Questions, answered

Choose your dates on a villa page and send a booking request. We check the calendar, confirm availability within 24 hours and send a payment link for the first instalment. The stay is confirmed when that is paid.

30 per cent of the accommodation to confirm, the balance 30 days before arrival, and the refundable security deposit by bank transfer 7 days before. Cleaning and tourist tax are included in the total shown on the villa page.

A full refund of the instalment up to 60 days before arrival, 50 per cent up to 30 days, and none after that. We recommend travel insurance. The full wording is in the booking terms (a template to replace with your own).

Between two and seven nights, depending on the villa and season. Changeover days take a full day of cleaning and checks, and a short stay in July would leave a house empty for the rest of the week.

A refundable amount held against damage or lost keys. We return it within 7 days of check-out, less anything broken beyond normal wear.

A host meets you at the house between 15:00 and 18:00, shows you around and leaves you a folder of tips. If your flight is late, tell us and we will wait or leave a key safe code.

At Casa del Fico, Podere Alloro, Torre Colombaia, Casa Cisterna and La Pietraia, yes. Each villa page lists its pet rules. At the others, no pets are allowed.

Pools are not fenced at every villa, and no pool is supervised. Podere Alloro has a fenced pool lawn; Torre Colombaia is for adults only. Children must always be supervised by an adult.

Yes. Beds are made for arrival, and each guest has two towels and a beach towel. For stays of a week or longer we change linen once, mid-stay.

Yes, in all but La Pietraia, which has a wood stove and electric heaters. The rest have underfloor heating, and fireplaces at Ginestra, Il Frantoio and Podere Alloro. We stock firewood.

For most villas, yes. Casa del Fico and Casa Cisterna are in villages with shops and a baker; everything else is a short drive. We can arrange transfers from the airport and a taxi to the coast.

June to September for swimming, April, May and October for walking and food, and November to March for quiet, fires and the olive harvest. Our journal has a longer answer.

Our team does, and so do most people in the shops and restaurants you will use. A few phrases of the local language are appreciated and our arrival folder has a short list.

Hot, dry summers, with afternoon highs of 31 to 35 degrees in July. Mild, bright springs, wet Novembers, and a few cold weeks in January and February. Pools are open mid-May to the end of September.