How do you start when reviewing Villa Rosalena? Do you extol the virtues of the accomodation or do you start with the great welcome from hosts Rod and Caroline.
We hired the top floor of the Villa Rosalena equating to 4 bedrooms in August 2011. A recently built kitchenette means that the self catering experience can be enjoyed with all mod cons provided!
In short, everything that the traveller can think of is on site, from a comfy loggia with soft seating and outside table (we never used the inside dining room ourselves) to a lounge area with SKY television (you can get English language for those of us less up to speed with the Italian language very easily), Wii, DVD's books etc.
The small decking area was fine for us to lie out in the baking heat (although the area is hilly, the sun hits the terrace from 9.30 to 5.30 at the moment and reached an abnormally high 42C in our first week) and a small plunge pool was welcoming if it got too hot (for those wanting an olympic size experience try Bagni's large public pool...we did'nt,,,but instead enjoyed a simple dip if we needed cooling down). Free Wifi was a big plus as we could check on trainItalias web site whilst lying in the sunshine and plan our next trip into Lucca or beyond.
All the rooms were spacious with plenty of cupboard space and all were en-suite. The view from Chocolato (our room) was perfect with whisps of smoke drifting across the valley and town in the early morning, which we saw through green shuttered windows.
We utilised the barbecue area twice and enjoyed the experience but, as many people had mentioned Caroline's cooking in previous reviews we had to sample an evening meal......In short the wow factor was achieved with ease! Tell her what you like and you'll experience a first class taste of Tuscany as well as friendly banter from Rod as he plays "mine host" making a "special" meal a truly family affair.
Rod and Caroline quite simply are the perfect hosts and do their utmost to look after you in this little piece of Tuscan heaven. Although the steps up to the villa are, in truth, not for the faint hearted, Rod was always there to help with cases and the views from the loggia make up for the walk from the road below where we parked our car (a car would be a good suggestion if you want to get up into the more hilly villages or simply explore higher altitudes). Ask for advice and it's there, ask for a place to relax and enjoy Northern Tuscany..go no further!