We have stayed at Varramista twice and have just booked our third stay for this summer. One year we rented a house through Tuscany Now and we were so disappointed that we left after two nights (having already paid for a week) and went right back to Varramista.

The manager is easy to work with and very nice. We have stayed in two different apartments and both were exceptionally clean and well maintained. Kitchens are small in all of Europe so we weren't surprised by this at all. In fact, the manager arranged for us to have cooking classes in our apartment and we had a delightful experience.

We traveled with three teenagers and two younger children and all of us enjoyed it. It is difficult to travel with such a large group and renting an apartment at Varramista was much more affordable than booking three rooms in any hotel. The pool is lovely and the sunflower fields and vineyards on the grounds are perfect for exploring on foot.

The location of Varramista is ideal for exploring Tuscany by car or rail. You are 3 1/2 hours from Venice and Rome and only 45 minutes from Florence. We especially enjoyed our day trips to the hilltop wine towns such as Montalnico and Montepulciano. Siena is also a close favorite.

Varramista is the ideal base for families exploring Tuscany.

We stayed at Varramista for a week in June 2006. The setting was truly beautiful - the large property included gardens, vineyards and sunflower fields. It was located near Pisa but somewhat far from many of the southern towns in Tuscany like Cortona, Montalcino or Montepulciano.

Our family of four shared a small two bedroom, two bathroom, apartment that was a nice size and relatively well equipped for the week. There was not alot of living space in the apartment other than the kitchen table and a very firm sofa, but we loved to spend most of our time outside in the garden or enjoying the pool.

We had a wonderful relaxing stay other than one night that guests at another apartment unit had a very loud party until 3:00 am. The property had made it very clear that all guests were to follow the rules of the property and to respect the rights of the other guests who were staying there. We were very surprised that such a loud party was allowed to take place and when we tried to call the property management they could do nothing more than apologize. None of our neighbors at the villa got much rest that night.

The kitchenette was pretty small and there were somewhat limited dishes for cooking. Cooking simply meals worked best.