Villa Cascine

There’s loads of room to eat outside, with a big area beyond the pool where you can set up a table. The kitchens are spacious enough for cooking big meals, and there’s a huge pool with plenty of room to lounge beside it. The villa sits among beautiful gardens, tucked away at the end of a long private drive.

The setting is lovely, with a big garden and great views across the Tuscan countryside. The villa has several separate apartment areas, each with its own well-equipped kitchen, and lots of different rooms. There’s a BBQ by the pool and tables for eating outside. It’s a pleasant place to stay, but very remote, so you’ll need a car. There’s no maid service.

My family and I stayed for a week in April 2019. On our fifth night, someone broke into the villa and entered our rooms, taking money and jewelry. My children were 5 and 8, and the experience was traumatic. We were left to file a complaint at the nearest police station ourselves, as the manager/owner offered no help. We suspect it may have been an inside job because the thieves seemed to know exactly where to go and what to open. The villa is remote, the doors can’t all be locked, and there are no security cameras.

We were robbed while asleep in the middle of the night. The thieves got into the villa and took money and jewelry from the cabinets, including the kids’ wallets and their money. There are no security cameras or phones in the villa. It seems like someone had inside information, since they knew where everything was while all 25 of us slept. We still can’t understand how nobody woke up or heard them. Be aware, this feels like a dangerous place to stay.