House Gelsomino in Tuscany (LUCCA) with Pool, garden and spectacular sea view

Pool is excellent. Breakfast and dinner fantastic

The location is magical, incredible 360 views, with a sense of restful calm. The appartment was small but perfectly adequate and cleverly laid out, maximising both indoor and outdoor space. We were met on arrival with a warm reception at the family restaurant next door, with amazing antipasti. There were some useful utensils missing from the kitchen, however Mara and her sister Laura were more than happy to help us out at any time. The pool, although chilly in April, had spectacular views over the coast. Having a car was absolutely essential given the hilltop location, but it was an easy drive into Lucca, from where we could get trains to nearby cities like Florence for the day. Driving up into the hills to Barga is well worth it too. Thoroughy enjoyed our week here, and highly recommend it.

At the first meeting we knew we had made a good choice. Such a warm and friendly greeting, Lara and Mara (and Mum) looked after us brilliantly The accommodation is excellent and the food is the best you will get. Cooked to order and so fresh we ate in their restaurant every night. The prices are so reasonable. Thanks again ladies we will be back Regards

On our late arrival we first almost died because of the danger drive up on the hill to get to the apartment (use your horn before the curves!) but it only needed some days to became accustomed to that little route. It's helpful to put not only Via Vecchia in your navigation (as there are too many via vecchias there!). I think our navigation system found the street "via per chiatri vecchia" (or try "via per Monte di Chiatri Puccini" as the homepage said). When you arrive you'll already know that you will miss this wonderful place and it's view. Mara and her sister were really nice and we had a wonderful time in the little apartment. We used the 12 days for driving through the tuscany as Lucca is the ideal starting point to discover the beautiful cities around there. We started our days always early with the first sunrays and were always back to sleep so we used the apartment mainly for sleeping and showering ;-) Wish we had time for more. Some little critic points here: maybe the mattress of the double bed should be changed as I got almost no sleep there (the couch was better!). Bathroom was ok, kitchen also but it would be nice to have a little more equipment there. An Insider tip here for ice cream lovers: on the road to pisa, firenze or everything else you have to pass by some little villages like mangiano, nave etc.....somewhere after passing the nave-sign have a look at the right sight (when you're coming from the apartment, it's a 15 minutes drive), you'll find a fantastic yoghurt ice cream shop with lot of toppings. Try it! It's the best yoghurt ice you'll get in the region. If you want the best ice cream (not only yoghurt) in whole Europe try Gelateria La Perla which is located between Pisa and Lucca on Via Nuova per Pisa, 1865. Another tip to visit: Arezzo is a beautiful city - you have to drive about 3,5 hours (on country roads if you don't wanna pay for freeways) but the road between Firenze and Arezzo is so much worth it. You won't find more beautiful landscapes! Wish I could return right now as this season (April) is the perfect season to stay in the tuscany (not so many tourists, but firenze and volterra are always full). Thanks again to Mara and her sister and the nice welcome! We will come back some day! The three girls from Germany ;-) P.S. I know I wrote not much about the appartment itself but it's small, clean and has almost everything you'll need - but you have to accept that the next supermarket is 15km away (no problem for us)