Villa Orchidea

Lovely big villa with plenty of space and a nice pool. Great views of San Gimignano

We enjoyed our stay at the villa.
The villa is an old house with a lot of charm. However, except for the bedrooms, the villa needs significant renovations.
Many unexpected issues came and ruined a bit our overall experience. We felt that the installations weren't suited for a large group and the equipment was sometimes malfunctioning or in poor conditions.

Posarellivillas Reply:
Thanks for your feedback. During the winter season 2024 Villa Orchidea will have a major upgrade both in the main villa (fixing small problems, several new furnishings, kitchen area) as well as the outdoor furnishings, new swimming pool and in the annex (currently not restored)! In the new part a new large kitchen will be created, new dining area, 4 bedrooms with en-suite and hopefully a Spa. This will bring back the property to the highest levels of finishes and comfort!

Ottima posizione indipendente, villa molto bella e spaziosa. Ideale per un gruppo di amici!

Amazing villa very well organised, amazing view

Villa stupenda, da migliorare la pulizia e sostituzione dei forni elettrici (uno non funzionante l'altro non saliva a temperatura e quindi non cuoceva). Beatrice (persona addetta all'accoglienza) molto disponibile .

A wonderful villa overall. Large property, close to Certaldo, which has a castle with excellent restaurants for a couple of nights. Well stocked kitchen.

The property is so beautiful and we loved the pool and the outdoor eating areas. The rooms were beautiful and the bathrooms are all updated and lovely. My only negative comment is that given how expensive the house is we were expecting to have soaps, hand soaps, toilet paper, shower gels, etc. I also suggest ensuring your guests have cleaning supplies in the kitchen and more than 2 dish towels. Additionally, laundry detergent for the laundry room. These seem like pretty basic things. We rent homes and villas when we travel and are accustomed to having these be well stocked wherever we rent. This was the only disappointment.

Excellent Stay. Very Large house/rooms with plenty of room for everybody (we used 7 of the 8 Bedrooms for 10 adults). Great access to day trips by car or train. We visited Porto Santo Stefano, Florence, Pisa, Lucca Cinque Terra, Siena & San G. Beautiful Grounds and countryside. A number of restaurants in the local area as well a very large grocery store . A fully equipped kitchen if you would just enjoy staying home and relaxing. The Property Management team was exceptional from when we made the reservation until we checked out (Denise, Valentina, Johanna, Linda)

a perfect place for a group of ten to enjoy the tuscan countryside.
the living spaces were great and the bathrooms were well appointed and modern.

only issue was the lack of available transportation if cars werent rented.

Gorgeous property! We loved the outdoor kitchen and seating area. It was too cold for us to use the pool, but it’s a nice amenity. Beautiful view of the countryside from the back terrace. Our family of 13 fit comfortably with room to spare.

Exceptionnelle la maison, son jardin, sa piscine et sa vue, au milieu des oliviers avec une vue sur le village de San gimignano. Un vrai coin de paradis ❤❤❤

Great place to be. Very spacious. Beautiful outdoor sitting and dining area. We would recommend to install an outside heater at the sitting area. Excellent. location. Well equiped kitchen.Bedroom Quality Good and spacious.Surrounding is beautiful. Certaldo has a good supermarket (Coop). Sienna, San Gimignano and Firenze are within a 45 minutes drive.Beautiful (large) pool. Very clean and well maintained!All bathrooms are well equiped, spacious and clean.property ownerreliable and good communication.

A fantastic place for the large family or group of friends to celebrate life in beautiful Toscana. We were 7 couples and enjoyed the privacy of own room and bathroom in combination with the in and out door facilities for us all. A place to recommend for sure.
Remember to book the nearby restaurant (walking distance) for a quality meal at very resonable price. And dont forget to try a wine/olive oil tasting and a walk in the winyards. Many options around the area

Excellent!

La villa correspond à la description. Elle est dans un bel environnement, avec une superbe vue. Les chambres sont spacieuses et confortables. Les salles de bain également.
L'équipement de la cuisine est réduit et les ustensiles de cuisine un peu usés et parfois sales. La machine à café est beaucoup trop petite pour une si grande maison pouvant loger 15 personnes. Il manque également des ustensiles pour le grill, y compris pour le nettoyer.
Globalement une belle maison dans un bel environnement, à recommander pour loger de nombreuses personnes avec un espace suffisant.

Wunderschönes, großzügiges Haus und Anlage mit neuen Bädern.
Genügend und schönes Geschirr vorhanden.
Schönes Aussicht
Schöner Pool
Genügend Liegestühle und Sitzgelegenheiten.


