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Casina di Rosa is a great holiday rental in this tiny village south of Siena. A fantastic base for daytrips to most popular sites. We loved it. Civitella Marittima still retains the true essence of Italy and has not been spoilt by tourism. The people are friendly, from the owners to the shopkeepers and the lady who waved each morning from a nearby window.
Civitella Marittima is also well located for visiting other places in Tuscany. The villa has lovely town and countryside views (particularly from the bedroom window) and the glow of the rising morning sun on the surrounding buildings, with the swallows circling overhead, is not to be missed. The village is very friendly - after a week we almost felt like locals.
Villa consisting of four apartments, family run, with fantastic grounds and own swimming pool.
Very friendly English family who embraced Italy, the culture and language and renovated an old farm house in this small village.
The apartment we stayed in was very spacious and extremely well equipped, everything we needed and more was there. The surrounding grounds were perfect for our children to explore safely. There were hammocks for relaxing quietly while admiring the amazing views across the mountains, and a badminton net (for when you're feeling more energetic) and bikes.
The girls (aged eight, 11 and 12) spent most of holiday in the pool. Our son (aged five) helped Damien the owner pick, plant and water their many vegetables and fruit (hours of entertainment) and they didn't mind the guests helping themselves.
The apartments were full, but not overcrowded and there was a great mix of people. You could take a 10-minute stroll into town from the villa. Walk up into the centro historico for beautiful buildings and views. Stop for a coffee half way up and enjoy the mountain views while soaking up the sun. Take the children to the park, play crazy golf or tennis.
The nearest beach is only 45 minutes away. We had an amazing time and would definitely suggest you check it out.
Its a great bed and breakfast in Devon. Really welcoming friendly atmosphere, more like staying with friends/family than a typical bed and breakfast.
Its in Hittisleigh Devon EX6 6LQ
Dar Adrar is a lovely place to stay at the top of Imlil, run by one of the star guides of the atlas, Mohamed Aztat, and has great views from the roof terrace, peaceful rooms, hot shower and an in-house hammam.
The Palazzo rooms are spacious - and if you like antique decoration and a welcoming atmosphere, you won't be disappointed. It has high ceilings and all the luxuries you need (TV, minibar, fully equipped bathroom, etc), and you can even play the piano if capable.
You get a feeling of living in an aristocratic duke's house. The breakfast selection was unbelievable (cereals, yoghurt, fruit, bread, sweets and more) and most of all the quality was top-notch. It's in the city centre, and a two-minute walk brings you right to Piazza Navona. The owners are extremely friendly and helpful.
Amada Carlota is a gorgeous, quiet, small hotel in rural Asturias. It is modern and beautifully designed and sits on top of a hill overlooking hills and mountains on all sides. Amada Carlota has a small number of elegant and comfortable rooms, and a welcoming living space downstairs with a fireplace and, once again, wonderful views of the valley where early morning fog is replaced by bright sunshine or dramatic, thundery clouds.
You could just stay in this room all day and have a wonderful time, eating delicious food prepared by the owners, Carlos and Yolande, and conversing with them. Of course Asturias has so much to offer, with its lush green hilltops and mountains, that you do want to go out but Amada Carlota is a lovely place to come back to at the end of each day.
We felt it provided excellent value for money, and are looking forward to visiting Carlos and Yolande again before too long.
Amada Carlota
Torazo
Cabranes
33535
Asturias La Cotariella
www.amadacarlota.es/EN.swf
+34 609 114405
info@amadacarlota.es
Il Monastero is an apartment in an ancient monastery in a hill top town in Le Marche, a great budget accommodation for a couple wishing to explore the area. Sant'Angelo has two restaurants in the lovely cobbled streets, and amazing views of the Sibillini Mountains.
It's easy to get to the historic towns of art and culture from here - Marche is rich in Benedictine abbeys, well-endowed churches and monasteries and works of art. A particular joy of the area is to be able to look at works of art in churches and galleries in small cities where it is unlikely that there will be any other visitors.
Just finished having a magic week in Kenmare. Found this stunning holiday house through Kenmarerentals.com. We were far enough out of town to have the feeling of uninterrupted privacy in what is a very beautiful part of Ireland - wild deer coming up to the back garden one of the many highlights of the stay. But we were close enough to be back in town in a matter of minutes. Spent many good evenings in the owner's pub O'Donnabhain's where the food and atmosphere was wonderful. A very cosy place with great character and hospitality. Would highly recommend both as places to stay and visit if heading to Kenmare.
We visited La Lucertola during the 2008 Witsun break, in search of a chill-out break in the tranquillity of the Tuscan countryside, but having three grumpy teenagers in tow, it was also important to be close enough to places of interest to keep them amused. What greeted us was an unexpected delight.
Set in an area of outstanding natural beauty, high up on a mountainside amidst an ancient olive grove and with stunning views of the surrounding countryside as far as Pisa and the coast beyond, the two self-contained farmhouses at La Lucertola are perfect – large, comfortable and extremely well-equipped. The setting is exquisite and as a bonus, there is the lovingly nurtured organic garden - the produce is available to pick and use, free of charge, by the guests! This proved a particular favourite with our children, who loved going out to pick the salad and herbs for our meals and we returned home with all good intentions of recreating our own Tuscan vegetable patch!
Being less than a 30 minute drive from Pisa airport and with highly competitive rates available on Ryanair flights from London Stansted, La Lucertola is ideally located as a base from which to explore the delights of Tuscany (if you actually choose to leave the peace and tranquillity of your Tuscan home that is).
