New Review Submitted for La Lepraia Alloro: La Lepraia Cerro located in Podere Dottrina, Tuscany, Italy.
Rental Date: Saturday 9th of July 2016.
Renter: Chris U. (Minneapolis, MN, United States).
Renter Rating: 3/5.
Review Details:
This is a complicated review, so I will start with the positives. For perspective, we are a family group including 5 adults 2 children and an infant. We have been to Tuscany before, staying in everything from 5-star hotels to the more agroturismo type places.
The setting for this compound of four houses is spectacular. There are beautiful views in every direction, with the valley and Mediterranean Sea in the distance. In addition the houses are beautifully constructed and laid out and reasonably well decorated. The rooms have high ceilings and ample space (one can't always tell this about places from pictures). The pictures are an accurate representation.
There is a long gravel approach, with lots of pot holes and hairpin turns, which is a challenge. We had midsize cars, but beware of renting some of the typical smaller cars for this road. The setting is a bit isolated, although it is within a few miles of Castellina Maritima, a small but quaint town. The property has nice large lawns, great for the children to run around (the house notes request that you stay of the grass, however??)
The swimming pool is a beautiful saltwater horizon pool that is well suited for both adults and children. The pool has a shallow area that was well suited for our 3-year old children. There is a bathroom and changing area at the pool, as well as a table and chairs in a covered area, suitable for a nice lunch spot.
The beds are on the firm side but comfortable for most our group. The bathrooms are well appointed with nice showers, and some had deep soaking tubs. Views from two of the bedrooms were terrific.
Now for some of the minuses…
There are a number of other issues that we found really should have been better for this type of accommodation. Apart from the lack of window screens for the bedrooms and the issues with the dogs (more on these in a moment), there were a number of smaller details missing. The pool could have used a few more chairs and an extra umbrella given the potential number of guests at the property (our stay included our group of 8, one group of 10 and one group of 4).There are also wooden loungers on the house patio, which are largely useless because there are no cushions, which is bizarre for rentals that run around $700 a night.
We had problem with the house windows slamming back and forth on breezy days/nights, as there was nothing to secure them open. We had to improvise shims to hold them open so the slamming would stop waking the kids at night.
The appliances in the kitchen are excellent, but the food preparation utensils are minimally adequate (no sharp knives, no paring knife/cheese knifes, no large bowls to serve pasta etc.). Although there is a washer, there is no dryer, which seemed to be indicative of cutting costs at odd places.
There were old sheets/blankets on the furniture that were not removed before the visit. We had a brief argument with the housekeeper when we removed the blankets from the furniture and the housekeeper "popped" over to make sure we were comfortable. The sofas were white (though washable), but keeping the blankets on was a bit like visiting Miss Havisham. Proper sofa slips would be a suitable alternative.
There is no air conditioning, which would be ok but there are also no screens (or bed nets) which was a problem for us, as one of the kids reacts badly to bug bites and had over a dozen the first night (after which we used bug repellant at night). The house does stay relatively cooler than the heat of the day and some days get a nice breeze, but will still be quite hot on steamy July/August days (just have to take a dip!) Fans were not provided at night, so bring your own if you are sensitive to heat.
The grounds manager is friendly and pleasant but speaks no English, which was a problem with respect to a number of issues. He has two large dogs (German Shepherds) which are out at night. They are friendly but started barking incessantly a couple of times late at night. Once they got out during day hours and charged and knocked over our 3-year old when we were a bit away. They are friendly, but it scared him. We also had the dogs wandering around inside our house eating our food one other afternoon while we were upstairs putting the kids to nap. The grounds keeper was responsive and apologetic regarding this incident, but it was quite an annoyance after we had already complained once about the dogs being outside after their posted “roaming hours” of 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. The dogs are still young and being trained, so hopefully that kind of issue will improve.
As noted in the rental agreement, there is a substantial 1,500 Euro deposit due at check-in, which we overlooked. Not really an issue, except that it is cash only (most places use credit card holds or payment and refund). With cash, you'll incur some money change fees on your way out if euros aren't your currency.
Finally, the recommendations (a simple list) on things nearby (restaurants, etc.) is sparse and not helpful without the ability to speak Italian. The bottom line is that these properties have a lot of promise but need some serious attention of someone with a solid hospitality background. That about sums it up. We’ll definitely be picking a different place on our next trip, something with strong reviews and a welcoming host.
