Great apartments complete with a full kitchen and use of oven and grill. The grounds are beautifully kept, sometimes even by the owner himself. The owner and Lilliana were very welcoming and helpful. They provided maps of the important things nearby: supermarket, restaurants, cities to see. They also setup baby beds and high chairs for the two babies. The house and furniture were of high quality, and the construction of the old farmhouse made the hot days cool inside the house. The location was perfect for short day trips with two small babies and two families: San Gimignano, Colle da Val D'Elsa (my favorite), Volterra, and a couple other cities. The location was a bit too far to travel to Florence (Firenza) with the babies (I think that would be a separate trip altogether though with all the history and things to see in Florence). When the babies were napping, there was ample room in the apartment to chat in the kitchen or the living room. Or there are picnic tables and the best lounge chairs to sit on outside. We did a lot of dinners at the apartment so we could put the babies to bed and eat. And the best thing was to grill by the pool and look out onto the beautiful countryside. The pool looked like it would be nice when it opens. My friend and I went for a couple adventure runs in the country side, and got lost - so make sure you at least know how to say where is ("do-vay") to get home from your beautiful Tuscan run! If you're thinking of a Tuscan holiday, stay here!

We stayed at Casa Sisti the first week in September, the weather was brilliant at this time. It was a great central base for exploring the local hilltop towns such as Casole d'Elsa, Monteriggione and San Gimignano. Florence and Sienna are also an easy drive away.
Signor Sisti and Liliana were friendly, happy and helpful hosts. Liliana went out of her way to assist us not only with our accommodation and site seeing advice but she also spent much time helping us with a problem which occurred from out stay in Spain a few days earlier.
We stayed upstairs in unit 4 and our friends in unit 3. This was perfect as we shared a balcony and loved watching the sun go down over the Tuscan hills. There were also many other places on the property to view the sunset. Unit 4 was large and I loved opening the shutters each morning to the sun shining on the hills.
Casa Sisti was quiet, charming and very comfortable but really it was the hospitality, friendliness, care and assistance given to us which made it an exceptional stay......one we will never forget.

We spent a week at Casa Sisti, our first time in Tuscany and found it to be well located for us, as we had no car and used bus and train to visit Florence, Sienna and Volterra.
The property provided a wide range of facilities and had a real Tuscan feel to it
Liliana was friendly and helpful
The nearby town of Colle di Val d'Elsa was well worth a look and in our opinion is under-rated in tourist info; it has many of the features of the larger towns, but without the crowds.

Casetta Sisti is truly our home from home. We've come here for 5 years for the reliable good weather and views, and the wonderful local food, both our own home-cooked locally sourced meals and the lovely local restaurants. But we come HERE for the magnificent pool with diving board, and the garden and peace and tranquillity of the villa. We haven't yet mastered Signor Sisti's Italian, but his mastery of the international language of hospitality and friendship is unequalled. Liliana, the multi-lingual receptionist, is an oracle of information and guides us through to find the best of this magnificent part of the world. Last year we tried a pasta-making course, we've found the best local restaurants, gelaterias and cake shops, this year we may try the smaller butchers and vegetable shops (although the local supermarkets are excellent also).

The villa is the first place we've come to that was better in real-life than the pictures on the internet, with beautiful high ceilings, with well-positioned and equipped bathrooms, bedrooms and reception rooms for our two families.

We wake in the mornings to birdsong, sunshine, and fantastic views over beautiful flowering bushes, fruit and olive trees. If you look carefully you might see Signor Sisti cleaning the pool, sweeping the paths, or even your own barbeque! We live for the afternoons and evenings sitting out at the picnic table on the terrace looking out over Casole d'Elsa. A wander through the garden to the swings past the antique succarese is as tranquil as it gets. Sitting in the jacuzzi looking out over the vineyards and olive groves is an experience to savour (prosecco optional!).

The shoppers in the party look forward to the annual pilgrimage to San Gimignano's leather shops and Colle's toy shops. The children constantly tell their friends about the best ice cream in the world and look forward to Pollo alla Griglia in Il Torrione with its neighbouring playground. And each year we all improve our swimming with some additional new feat, finish off the most books we read in the year, improve our table tennis, and discover this year's prosecco, chianti, brunello, or whatever else takes our fancy.

And each year, Signor Sisti somehow manages to bring out the buckets and spades that the children bought with their holiday money 5 years ago, that were too big to bring home on the plane. Their friends ask "do you have a holiday home?" "Yes" they say, "In Italy". And Zio Sisti makes it feel like its ours, and that we are part of his family.

Thank you Signor Sisti, Liliana and Simona for creating this wonderful oasis. Five months to go until our next visit, we can't wait.