Living in their own separate farmhouse on site, Luisa and Coz are the perfect hosts and I would like to thank them for allowing us to spend a little time sharing their little piece of Tuscan heaven, where even the rain storms hold a certain charm; it’s very easy to understand why they chose to swap their hectic London life for this! Check out their excellent website for more details.
www.lucertola.info
La Lucertola
Via di Cavina, 14
Pugnano
56017 San Giuliano Terme
Pisa
Italy
Tel: 00 39 050 851405
Cuba is great and part of the fun is discovering places to stay by yourself - we stayed in many casas particulares (private homes) - some better (and friendlier) than others, but none were dire. A great way to meet locals, especially if you find ones where you can communicate with the owner (ie if you speak Spanish, or they speak English).
When travelling around, taxi drivers (some licensed, some not) hang around bus stations to offer shared rides - which can be cheaper and get you to your destination much quicker.
Remember to take cash - cards don't work in ATMs and changing money on a card, or buying anything on a card is punitively expensive - around 12% charge.
Avoid Varadero if you can - you may as well go to the Costa Del Sol.
Cheap hotel in the heart of Prenzlauer Berg. Friendly, English-speaking staff, safe, cheap and clean, in the heart of one of the liveliest and trendiest districts of the city. Pleasant decor and lighting concept and warm rooms during the winter.
Take the U Bahn to Eberswalder Strasse station. Exit and cross Schonhauser Allee onto the Pappelallee. It's a five minute walk, the hostel is on the right hand side.
www.aurora-hostel.com
I did a four day long weekend with Skiweekender which was brilliant. I was met at Geneva after work on Thursday, taken straight back to the chalet, settled in, then taken to their on-site bootroom to have my skis fitted straight away – all sorted before dinner!
Optional guiding with the chalet staff was offered which was a god send. I didn’t pull out a piste map all day and got in a fab day’s skiing with some of the other guests and got great advice on the best restaurants and ‘vin chaud’ stops.
This chalet is actually situated between two resorts, so, although guiding and transport are on offer, you’re left to chose between them, or you can go back and forth during the day on the 15-minute ski bus.
The staff are friendly and helpful, the chalet is warm and inviting, and totally relaxed. The food was lovely (especially the Sunday night cheese board and afternoon tea everyday) and my vegetarian diet was absolutely no problem. I really couldn’t recommend Skiweekender highly enough.
www.skiweekender.co.uk/
01202 661 865
Best guest house in Ushguli, open as long as the road is. I'm the English teacher in the village - Europe's highest - and I live there too. Great people and food, comfortable and spacious, very helpful and hospitable.
www.lileo-ushguli.blogspot.com
+995 99 912256 if you speak Georgian or Russian (working on the English!)
www.geosynchronicity.blogspot.com (My photographic blog)
A superb pair of farm cottages providing beautiful views of the leaning tower. Easy access to Lucca and Pisa with a good train service to Florence.
The cottages have every modern facility you need, including a swimming pool.
The owners live on site and provide a friendly information facility and comprehensive support.
An absolutely brilliant location.
Boule de Neiges is a really great little bar and hotel in the centre of Chamonix town. A great bar, excellent decor and a warm, welcome atmosphere. The Boule de Neiges is run by Brits and all in all is a darn good find for those that want value accommodation close to the ski slopes!
Recommended is the vin chaud, Pete's chicken caesar salad, the house burger, sitting in the sun with a view of Mont Blanc from the upstairs terrace (residents only). Happy hour is a two-minute clomp from the slopes in ski boots.
Hotel Boule de Neiges
362 Rue Joseph Vallot
Chamonix
74400
0844 81 53 530
www.hotelchamonix.co.uk/
We have just enjoyed a weekend of wonderful autumn sunshine in this wonderful part of Italy. Halloween was spent dressing up and joining the locals at a disco in the medieval town of Sarnano, Saturday was spent blowing away the cobwebs by hiking along old mule tracks within the awesome Sibillini National Park and on Sunday we all went for lunch at the rifugio or Mountain refuge at Monte Amandola, this is one of a chain of places to eat and stay at high altitude within the park. The food was delicious and included Strozzaprete pasta (literally translated as priest strangler pasta) with a truffle and sausage sauce, meats and home made deserts, coffee and wines and all for €13 a head.
We were staying at lovely Villa San Raffaello a sympathetically restored old Marche farmhouse that has amazing views over medieval Sarnano and the Sibillini Mountains
If you are looking for a catered chalet or self catered apartment in Morzine then we recommend staying with Darren at The Great Escape in Morzine. Quality accommodation, great staff, fantastic food plus the added bonus of superb snow. We will return again and again.
www.thegreatescapemorzine.com
Tel: 00 33 450 722374
Quinta Moitas is a farmhouse set in its very own 3500m2 of land in the little known region of Beiras. I went with my wife, so we had quite a bit of space to ourselves, but it can sleep five and there's nowhere on earth quite like it. Gorgeous. Simple as that.
You can learn English while staying with a family, and learn to surf at the same time. Cool as!
You get individual attention and learn a lot in just one week.
For self-catering accommodation in Newquay, try booking through Lifestyle Holiday Lettings.
They have a good range of high quality properties to choose from.
They were very friendly and easy to book with. A good service all round.
We got an amazing deal on a short winter break and stayed in a fab place, with views to die for.
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