Oliveto

I could not say enough good things about Villa Pian Di Cascina! We stayed in the Olivetto with our five and three year old daughters and it was perfect for us. It was situated right beside the play area where the girls spent many happy hours playing while we got to relax on our terrace. We enjoyed afternoons down by the pool and loved the restaurant! Isabel is an excellent cook - the girls loved going especially for the ice cream sundae with Smarties and sprinkles! We had some lovely days out too, to Gubbio, Fano beach, the Frasassi caves and Assisi. All in all a brilliant holiday! Would definitely go back.

Had a lovely holiday staying in the Olivetto. The villa was spotless, comfortable, great outside space and had masses and masses of toys for our 2 to play with, it's also right next to the lovely shady playground which our 2 happily careered round for hours. The complex is in the middle of stunning scenery and if you have compliant children exploring the area should be easy (though everywhere is on a steep hill so endurance may be tested...). Flew from Pisa which was a bit of a trek but the flight times are much better than nearer airports.

Beautiful property and wonderful location. Fantastic week here and contemplating returning next year! Be sure to book on st the restaurant if you stay - outstanding!

A wonderful place to relax. Wish we could have had 2 weeks here.

We stayed at Pian di Cascina for two weeks in July with our two kids aged 4 & 7. Having only ever been on UK seaside holidays with our kids, we wanted to do something a bit special for our tenth wedding anniversary and it didn't disappoint.

From start to finish we had the most relaxing and wonderful time, in a beautiful mountain top setting with nature all around us. I could gush praise for the place and its kind hosts all day long, so here's a breakdown of the things we particularly enjoyed and, as parents, enabled us to be able to relax too.

All communication before and during our stay was impeccable. Questions I had regarding child equipment, climate, food etc were all answered swiftly before arrival, and once we got there so much helpful information was offered to us that we hardly had to do any thinking for ourselves. Upon arrival we received a warm welcome from Paul who suggested we just grab our swimmers and jump straight into the pool while he sorted everything we needed out. This was so much appreciated after the horror of a packed UK airport at 4am, and the painstakingly slow process of collecting a hire car in 35 degree heat with two tired small people in tow. We felt instantly at home and forgot all about our journey.

Our living space, The Olivetto, was modern, light, spacious, stayed cool in the hot weather, and beautifully appointed with everything we needed to be comfortable. The extra items available on pre-order were very useful - an organic veg box full of tasty farm produce that kept us all going for the week, freshly made lasagne, Italian beer and bread from the local bakery. What more could you need? As soon as we returned from our dip, the kids ran up to the playground and we followed them up with a cold beer in hand and met some of our fellow guests. A nicer bunch of people you really couldn't meet. The kids all played together under the shady trees and had to be prised away for bedtime.

So the fortnight unfolded into a leisurely routine of breakfast, swim, lunch, chill out, more swim, playground, evening barbecue/La Tavernetta, more playground. A few of the days it rained, but that gave us more opportunity to explore the local towns which were all beautiful. There were plenty of toys provided and things to watch on tv so it didn't bother us at all really. Throughout the entire two weeks we didn't hear one complaint of being bored, there was so much for them to do.

La Tavernetta, Paul and Isabel's onsite restaurant was a real treat and felt like a night out even though it was a night in. Isabel's food was amazing, every dish that came out was our new favourite, and Paul's friendly humour meant that we were extremely well looked after. The Italian ladies who served the tables were fantastic, so kind and friendly.

The views from the terrace were stunning and dramatic reaching far along the valley which changed colour in the evening light as the sun was setting, and on one of the evenings a huge orange moon rose like a lantern right in front of us which was really special. Soft music and chilled wine made it all the more beautiful, and while we ate our four courses the kids had a blast in the company of their new friends hanging out at the play equipment installed next to the restaurant. They all played happily and returned to the table only to debate whether to have sprinkles, smarties, chocolate sauce or all three on their ice cream sundaes. I can't remember eating out with children ever feeling so chilled.

The scenery and nature was incredible, yes it's rustic and there are endless fascinating 'mini-beasts' to investigate, but we didn't have any ants in our villa at all. We ate every meal outside on our terrace listening to the deafening sound of crickets in the trees, and never got bothered by insect intruders at all.

We did have an incident one night when some mischievous horses escaped from the neighbouring farm, and decided to have a pony party in our front garden. They dismantled our barbecue, kicking it to pieces trying to lick the tasty morsels off the grill, and after much shuffling around and trotting along our terrace decided to leave us a steaming pile on our grass. We had to WhatsApp Paul at 1am to tell him what was happening and he was there instantly sorting it out - and early the next morning he cleaned up our terrace up and replaced the barbecue for us. He was brilliant. The ponies returned in the morning, chased by a very exasperated looking farmer who couldn't catch them, it was very funny watching him try to outsmart them.

What I really loved about this place was that it provided the perfect mix of peace and quiet while also having other families around you. There can't have been more than about 5 or 6 families in residence at any one time, so you never felt claustrophobic or annoyed by other people, and even when the pool was full there was plenty of room to swim and relax. The families we met were all lovely people, another reason why this holiday was so memorable, and the kids made really good little friends.

Having returned home and spoken to friends who've been on resort/hotel holidays, it definitely feels like we had the better experience. We've never felt so relaxed on holiday with our kids, and would like to say a huge thank you

Thank so you so much for such a fantastic week at your amazing house - we loved it.. rather than send you a little list of things that were wrong (there weren't any!) I thought I would send a list of things that we noticed and really appreciated as fellow holiday house owners.

1. Lots of crockery/cutlery etc - we have been to several houses where they have 4 cups/plates/knives etc - really infuriating when a large dishwasher, or wanting perhaps to serve more than one course.
2. Everything immaculately clean
3. All the outdoor toys were clean and even fresh chalk out for the blackboard
4. Tidy outdoor cupboard with balls/bats etc.
5. Great variety of toys and books including my favourite - The Paperbag Princess!
6. Bread/croissant delivery - how you have the patience to do that I will never know.
7. Nice outdoor furniture and shade - only shame was we didn't get to use it too much
8. Lots of suggestions for things to do in book.
9. Comfortable beds!
10. Amazing amazing amazing meals at La Tavernetta!