VILLA LAJATICO Farmhouse with Private Pool and the Most Exciting View over the Hilltops

Fabbrica - Villa

When I booked for a two week stay, there were no reviews posted and I was so concerned - but I took a leap and decided to book anyway because it just looked so lovely. I am SO GLAD that I did . . . So I will try to leave a thorough review since I (like many others) use them to help make a decision. The Villa does require about 1.5 - 2 miles down an unpaved road. We had a minivan rental without all wheel drive loaded with 4 people and 400 lbs of luggage - and we were fine! You absolutely do need a car - the nearest restaurants are 5-10 min by car and the main grocery store in Peccioli was about 20 minutes. We ate at several lovely restaurants and found the Coop Grocery to have everything we needed - we mostly made breakfast at the Villa and made several dinners utilizing the kitchen, outdoor grill (charcoal) and pizza oven (wood). We had a chef come in and teach us how to make some traditional Tuscan food and pasta - we had 4 of us in the kitchen at the same time and found basics of everything we needed to cook. The villa itself is precious with amazing sunlight in the two upstairs bedrooms - the sun was fully up by 5:30AM so we were grateful for the shutters that blocked out the light so we could sleep as late as we wanted 😂. The AC was powerful enough that we were cool and comfortable even though it was extremely hot outside. Our view and private pool was absolutely amazing. The water was cool and refreshing and laying in the sunbedon the sofa under the cabana to read was a favorite pastime. We did take several day trips - Florence tourist spots (Duomo, Uffizi, etc) was about 1.5 hours to park there. Many other people we met would park in Pontedero and take the train - we never did that so can’t comment on which was better. We also went to Pisa, Cinque Terre, Volterra and San Gimignano - Sienna and Lucca were also close enough for day trips - we just preferred to stay at the villa more. Massimo and his family could not be better hosts at il Gattero. They do have other guests in the apartments in the other two buildings - we rarely saw anyone tucked away by ourselves except at the “family dinner” and pizza nights where Massimo and his family invite all guests to attend and they make a traditional Tuscan meala pizza party for a reasonable price. We thoroughly enjoyed the meal and meeting the other families - all from different countries and languages. Honestly, the people were incredibly kind everywhere we went! There is a washer but drying is done manually outside so we washed a few things at the villa but preferred to take our stuff to the Lavenderia in La Rosa - who did an excellent job at a very reasonable price - it did take 2 days but that was not a hardship - especially since we had the washer there for anything we needed faster. Beds were super comfy - 2 bedrooms upstairs and 1 downstairs with the kitchen and living area. The largest bed is upstairs - we were with our teen daughter and her friend so we each had our own bedroom and en suite bathroom. Water pressure in the bathrooms and showers were excellent with hot water quickly available. I did bring bug spray but found the citronella candles and coils that we purchased at the grocery to be effective - once the sun goes down their are mosquitos but mostly the biting knats/no see-um’s. But with the candles and coils we stayed outside late. I would not hesitate to book again - we loved it there so much that I plan to go back. I apologize for the very long review - I only did so because there are so few.

We had an amazing stay, lovely villa and very special, accommodating hosts. The access to wine and water using an honesty system was fantastic and we enjoyed lovely wines. The Monday evening meal with family and other guests was really enjoyable and we now need to master the tomato bruschetta which was best we ever tasted.

We still talk about our stay quite often. The other day we were sitting around discussing our favorite places, and my dad immediately said “I know what mine is – Villa Lajatico! We are still thinking and talking about our time in your house. It was so very special. Dana and I would like to get something blocked on the calendar for next year. Hopefully we will be back before too long.

Our party of 6 adults truly enjoyed the beauty of the Villa. The privacy was wonderful as well as the views to the hills with the lake. The recommended chef was not available during our stay, however the Lucca Apartments and Villas Team found another chef for us to use and he was wonderful. There is nothing better than the beauty of the Tuscan region along with the food and friendly Italian people we were able to meet. Thank you again for a great vacation in Tuscany!