Lucia's Villa was perfect.
It was large and spacious enough for a family to enjoy.
The bathrooms had sufficient ammenties, and the kitchen was a functional space to cook and wash up. The kitchen had big, beautiful doors that opened to the concrete pad outside, and when the shutters were opened let the beautiful light inside and filled the space with morning sun.
The living area also had large shutters and opened to allow the beautiful sunlight to fill the space.
Our visit was for the last two weeks of October so it was both warm and cool. The villa had a heat system so we could turn that on when the rains came down and cooled the villa down.
The grounds were beautiful, and felt so "Mediterranean", it made me feel like I was enjoying a 'home feeling' yet experiencing completely different atmosphere and environment. Beautiful olive trees, garden, lawn, outdoor dining table and seating area. We could have a nice lunch and then go for a beautiful walk around the property.
On the property are two resident dogs. Leo, and Risotto. Super friendly pups and we just loved them visiting us daily. It was great they came around because it helped my son to feel more at home and have them to play with. Leo came around the most and layed on his back for tummy rubs, which my son was delighted to give.
Her place is outside of Rome centre, but close to get to the Metro if you want to train downtown. The little town, near the villa, has some lovely pizza places and cafes. The location is best if you have rented a car as it gives you flexibility to move around easiest.
The beds were comfortable enough, and the bedrooms had dressers and closets to put your belongings away, out of the suitcase.
I have zero complaints about this place, and our host was extremely accommodating and really helped us out with anything we needed.
We had a small isssue with the hot water, and one message to Lucia and she had it solved immediatel!
There is a washing machine on site, so we did a load of laundry here and there.
She also has an area with board games, books, etc.
:)
It felt like home away from home and we were grateful for that.
We had never been to Europe, Italy, before so it was quite a culture difference.
You need to go with an open mind, and remember that the bathroom facilities are not the same as typical North American. There was one small size shower in one bathroom, and the other two bathrooms had long bathtubs, with a handshower to rinse. (This was perfectly acceptable to me) Prepare to cook with a gas range too!
The space was so large it sometimes felt there was an echo, lol, but that was a good thing and allowed everyone to get some distance from each other on some grumpy days. Lol
I would go back here for sure, and her grounds & maintenance staff are lovely.
Thanks so much for this Italian Family home experience!