Villa Malu 8

We had a great week. Everything suited us and was as described.

Villa Malu was just right for unwinding with family and friends, and we can't wait to come back. We spent Easter there, enjoying a spacious, clean villa with everything we needed and all the comforts we wanted. It's well placed for visiting the Sibillini Mountains and the ancient village of Mogliano. I'd happily recommend it for a relaxing, quality stay. DH Villas also deserves thanks for helping us professionally and consistently from start to finish.

The view was beautiful, and our dogs loved the large enclosed garden. We had a wonderful week, and Luigi and Maja were incredibly welcoming. They were easy to reach with questions and gave us great suggestions for things to do nearby. The house is beautiful, fully equipped, and matched the photos. We found the beds comfortable, too. You do take an unpaved road to get there, but it's perfectly passable if you drive slowly. This was our second house through DH Villas, and again it was a positive experience. Definitely worth considering if you're looking to unwind.

We expected modern furnishings from the photos, but the house is actually decorated in a rustic country style. That felt a little misleading, and the photos could perhaps be updated. The cleaning also fell short of what we've experienced at other places in Italy, especially the beds, refrigerator, and sink. When we raised it, they immediately offered to refund €60 of the €130 final cleaning fee. There were a few other small problems that could probably be fixed quickly: a missing freezer door, which was lying on the shelf beside the refrigerator, broken sun loungers, a broken mosquito net, and mold. The quiet hilltop setting was lovely. You practically have the hill to yourself, with beautiful sunsets in the evening. The terrace stays shaded all day, which was very pleasant in the heat, the pool was refreshing, and the landscaping around the house was lovely. We found the access roads particularly difficult. Both are a little over a kilometer long, unpaved, and have a rocky rise in the middle. In our car we couldn't go faster than 10 km/h and bottomed out a few times. Our translation app said one road sign meant “dangerous road,” perhaps because of the steep gradient. This was our first visit to Marche. We'd previously been to Tuscany, Veneto, Trentino-South Tyrol, and Emilia-Romagna. The region seems to have a flat coastal side with beaches and a hilly or mountainous inland area. The house is near Massa Fermana, about 35 km from the sea at Civitanova Marche, which we really liked. It took about an hour to get there because of the access roads and sometimes adventurous roads in the hills. We'd planned to visit Ancona, 77 km away, a distance that's normally no trouble for us on holiday, but eventually decided against it because of the road conditions.