Villa Le Fonti - Arezzo - Tuscany

Villa Le Fonti is on the edge of a tiny village called Quarata, just 6 km from elegantly cosmopolitan Arezzo. Your nearest bar-cum-shop is barely a 5 minute walk from your imposing electric gates, while your nearest pizzeria is a 15 minute stroll away. There are tennis courts at Quarata and the ever helpful young owners, Monia and Alberto, will be happy to book you a court anytime. In fact, you'll find them a great resource. They live nearby in Quarata and you can call on them any time you need a helping hand or some in-depth local knowledge.

You are perfectly placed for enjoying Tuscan life at Villa Le Fonti. But if you want to explore, you'll find you are wonderfully central for everywhere - fabulous Florence, picturesque Cortona, the world class wines of Montepulciano and truly splendid Siena are all within an hour's drive or just a little more. Umbria too makes for splendid day trips - take a ferry boat trip around Lake Trasimeno and visit its tiny islands, see the sights of Umbria's truly ancient capital Perugia, carry on into the Umbrian hills and visit Saint Francis's Assisi or head for more wine sampling in Montepulciano. You are in the "golden triangle", so nothing's very far away - Prada's fashion outlet is at Montevarchi, The Mall at Incisa offers fashion bargains by Armani, Valentino and many more. There's enticing pottery and terracotta at Impruneta, thermal baths at San Casciano and Chianciano. Basking by the pool or off on explorations - your choices are legion at well located Villa Le Fonti!

The villa and cottage sleep up to 16 in easy-going comfort. This is a villa full of character: a happy mix of smart and not-so-smart. It's a place to be at home in! You have satellite TV, a DVD player (bring a few favourites!), a free wi-fi internet connection, house wine and house olive oil can be bought, a telephone and a cook service is available if you want to eat at home without the effort of actually doing the cooking. The villa itself sleeps up to 12, while the two bedroom cottage next door comfortably sleeps an extra 4. The villa is great for the main party while the 2 bedroomed cottage is ideal for those in the group who want extra privacy or a quiet retreat.

The villa's spacious garden is exceptionally well kept. You'll find yourselves delighted by the huge, ornate terracotta pots outdoors, filled with lemon, orange, mandarin and grapefruit trees. There are banks of scented herbs and a host of handsome mature trees. The villa itself is on 3 floors. The ground floor offers a well equipped kitchen, a sitting room, the dining room with an open fire, and the huge "glass room" (where the citrus fruit trees are kept in winter) makes a fabulous indoor/outdoor dining room or even a games or dance room for partying. There's a washing machine in the ground floor cloakroom (half bathroom). Basically, there's lots of space on the ground floor!

There are two shallow flights of old stone stairs up to the next floor. A formal dining room is the central room of this floor, off which there's a fine double bedroom and a twin bedroom, both with en suite bathrooms. The terrace off the double room is large and gives lovely views across the grounds and on to the hills in the distance.

Two more short flights of stairs lead up to the top floor of the villa. There's a comfy sitting room on this floor and 4 bedrooms open off it. There are two double rooms, each with its own en suite bathroom, while a third double bedroom and a twin bedded room share a nicely appointed shower room.

To complete the accommodation there's the villa's cottage. The cottage was originally intended for the domestic staff, but now it's a spacious apartment. There's a pleasant sitting room with satellite TV, a nicely equipped kitchen, a double bedroom, a twin bedded room and a handsome bathroom complete with hydro massage bath.

Villa Le Fonti is a great place for a wedding, birthday or anniversary celebration or for any large group of friends looking for an authentically characterful Tuscan villa with lovely views and brilliantly placed for sightseeing trips!