Villa Gourmet: pool, park, food & wine

Villa Gourmet is a 1700 renovated Tuscan Villa with salt water swimming pool, park and unique outdoor lounge and eating area by the pool. The villa for 14 guests is modern and fully-equipped with all comforts. Gourmet meals are offered on request. During your stay we will be available for any request or necessity you may have, or to advise you concerning places to visit or tailor-made itineraries. We speak English and Italian. We also organise wine-tasting tours, chocolate-tasting tours, cookery workshops, dinners at your villa with private chef, etc..

WHERE IS VILLA GOURMET?

Villa Gourmet, dating back to the 18th century, can accommodate up to 14 guests in 6 elegant and modern rooms with 4 en-suite bathrooms and 1 in common. It has a private outdoor pool with nearby bathroom, barbecue, wooden pizza oven and unique outdoor lounge. Villa Gourmet is the ideal place not only for lovers of Italian food and wine, but also for tourists who are passionate about nature and the Tuscan countryside. It is located in the village of Orentano, which is happily within reach of innumerable places of interest whether historic, artistic, nature-seeking or gastronomic and one can follow all kinds of itineraries. The village lies 5 km from the Pisa-Florence motorway A11 (Altopascio exit) and 30 min drive away from such renowned places as Lucca, the Montecatini spas, Pistoia and Collodi (home of Pinocchio). It takes 40 min to drive to Pisa, Prato, Vinci (the birthplace of Leonardo) or San Miniato in one direction, or, going towards the coast, to Torre del Lago (Puccini's home), Viareggio, Forte dei Marmi and La Versilia beaches. Florence can be reached within an hour driving.

LANDSCAPE AND ATMOSPHERE

Villa Gourmet is owned and cared for by a local Tuscan Chef, a fine lover not only of the Tuscan culinary tradition, but also of nature and tranquillity. Upon arriving at Villa Gourmet you are indeed irresistibly caught under the spell and beauty of the surrounding countryside and the feeling of utter peace and quiet it conveys. Whilst your eyes are filled with the enchanting scenery, your ears are delighted by a daylong sonorous background of birdsong, amidst herons, woodpeckers, swallows, pheasants and the chirping of crickets. The woods are occasionally frequented by wild boars, whereas the fields are crossed by little wild rabbits running about hurriedly.

The air is filled with the scent of an amazingly vast area of fields and woodland (100.000 sqm), covered with ancient oak trees, acacias, lime, holm and chestnut trees, as well as wild mimosa, rosemary, jasmine, and freshly mown fields and vineyards, whereas in the background one can enjoy the view of the Alps and Apennines, as far as the eye can see. What else could you wish for?

SWIMMING POOL AND GARDENS

In the Villa Gourmet gardens you'll find a brand new 12x6 m. swimming pool, pleasantly filled with salt water (therefore free of chlorine). The pool is surrounded by the precious local Santafiora stone with natural non-slip qualities. Through the stone you can feel the warmth of the Tuscan sun under the soles of your feet. Beside the pool there are deck chairs and a warm outdoor shower, as well as a bathroom, with a wc and yet another shower, which can also be used as changing room. There is also a pleasant covered outside eating and cooking area with a barbecue and a traditional wood oven to bake pizza and bread. Next to the pool you'll find also a unique outdoor lounge next to an ancient cherry tree, to enjoy warm summer evenings. Not far away in the same gardens is a playground for small children. The garden also has a ping-pong table and a soccer field. There is ample space to park several cars. Your family pets are also welcome at Villa Gourmet.

THE VILLA AND ITS ROOMS

The villa, originally dating back to the 1800s, has been recently renovated reutilizing all the materials of the ancient construction and fully respecting the Tuscan architectural tradition, and it is therefore in pristine condition.

You can enter the villa on two sides. On one side the wall of the fascinating villa is almost entirely made of glass with a see-through entrance into a gorgeously furnished open space salon, with a spectacular and traditional gourmet kitchen, a very large dining table, as well as a lounge area with elegant sofas and immensely large windows whereby you are literally placed within the landscape you are enjoying the sight of. Seeing is believing.

