Picking a Vacation Rental - Part One

The Campos and the Snyders

Somewhere between October 15, 2014 and the following January my wife and I hope to rent a villa in Tuscany or Umbria with our daughter Gigi, son-in-law Ryan, and grandson Aiden (who will be one year old), Gigi's husband's parents Larry and Laura Jones and our good friends Rob and Ladell Snyder. There will be a total of 8 and one half of us.


I've started looking at vacation rentals for our trip. One thing that struck me as I started looking at my options is the different financial capabilities of our 4 party members as well as our different travel agendas. Our daughter's family is a dual income professional family with a two week vacation period. The Snyder family own a very lucrative business.  How long the Snyders can stay is still undetermined. Both these younger families are a little over the top and like to do everything first class.


We and Larry and Laura (the in-laws) are retired and don't quite have the resources to match the younger group (at least I know Joanne and I don't!). Aside from our financial limitations, we are also the two couples most likely to stay 3 or 4 weeks. So its important for us that we get the best place possible at the lowest price possible, so we can extend our stay.  In our initial talks we all envisioned staying in a very inviting villa that the 8 and one half of us could share. After looking further into the situation, we learned that for about half the price we could get a villa that's divided into two apartments with 2 bedrooms and  bathrooms in each apartment.

I was concerned that some would feel that it would take away from the anticipated festive mood by having smaller kitchens and smaller living space because of the division of the two apartments. The first one's we discussed this with were Gigi and Ryan (they are easily accessible since they live across the street from us.) To my surprise, it was no issue for them.


Here's a look at two possible candidates. Let me know which one you like best.

Farmhouses Near Lucca - 5 Bedrooms, 5 Bathrooms, $1283 per Week for 8 People

There are two separate farm houses so we get the best of both worlds. We get the price of two separate apartments and the luxury of having stand alone houses. This vacation rental is located about 9 miles from Lucca in Tuscany. The are about an hour from the coast, Pisa, and Florence. The property includes a private pool and the reviews from previous renters is very good. Based on the price as we know it, these properties would cost each couple $910 total for 3 weeks (roughly $44 a night!). You can't beat that. Of course, I expect some additional charges such as linens, cleaning, booking fees and what ever else they can dream up. But I figure if the additional charges add up to more that 30%, we'll negotiate and move on.  Learn all about this property here.

CAUTION: Things to Look for: When the site says $1283 per 8 people for a week, if you look carefully it might be $1283 per 4 people apartment per week. This would cost you $1283x2. The way the website is written, it's not clear. These sort of things need to be sorted out ahead of time and could be negotiable.  Lesson Learned: Always read the rental offer carefully.

La Rustica - 4 bedroom, 4 bathrooms - $1224 per week for 8 People

La Rustica Outside Terrace

La Rustica is an old stone farmhouse located on the outskirts of Arezzo.The property has a pool, but there are no reviews so you have to depend on the site pictures (take that for what its worth.) Based on the price as we know it, this property would cost each couple $918 total for 3 weeks (roughly $44 a night!). The have documented that there are some additional charges such as cleaning and heating but they don't seem to be a major issue. The good news is that's it's a house and not divided into apartments. That's what we ideally wanted and we know they can't charge us for 2 separate apartments. Additionally, it's low season starts on Sept 27. This is great for us because, it means Joanne and I could celebrate our anniversary (Oct 4) her birthday (Oct 5) in Tuscany. See more photos and learn more about this property here.


Tell us which of these two properties you like better. Also, let us know what part of Tuscany or Umbria you like best and why so we can look for villas there. Thanks