Le Pratola Villa

BFB's Overview.

It is hard to imagine a more perfect Tuscan villa escape than Le Pratola. Nestled on the top of a hill with truly amazing 360 degree views over the surrounding Chianti countryside, this classic 400-year old farmhouse has been painstakingly refurbished inside and out, with big dose of contemporary style and a keen eye on family-friendly facilities.

Beautiful ochre-washed walls are punctuated by modern art, floors are awash with tasteful travertine and furnishings are cool, contemporary and comfortable. The stunning infinity pool comes with remote controlled safety cover. Each bedroom can host a cot, multiple highchairs, a steriliser and car booster seats can be provided. Nappies, wipes, formula etc. can all be pre-ordered via the villa's endlessly helpful concierge service, which can also book restuarants, spas, attraction tickets, grocery deliveries, babysitters, housekeeping and private chefs. All that's left to do is sit back on a cushioned terrace chair and soak in the views.

If mini guests should tire of the pool, there are swings and an orchard to explore. Or, if a break from the sun is required, there's a selection of games, books, puzzles, toys and DVDs for all the family to enjoy. Older children and adults will enjoy the Bose Ipod dock, plasma TVs, games room with its pool table and table football, or burning off the side effects of the delicious Italian food in the home gym.

Accommodation Summary:
Le Pratola comprises two sitting rooms (one with a magnificent fireplace and bar area), a large kitchen, an expansive dining room, games room, gym, five double bedrooms all with ensuite facilities. All bedrooms are large enough to accommodate infant cots, whilst the courtyard bedroom has a double sofa bed and the twin room has two extra single beds. Towels, toiletries and hairdryers are available in all the rooms. All bedrooms have air-con.

Outside, there are two hectares of garden with large (12m x 6m) infinity edge swimming pool (remote controlled safety cover), surrounded by a terrace with pool furniture and towels. The outside spaces include a huge central courtyard containing a barbeque and pizza oven, a pergola covered dining terrace, and a 'bar' terrace with outdoor furniture leading from the large sitting room and overlooking the infinity edge pool.

The Italian designer kitchen comprises a gas hob, two electric ovens, two dishwashers, a large fridge, a wine fridge and it leads to the adjoining utility room with washing machine and full laundry facilities.

The villa comes with large plasma TVs and DVD players (two), Bose ipod docking station, CD player, wi-fi. A great selection of films and programmes (in English) for all the family.

Please note: The house has the benefit of air-conditioning in the bedrooms and dining area.

Location Information

The villa is set on the edge of Gaiole in Chianti, 40 km from Florence, 250km from Rome and 15km from Siena. Gaiole - 4km away - is an attractive town with banks, supermarkets and delicatessens, a chemist, restaurants and bars, hardware store, clothing stores and gift shops. Radda in Chianti is just 8kms away is a pretty hilltop town with a lovely children's play park.

Forbes named Gaiole in Chianti number one in its list of "Europe's Most Idyllic Places to Live". It is easy to understand why- the surrounding countryside is breathtaking, there are more famously beautiful cities within a 3 hour radius than you can shake a stick at, the shopping is second to none, and the region produces some of the best food and wines in the world... what more can anyone ask for?

It is actually pretty handy that there's so many great places to visit nearby as guests need all the help they can get to tear themselves away from the luxury, tranquilty and beautiful setting of the villa. Mini guests are generally big fans of the leaning tower at Pisa, the horse and cart ride around the Duomo in Florence (don't forget to put money in the mouth of the bronze boar!) and the fantastic ice cream shop in the main square at San Gimignano. Other ideas for making sight-seeing fun include the hop on, hop off river trip in Pisa and pre-buying The 'Kids Go Europe' Treasure Hunt Florence book, whilst 'The Flying Bed' is a fabulous bedtime story for younger ones and is set in Florence. Don't miss a trip to the spendidly old fashioned and charming Pinocchio Park in Collodi... little ones don't seem to mind that the puppet show is in Italian!

For a bit of mummy-friendly pampering, wassage and beauty treatments can be arranged at the villa, but for the full spa experince try one of Tuscany's 39 thermal spas known for their relaxing and theraputic properties. Amongest the best are Terme di Casciana, Terme di Montepulciano, Versilia Spa and Terme di San Filippo.

The villa's concierge service can help arrange trips to any of the above and advise on child friendly attractions... just them know what you would like to do!

Getting There:
Flying - Fly into Florence (Vespucci airport - approx. 45ks/1hr), Pisa (Galilei airport - approx. 90kms/2hrs), Perugia (San Egidio airport - approx. 1hr 40mins), Bologna (Marconi airport- 170kms/2hrs) or Rome (Fiumicino - 3hrs/Ciampino - 2.5hrs).

Car hire is recommended.

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