In the lounge area there is a large flat screen TV and a folk guitar, reminiscent and in honour of some of the most renowned fingerstyle guitarist who have recently been guests at the villa.

Observing the ivy that climbs towards the ceiling you will notice a modern staircase leading you up to the first floor onto an indoor balcony area with stunning views of the countryside through the all-encompassing vast windows. This area is equipped with a table and dining area, suitable for breakfast or any other meal of the day. On one side of the table you will find an electric espresso coffee machine as well as a sofa. From here you can immediately reach the first floor with four bedrooms just down the corridor.

At the back of the open space ground floor a door will lead you to the Aquamarine Room, a bedroom with two single beds that can be joined into a double bed; there is also a desk and a chest of drawers. The aquamarine coloured en-suite bathroom has a sink, a wc and a shower. Next door is the Sand Room, a double bedroom with an antique wardrobe and a chest of drawers. In this room there is a further wardrobe that can be used by the guests of the Aquamarine Room. A further advantage of the Sand Room is the meter wide door giving directly out into the courtyard which can also be entered with a pram or a wheelchair, if necessary.

Adjoining is the largest and most beautiful en-suite bathroom of the whole villa: in it are a sink, a wc, a bidet, a large shower and a gorgeous tiled bath. The hues of the tiny tiles of this bathroom remind you of the colours of a sandy beach.

In the Aquamarine Room there is a door through to the back entrance and the staircase that leads you upstairs.

As you step inside the back entrance of the villa you will climb the original staircase made of “pietra serena” sandstone. You'll reach a corridor where you can't help noticing the elegant wooden flooring. To the left is the so-called Orange Room, decorated and furnished with warm Mediterranean colours which has a double bed, a wardrobe and an armchair, as well as an en-suite bathroom. It has windows on either sides and you'll be struck by the gorgeous modern bathroom with tiny multi-coloured tiles artistically shaped into patterns of orange hues. The large comfortable bathroom is equipped with sink, wc, bidet and a spacious and elegant shower.

To the right of the stairs the corridor will lead you to the romantic Lavender Room on your right and to the Willow Room on your left, and on the right again is the pretty and amusing Ivy Room.

The romantic Lavender Room, with a luminous French window, is furnished with a gorgeous double canopy bed, and scattered with flowers and carefully chosen objects, including an elegant desk to spend time writing cards or romantic love letters. The white, lilac and pastel colours add to the already poetic atmosphere. The en-suite bathroom is lilac, blue and white with sink, wc, bidet and a spacious shower.

The Willow Room, with French window onto the pool, garden and countryside, has two single beds that can be joined into a double bed, a wardrobe and a bathroom with a sink, wc, bidet and a spacious shower in common with the Ivy Room .

Finally the Ivy Room is a luminous fun room, ideal for children, with a unique bunk bed, equipped with safe and stylish wooden stairs to reach the top bed, and two separate single beds, for a total of four single beds and lots of practical drawers to keep clothes tidy during your stay. The gorgeous wardrobe adds to the fairy tale atmosphere.

The luminous bathroom, in common with the Willow Room, is decorated with climbing ivy and has a sink, wc, bidet and a spacious shower.

All the bedrooms have modern centralized Air-Conditioning and Heating System. Furthermore, there are mosquito nets on all windows and Wireless Internet is available throughout the villa, the swimming pool and the gardens outside too. The villa is also equipped with an alarm system for guests to feel completely safe at all times.

Finally on the ground floor there is a laundry room equipped with a washing machine, a drier, an iron, an ironing board and a vacuum cleaner.

BREAKFASTS AND GOURMET MEALS ON REQUEST

Villa Gourmet will be exclusively inhabited by the guests. However, being owned by a chef, on request the guests of Villa Gourmet can enjoy the treat of a freshly made breakfast or tailored gourmet meals served in the gorgeously furnished open space salon and dining room downstairs.

To sum it all up, Villa Gourmet is reminiscent of the old, but at the same time equipped with cutting edge installations and appliances, and flavoured with freshly cooked and served Tuscan gourmet cuisine! Seeing is believing.