The setting for this compound of four houses is spectacular. There are beautiful views in every direction, with the valley and Mediterranean Sea in the distance. In addition the houses are beautifully constructed and laid out and reasonably well decorated. The rooms have high ceilings and ample space (one can't always tell this about places from pictures). The pictures are an accurate representation.
There is a long gravel approach, with lots of pot holes and hairpin turns, which is a challenge. We had midsize cars, but beware of renting some of the typical smaller cars for this road. The setting is a bit isolated, although it is within a few miles of Castellina Maritima, a small but quaint town. The property has nice large lawns, great for the children to run around (the house notes request that you stay of the grass, however??)
The swimming pool is a beautiful saltwater horizon pool that is well suited for both adults and children. The pool has a shallow area that was well suited for our 3-year old children. There is a bathroom and changing area at the pool, as well as a table and chairs in a covered area, suitable for a nice lunch spot.
The beds are on the firm side but comfortable for most our group. The bathrooms are well appointed with nice showers, and some had deep soaking tubs. Views from two of the bedrooms were terrific.
Now for some of the minuses…
There are a number of other issues that we found really should have been better for this type of accommodation. Apart from the lack of window screens for the bedrooms and the issues with the dogs (more on these in a moment), there were a number of smaller details missing. The pool could have used a few more chairs and an extra umbrella given the potential number of guests at the property (our stay included our group of 8, one group of 10 and one group of 4).There are also wooden loungers on the house patio, which are largely useless because there are no cushions, which is bizarre for rentals that run around $700 a night.
We had problem with the house windows slamming back and forth on breezy days/nights, as there was nothing to secure them open. We had to improvise shims to hold them open so the slamming would stop waking the kids at night.
The appliances in the kitchen are excellent, but the food preparation utensils are minimally adequate (no sharp knives, no paring knife/cheese knifes, no large bowls to serve pasta etc.). Although there is a washer, there is no dryer, which seemed to be indicative of cutting costs at odd places.
There were old sheets/blankets on the furniture that were not removed before the visit. We had a brief argument with the housekeeper when we removed the blankets from the furniture and the housekeeper "popped" over to make sure we were comfortable. The sofas were white (though washable), but keeping the blankets on was a bit like visiting Miss Havisham. Proper sofa slips would be a suitable alternative.
There is no air conditioning, which would be ok but there are also no screens (or bed nets) which was a problem for us, as one of the kids reacts badly to bug bites and had over a dozen the first night (after which we used bug repellant at night). The house does stay relatively cooler than the heat of the day and some days get a nice breeze, but will still be quite hot on steamy July/August days (just have to take a dip!) Fans were not provided at night, so bring your own if you are sensitive to heat.
The grounds manager is friendly and pleasant but speaks no English, which was a problem with respect to a number of issues. He has two large dogs (German Shepherds) which are out at night. They are friendly but started barking incessantly a couple of times late at night. Once they got out during day hours and charged and knocked over our 3-year old when we were a bit away. They are friendly, but it scared him. We also had the dogs wandering around inside our house eating our food one other afternoon while we were upstairs putting the kids to nap. The grounds keeper was responsive and apologetic regarding this incident, but it was quite an annoyance after we had already complained once about the dogs being outside after their posted “roaming hours” of 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. The dogs are still young and being trained, so hopefully that kind of issue will improve.
As noted in the rental agreement, there is a substantial 1,500 Euro deposit due at check-in, which we overlooked. Not really an issue, except that it is cash only (most places use credit card holds or payment and refund). With cash, you'll incur some money change fees on your way out if euros aren't your currency.
Finally, the recommendations (a simple list) on things nearby (restaurants, etc.) is sparse and not helpful without the ability to speak Italian. The bottom line is that these properties have a lot of promise but need some serious attention of someone with a solid hospitality background. That about sums it up. We’ll definitely be picking a different place on our next trip, something with strong reviews and a welcoming host.
Please visit La Lepraia Alloro: La Lepraia Cerro for more details about this accommodation. Visit this page for other villas in Podere Dottrina, Tuscany, Italy.