Verbesserungsvorschläge:
An vielen Fenstern sind keine Fliegengitter.
Nachdem es viele Fliegen sollten alle Fenster mit Fliegengittern bestückt sein.
Wir konnten wir trotz vorsichtigen öffnen der Fenster es nicht unterbinden, dass wir Stechfliegen im Zimmer hatten. Dadurch konnten wir Nachts schlecht schlafen und waren morgens immer zerstochen.
Dies führte auch dazu, dass wir in der Küche sogar mit Hornissen zu kämpfen hatten.
Generell gab es ein Hornissenproblem. Deshalb konnten wir auch die Außenküche/-Platz so gut wie nicht nutzen können.

Kaffeemaschine viel zu klein für 15 Personen.
Keine Mehrfahsteckdosen in der Küche für Kaffeemaschine, Toaster, Mixer etc.
Müllbehälter zu klein für 15 Personen
Müllabfuhrbeschreibung etwas ungenau - bin erst nach mehrfachem Nachfragen und beobachten hinter den Ablauf gekommen.

Really nice house in a calm area in central Tuscany with lots of space and things to do.

It is such a unique and wonderful property, we a had a time in paradise!

Wir haben eine wunderbare Woche in Villa Orchidea verbracht und dort mit Großfamilie einen Geburtstag gefeiert. Für eine Gruppe von 14 Personen von 6 - 60 Jahren waren die großzügigen Räume und eigenen Bäder perfekt! Die Lage ist toll, absolut ruhig, inmitten der Natur, Olivenhaine, der Blick über den Pool in die toskanischen Hügel ein Traum. Die Ausstattung ist perfekt für eine große Gruppe, wir haben es genossen dort oft für alle zu kochen, auch draußen auf dem neuen Gasgrill in der Sommerküche. Der Pool hat eine praktische Flachzone für die Kleinen. Idealer Ort für Ausflüge nach Sienna, Firenze, Volterra, San Gimignano, aber auch Certaldo alto ist einen Besuch wert. Gekrönt haben wir die Feier mit einer Kutschfahrt durch die Chianti Hügel mit Lucca I Cocchieri di Chianti. Traumhaft! Villa und Umgebung absolut empfehlenswert! Das einzige, das wir vermissten, war ein Wasserkocher, da für 14 Leute Tee und Kaffee auf dem Gasherd zuzubereiten etwas lange dauerte und Kaffeemaschine und Espressokanne schon bessere Tage gesehen haben. Sonst alles top! Mille grazie!

Lovely setting amidst olive groves, peaceful with beautiful views of the Tuscan hills. There were 13 of us and we had more than enough space for privacy when desired, and many indoor and outdoor gathering places to choose from when we wanted to be together. Full kitchen, nicely appointed bedrooms and sparkling clean remodeled bathrooms. Excellent restaurant up the street that we frequented twice, Paese di Campenelli, and easy access to Certaldo for groceries. Don't miss Certaldo Alto charming hill town and home to 14th century writer Boccaccio. Highly recommend for families and groups.

We were a party of 15 and this villa was big enough to cater for us all. There was enough space for 4 cars on the drive, the bedrooms were all big. There were plenty of eating, seating and resting places inside and out. The only comment i would say is that the BBQ was a little small to cater for that many. The pool was large, lovely and warm and cleaned every day. All of the bedrooms bar 2 came with aircon and the remaining 2 had fans. The kitchen and dining room were well equipped. The only thing missing was any information on surrounding area, restaurants, supermarkets, towns to visit etc however we had lots of fun exploring the area. The villa is located in a very quiet region with spectacular views over the countryside. We had a great holiday and would recommend this villa.

The house was amazing. Like staying in a stately home. We ate meals in 4 different locations just because we could. I'm sure there are many wonderful stories about the lives of the family that lived there. So many rooms! Some of the bathrooms had issues but we managed. The grounds and pool were lovely. Stunning views. The pool was cold and the children soon noticed it but very refreshing for adults. There were lots of insects and some of our party were badly bitten whilst outside. Driving was a challenge as there are many farm roads to get lost on but once on a main road it was easier.
Would recommend for large family gatherings which would increase the value for money aspect.

Many thanks for a memorable holiday.

To begin with, this villa is huge. Not only are the bedrooms large, but the dinning rooms and sitting rooms are spacious. There were 11 of us in our party and we still felt there was more than enough room.
Of the eight bedrooms, six are on the 1st floor (i.e. one staircase up) and are accessible via a steep set of stairs when you enter the main door. The two bedrooms at the top of the stairs might be a bit noisier than other bedrooms because of the proximity of the stairs. The other four bedrooms on the 1st floor share a kind of large sitting room with enormous couches and a table. I hung out there in the evening because it had a nice little balcony looking out over the hills.

