for private time, there were plenty of places to go to relax, read or just enjoy the beauty that is Tuscany. The location of Il Rifugio is ideal as it's a quick 10 minutes by car to the beautiful little hillside town of Cortona yet, when you're there, you feel like you're a million miles away from everything. It's a perfect place to use for a base camp for day trips to the chianti region, Siena, Florence and many other areas within a few hours ride. Chuck & Shirley are wonderful hosts and are so helpful with anything you need. This was truly the most relaxing and enjoyable vacation we've ever had!! We have and will continue to recommend Il Rifugio to anyone who is looking for a one-of-a-kind vacation experience!

We expected a unique and special vacation property but this exceeded our expectations both in terms of the home and property as well as the activities offered by the owner. The owner was very available to answer questions as well as the property manager who made reservations for us when needed. Since none of us speak Italian that was very helpful. The"extras" such as a tour of Cortona, a wine tasting in town, an extensive olive oil primer, and a tour of a local winery including a fabulous lunch were unexpected. We have done these things before on other vacations but never with the quality of people providing the tours. First rate!! The owner's wife is a gourmand chef and our only disappointment was that she was only available for two dinners. Really terrific and to be able to chat with them while dinner was being prepared really gave us a sense of what it would be like for Americans to live in Tuscany. The weather was cool and iffy so we were only occasionally able to use the outdoor spaces but what spectacular views of the Tuscan countryside...and the pool would have been amazing if the weather had permitted. However, just viewing the wine vineyards and olive bushes from our windows offered us a real sense of why people talk about Tuscany in such glowing terms. Would we return? We are already trying to figure out how to arrange it!

UNBELIVABLE!! Is the only word I can use to describe this property! If you close your eyes and imagine a postcard view of a Tuscan villa, rolling hills, cypress trees and olive trees. You have imagined Il Rifugio… this property is a must!! The owner and his wife go out of their way to ensure your stay is the best is can be.

The first thing you're asked after a magnificent trip is, "What was your favorite thing?" This was an easy answer. My favorite thing was every minute I spent at Il Refugio. We took day trips to Roma, Siena, Cortona, Firenze, and the Toscana hills. All beautiful, all magnificent, but at the end of a touring day we couldn't wait to get back to our Refugio. This Tuscan villa was everything it says it is, and more. You cannot put in writing the feeling of the place. I wouldn't call the rooms we slept soundly and comfortably in bedrooms, but Bed Chambers. I wouldn't call the room where we sipped wine and talked to the wee hours of the morning by the fireplace a living room, I would call it the Hearth Room. I wouldn't call the room with a table that 20 of our friends and family had Christmas dinner at and then sat around for hours a dining room, I would call it the Gathering Room. I wouldn't call the cooking area where we were taught to make pasta and duck a kitchen, but the Heart of the Home. I would not call the sights from the patios a view but a Panorama of Beauty. I would not call this a Tuscan villa, but my Tuscan Home. We spent Christmas and New Year's at my Tuscan Home. We had a family dinner, which the owners helped us prepare, and it was everything you could dream of: children, grandmothers, aunts, uncles, sons and daughters, cousins, wine, laughter, plates of carbonara, cheese ravioli, stovetop roasted duck, spinach stuffed gnocchis, veal, and tiramsu, Italian and English conversations all going on at once. I never felt more at Home. I would recommend this Tuscan Home to absolutely anyone who would like a trip of a lifetime!

In Sep 08, my wife and I and four close couples decended or rather ascended, on Il Rrifugio. "Spectacular" is the best description of our week there. For starters, it is one of those rare places that is even better in person than it appears in the website, Spacious, rustic while modern, unbelievable views, very centrally located,etc. We couldn't have picked a better place for for our collective life's dream of a Tuscany getaway. Chuck and Shirley are two of the best host and hostess anyone could hope for. Entertaining, helpful, prompt, and great cooks...Shirley, that is. We had plenty of time for sightseeing, but loved just hanging out on patio to catch the sunsets. We HIGHLY recommend Il Rifugio to all and we plan to return as soon as possible. P.S. I booked or reservation on a Sunday and had four couples sign up within 24 hours with 2 others on a waiting list.

Finding good value for your vacation is not always about the money. Sure there is great financial value at Il Rifugio (particularly if you visit with a group of friends), but it goes much further than that. If you are anything like me, vacation time is unfortunately a precious but limited resource. Yes I have ambition to tour all the exotic places, but at the end of the day I also want to decompress (i.e. flake out) away from the stresses of life. Il Rifugio allows you do do both of those things. Tucked into a serene Tuscan hill, guests are treated to spectacular countryside views, a sky full of stars and a world of heavenly uninterupted silence. Cars and other forms of civilization are just an occasional speck on a far-away road below. Il Rifugio itself is a beautiful marriage of old world history with new world conveniences. The big fireplaces look very inviting for a cool evening, but my advice would be to visit when the weather is warm. Cocktails or meals on one of the patios is just something you can't afford to miss. Probably the best part of our trip. Don't be afraid of the summer heat either. The humidity is low, the hillside breezes are plentiful and a very nice swimming pool helps to refresh and relax. Owners Chuck and Shirley go out of there way to ensure that you have everything you need at Il Rifugio and also provide a helping hand to start your adventures. Nearby Cortona typifies the Tuscan hill-town experience with fashionable shops, cafes and tucked away restaurants. Enjoy a multi-course Tuscan gourmet feast, cappaccino on a patio or gelato as you wander the narrow lanes. Your call. For those who enjoy the occasional vino (or more than occasional as the case may be), you have to book the local winery tour, which Chuck can arrange for you. Not only do you get to learn a lot about Italian wine and taste some premium bottles you also get to meet and sample with the families who run these local operations - from working the land to labeling the bottles. Even if you don't drink wine, its an adventure you have to take. You definitely need rental cars to get around and a train station is not too far away for trips to Florence or other places. As you plan your trip from home don't get overly ambitious on the day trips. Once there you might find you don't necessarily want to move every minute of the day. Go with close friends, go with family. But above all else, just make sure you go.

We loved Il Refugio! We travelled from the US and brought our two teenage kids. The owners went out of their way to make us feel at home in this beautifully equipped and decorated old farmhouse that has fabulous views of the valley towards Cortona. When my brother arrived by train, the owner went to pick him up from the station to save us the trip! They made sure we were comfortable, made restaurant reservations, and directed us to the farm shop where we bought our vegetables and the butcher who has the best meat in the area and treats you to samples of the local procuttio, right off the leg. Loads of space for a large gathering but intimate enough for a smaller group. Every detail was thought through. We hated to miss a sunset from the pool up on the hill behind the house, or from the stone-paved terraces, so tried to get back from our sightseeing trips in time for "Prosecco" and cheeses and the sun setting over the hills. Delightful place!