We booked this apartment fairly last minute, for one of the busiest weeks of the year in Italy, so we did expect to pay a lot, but for the price paid we did expect more. We didn't receive any instructions on finding the apartment or village - in fact, we were waiting at the wrong gate as there are three different gates which all have the same village name on them. Wonderful Italy did agree to meet us earlier than the check in time, which was great as we arrived early, however it would have been helpful to have instructions on where to go.
On reaching the apartment, the first issue was the gate which has been fitted in such a way that it is very difficult to open. Once opened, we were able to get the car on to the drive. The member of staff from Wonderful Italy was pleasant, however it would have been helpful for her to have some change with her - luckily we had the right amount of cash to pay the extra fee for having a dog (EUR25) and the City Tax. We were also given three potential WiFi codes, all of which were wrong. I did send a WhatsApp message to Wonderful Italy shortly after checking in, and they very quickly responded with the correct password.
We specifically booked somewhere on Airbnb that we could bring our dog. After booking, a message was received confirming that dogs up to 10kg are acceptable (luckily ours falls in to this category), however the apartment is linked to other apartments via stairs - if your dog goes up the stairs, you may never see them again. We had to use a sun lounger to block the stairs off.
Back to the apartment.... it was certainly smaller than it appeared in the photos. It was spotlessly clean and the beds were comfortable. The bedrooms were both a good size, however there was only one socket on each side of the bed, which had a bedside lamp plugged in (lamp attached to the wall, but falling off and plaster crumbling), which meant that you couldn't charge a phone or plug in anything else if the lamp was on.
There was only a thin curtain at the bedroom windows, meaning that it was always light in the bedroom, unless you closed the shutters, which could only be accessed from outside.
The only mirrors in the apartment were in the bathrooms. No full length mirrors, which would be nice.
The bathrooms were very clean, however the shower in the en suite very rarely got warm, and when it did, it only did so if you had turned the tap to cold - it appears that it has been incorrectly fitted. There was a terrible drainage smell from both bathrooms - we often had to leave the patio doors open to air it, which meant that the aircon couldn't do it's job.
The listing does confirm that the swimming pool is not included in the price (I don't really think that they should include photos of the pool in the advert, given this). We did go to see the pool - it is beautiful and very large, and there is a nice restaurant/bar at the poolside. We were told it would be EUR50 for our family of three to use the pool for a day. We didn't bother as there is plenty of beautiful shoreline within a few minutes' walk.
We also felt that it would have been a nice touch, given the price, to have a few welcome items in the kitchen - there were two bottles of water (even though three of us checking in), but not even any salt, pepper or oil in the kitchen. There is a couple of small supermarkets nearby but they are very expensive.
Overall, the apartment was nice and felt safe, and the outdoor area was really lovely. There is loud music from the pool - it doesn't go on until very late, but worth noting. Villanova itself only has a couple of bars and restaurants but these are nice and within walking distance.
Wonderful Italy were always very quick to respond via WhatsApp message. Overall, we just felt that the apartment was a little lacking in luxury.