The remaining two bedrooms are on the ground floor and are more suitable for guests that cannot climb stairs. One of them is in it's own retired building beside the pool. The couple lodged there said it was very quiet. The last room is near the kitchen and has it's own private TV room as a kind of parlor.

We found the building to be very cool and well insulated. The walls are so heavy, you can barely hear what is going on elsewhere in the villa. I imagine that it stays fairly cool during the summer but I can't say for certain. We never had to run the A/C or heat so I cannot comment on how well those work.

The kitchen was very good and had most of the cooking utensils that one would need. We made full use of the stove, microwave and convection oven when we were there. Interestingly, an American style coffee maker is not in the kitchen arsenal so be noted.

The pool was perhaps the best feature: It was very well maintained and has a spectacular view of the surrounding area. One interesting thing is that you can easily spot San Gimignano in the far distance with its many towers. I wish now I had spent more time just enjoying the view from the pool. It's so quite and secluded.

As a final note, the region is very nice for walking and there are a few very good restaurants within a few kilometers. (We would like to especially recommend Il Paese dei Campanelli in Petrognano). Certaldo is only 17 minutes away by car, and that is where we did most of our shopping. Also, trains down to Sienna and up to Florence depart from there on a fairly regular schedule.

Overall we were enormously impressed, and would recommend this villa to anyone. We would like to thank our hostess for the opportunity of staying here and enjoying such a wonderful venue!

Excellent!!!

We were wowed by the villa’s charm, history and decor. We especially enjoyed evenings drinking a glass of wine in front of a roaring fire built upon the original 17th-century hearth. The villa has plenty of common spaces to spread out and relax. The kitchen was well-equipped for preparing meals. The beds were comfortable. The ladies were captivated by
the beauty of the surrounding area which is resplendent with picturesque vistas of rolling hills, winding country roads, olive groves and vineyards.
Its location was the perfect home base for a self-drive vacation exploring Tuscany and the Chianti region. Day trips less than an hour away included Certaldo, Greve, Castellina-in-Chianti, San Gimignano, Siena and more. Pisa and Lucca were about 1.5 hours away. Drawbacks were minor ones: The drive is steep with a 45 degree angle off the main road and may require turning around and approaching from the other direction. Six bedrooms have a private bath, while the 7th bedroom’s guest has to enter another bedroom in order to access a bathroom. If renting during hot weather, not all bedrooms are air conditioned. All-in-all a beautiful property which I am booking again.

We stayed in this villa with our friends for ballroom dance holiday purpose. Villa is really beautiful, with inviting pool with beautiful view to the Tuscany hills and San Gimignano. It is very quit around, we didn't met any neighbor. There are some recently renovated rooms with beautiful bathrooms, but other rooms are not renovated in the recent years and bathrooms are smaller. So, not every couple got the same level room and bathroom. But for families it would't be problem, I suppose. We enjoyed, that the gardener and pool cleaner staff came early in the mornings, when we were still sleeping:) This villa really made our holidays memorable! :)

Excellent Villa, lovely pool and location. Great that most of the bedrooms have air-conditioning, pity two did not. One bedroom has no bathroom attached. Too many mosquitoes.
Excellent location for a wedding or large party.

This villa is gorgeous. It is everything the website says it is. The views of the Tuscany area are breathtaking.

Villa très agréable, au calme
Bon niveau de confort et localisation parfaite

Regarding our stay in Villa Orchidea Pros: -The House is very nice, extremely big and the pictures posted in Airbnb portray very well the rooms/ bathrooms/ common rooms without exaggeration (unlike other places in Airbnb where the photo-shopped pictures are far away from the truth). -The main house fits easily 13 people in 7 bedrooms and the separate pool house another 2 making a total of 8 very large rooms with 7 bathrooms, so it feels more like a hotel rather than a house. A floor plan included in the Airbnb pics would have helped to make sure that prospective guests can better understand the size of the estate and the sleeping options. -The villa has recently been refurbished and the upgrades especially in the bathrooms are very well done. -The pool, the garden and the view are all very nice and we wish we had more time to stay at the villa. -The host was there to meet us and showed us around and also upon request opened the door for us to the adjacent church that belonged to the villa so that we could celebrate our Greek Orthodox Easter. Her English was average. -She was also extremely helpful with our Italian friends who arrived a day later. Probably the lack of the language barrier helped. Cons: -Despite the recent refurbishments the house does date back to the 17th century and it's really big so maintenance is tricky. There were a few minor issues with the heating, sewerage and flushing of one toilet, but the owner seems to be constantly striving to fix all issues. -Unlike the main house, the extra pool house room is only heated with airconditioning so this could prove to be inadequate during very cold/ humid days. -A booklet with info about the villa is available but suggestions about the area/ attractions/ restaurants would have been nice to be included. -The heating is charged extra and could be fairly costly for such a big house.

