This place is special. I'm solo traveling through Europe and once in Florence, I wanted something that was far away enough to be peaceful and "Tuscan" like, but close enough to access everything Florence has to offer. I decided on CasaBarthel and did it without a car. Here's how.
First, a few facts. The place is on a hill with a winding road that leads up to it. You cannot and should not walk this. There is no side area for walking and it can be dangerous. Wasn't worth it in my opinion.
It's about 18 min (and 22 euro) by cab to the city, but hard to get a cab from the house. So keep that in mind. There is no Uber as of this posting.
There is a bus at the bottom of the hill that goes into town, but that requires you to get down the hill.
The solution? With no car, I went into town and rented an electric bicycle from a nice Scottish man named John. The place is called "E -Bike Florence". Even if you have a car, I highly recommend this. It's a lot of fun and it really does go quick. I would use the e bike to get in and out of town and then spent my days exploring the countryside with it (you can also rent for just the day). If you go left out of the villa, the area is absolutely breathtaking and you can explore for hours / days and not see it all. I found it very safe too. The cars are very respectful and there will be other Italian bicycles on the road. This was without a doubt the highlight of my trip. John (E - Bike Florence) also has a bunch of routes you can take and download to your phone. I highly recommend doing the Fiesole loop which has amazing views of Florence and surrounding countryside.
I also rented a Vespa and did that for a few days. It's a lot of fun. If you would rather do it as a tour - "Fun In Tuscany" was fantastic and safe. I did this first to get my feet wet, then went out alone which was just as fun.
There's a grocery store down the street that you can pop into on your way up to the villa. Easy with a car. Safe to park a bike outside of.
The little cottage is perfect. I cooked there many times for breakfast and dinner. And it was great. It also smells really good in there. Which is a weird thing to say, but it does.
Overall, just know it's not a walkable location. You'll need something to get you in and out of town. But that's also what makes it quiet and special. I didn't get to meet the owner, but Terry, the housekeeper was absolutely fantastic and sweet. Helped me with everything I needed and would drive me to the bus when I didn't have the bike.
This place is great and I stayed in March with 55 degree weather. So I can only imagine it's even better in the summer.