Wir (Großfamilie, 13 Personen) hatten eine wunderschöne Woche inmitten der Toskana. Besser geht nicht!

Merveilleux endroit où passer du bon temps entre amis. Vue sur San Gimignano au loin: sublime.
Nous avons passé d'excellents moments avec nos amis.

Villa stupenda,ottime rifiniture,ordinata e super pulita, e si trova in una ottima posizione per visitare posti incantevoli. Abbiamo trascorso delle giornate stupende .

Vi var 3 generasjoner ialt 12 personer fra 10 til 70 år, som hadde et fantastisk opphold i vakre Villa Orchidea. Huset og området rundt svarte absolutt til forventningene, det lå deilig og fredelig til med fantastisk utsyn til åsene rundt. En kveld fikk vi laget et toskanske måltid av en lokal kokk. Oppfølgingen fra norsk kontaktperson før turen var meget bra.

A wonderful location for our family vacation. We booked Villa Orchidea for our group of 14 including grandparent, parents and children from 15 to 1 year old. Everything was PERFECT!

Vi var tre familier som bodde i huset de to siste ukene i juli 2016. Totalt 13 personer. Et fantastisk hus ypperlig beliggenhet. Strålende service fra husforvalter under oppholdet. Huset ligger midt i smørøyet for store opplevelser i Toscana. Vi besøkte Firenze, Pisa, Viareggio, Volterra, Siena og San Gimignano. Herlig basseng som ble rengjort flere ganger i løpet av perioden. En utrolig flott ferie. Vi kommer gjerne tilbake!

En fantastisk eiendom midt i Toscana. Både hage og hus var som beskrevet. Beliggenheten var super, stille og rolig og med vakker utsikt og perfekt for utflukter til Firenze, Sienna, Chianti-byene og San Giminiano. Huset var stort og flott, og passet godt for venne-tur - alle hadde flotte soverom med egne bad.
Tusen takk til Posarelli ved Asbjørn som anbefalte huset - vi kommer helt sikkert til å benytte oss av deres tjenester ved leie av hus.

Fantastisk utsikt mot San Gimignano. Huset er fra 1600-tallet og er rustikt innredet med antikke møbler noe som gir en unik følelse av å reise tilbake i tid. Perfekt for 3-4 familier.

Cette villa est pratiquement parfaite sauf pour deux choses. D'abord il n'y a pas de BBQ ce qui ne permet pas de cuisiner à l'extérieur, ce qui est fort dommage considérant la beauté des lieux extérieurs. Secondo, chaque matin ou le jardinier venait faire l'entretien, il manquait d'eau pour au moins 2 salles de bains à l'intérieur. Pour le reste, nous recommandons cette villa car nous y avons passés une merveilleuse semaine et nous serions prêt à y retourner à la première occasion.

Mooi groot huis. Prachtige ligging.

"We stayed at the villa orchidea with a group of 14 friends and we all had the holiday of a lifetime. All the rooms are spacious and very comfortable, the catering facilities and excellent and the pool has a breathtaking view over the valley below. We would all whole-heartedley recomment a stay here to anyone.

The Villa is unique and has wonderful links to it origins in the 17th century. We truly enjoyed the features, its multiple rooms and it historical accuracy.

We really enjoyed Villa Orchidea! There is a capstone above the door indicating that it was started in 1616. Some of the walls are 4 feet thick. It was very clean and well-kept.

Chira greeted us and gave us the keys. She is very charming! We would have enjoyed having her spend the week with us.

We had a group of 9 and we didn't even use several rooms. We spent most of our time in the kitchen and the smaller dining room with the huge fireplace.

The location is about half way between Florence and Sienna but we stayed with the small villages like San Gimignano, Monteriggioni, Barberino, and Certaldo Alto.

There is a local pizzeria in Sciano which is about 4 km to the west. A little further to the west is Certaldo which has a good patisserie and a grocery store along the main road. East of the villa is Barberino which seems nice but we didn't have time to explore it.

One thing to note is that the washing machine didn't work very well so don't plan on doing a lot of laundry. Pack light!