Villa Pallina Aquilea - Villa

We really enjoyed our stay. We wanted to be near the mountains for hiking and also within reach of the sea. The villa was surrounded by olive trees, plants and flowers. There was an abundance of wildlife. We enjoyed seeing so many butterflies and bees. Beware though, as there was a lot of mosquitoes! The ground floor bedroom was very small and had no air con which was disappointing. Pizza from the local bar was some of the best we had all holiday and the little shop was useful for the essentials. We loved Lucca, it is beautiful and not too touristy. The town is good to enjoy a faster pace of life during your holiday as there were small festivals and stools happening throughout the city (in late August). We very much enjoyed our complimentary apple cake from the villa owner -who is lovely and relaxed. We found the pool fine for a quick dip but it was cold.

I was surprised with a trip to Italy (Thank you again Sonia and Mrs Cristina) and had no idea what to expect.I was so happy when we walked through the gardens of Villa Pallina. It felt like home. It was my first time renting through the bespoke Mrs Sonia (The owner/restorer/gracious keeper at Villa Pallina and she is a perfect host. Fly directly into Pisa international airport & drive to the villa 45 mins away. The 2floor Villa is clean, gorgeous & vast: full-service kitchen have everything you need. I'm a chef & have been cooking every single night. full baths, 3 bedrooms, Wifi, clothes wa-sher,dishwasher, HUGE common areas, more outdoor areas than we had time to utilize, & a real brick pizza oven are at the ready forthose who actually want to cook. If you don't want to cook, ea-ting out is fantastic-ask for recommendations. My favorite was Sonia recommend: Ristorante But-terfly at the base of the hill. The gorgeous modern pool was up & running in late october. It was the first-choice-hang-spot every sunset. The views from the Villa are spectacular! The silvery olives groves &bright flowers that dot the mountainside, the Honey Factory just across the valley, & win-ding river below are every day eye candy so bring lots of memory + extra batteries for your came-ra. To do: -RELAX at the villa, -shop, -hike, -olive harvest, -swim, -day trips like Cinque Terre, Flo-rence, Pisa, -wine tours, -cooking class (we had a wonderful cooking class with Mrs Cristina in the garden of the villa and we learned how to make home made pasta and pizza) that highlights local cuisine using ingredients that grow WILD on the mountainJust great!

We had a great time. Your hospitality was wonderful – we felt so welcome. Villa Pallina is simply awesome. We had so much fun sitting by the pool, eating dinners around the table and touring around Tuscany… Pictures will never show the beauty of the view and Lucca is such a unique place. We found the road to the villa nice and pleasant and did not have any difficulty as someone else reported in previous reviews. Lucca Apartments and Villas is a treasure! thanks

Das Ferienhaus von Adolfo und Gabriella ist ein absoluter Traum. Alles ist hochwertig und wahnsinnig liebevoll eingerichtet und dekoriert. Wir kamen leider erst spät abends an und der Check In war dennoch absolut problemlos und wir wurden herzlich empfangen. Die Betten sind sehr bequem! Das Untergeschoss ist tagsüber etwas dunkel, aber das ist der Bauweise des Hauses geschuldet und hat uns nicht gestört, da wir uns tagsüber ohnehin draußen aufgehalten haben. Der Garten ist wunderschön, weitläufig und voller alter Olivenbäume. Das Haus ist zwar über die Straße am Berg nicht einfach zu erreichen, aber die Lage in der Nähe zu Lucca ist für Ausflüge perfekt. In 2 Gehminuten gibt es einen kleinen Einkaufsladen und der nächste große Supermarkt ist 10 Autominuten entfernt. Wir haben unseren Aufenthalt sehr genossen und würden jederzeit wiederkommen!

We really enjoyed our stay. We wanted to be near the mountains for hiking and also within reach of the sea. The villa was surrounded by olive trees, plants and flowers. There was an abundance of wildlife. We enjoyed seeing so many butterflies and bees. Beware though, as there was a lot of mosquitoes! The ground floor bedroom was very small and had no air con which was disappointing. Pizza from the local bar was some of the best we had all holiday and the little shop was useful for the essentials. We loved Lucca, it is beautiful and not too touristy. The town is good to enjoy a faster pace of life during your holiday as there were small festivals and stools happening throughout the city (in late August). We very much enjoyed our complimentary apple cake from the villa owner -who is lovely and relaxed.

We loved everything. The house, including the kitchen and bathrooms, is beautiful. It looks just like we imagined a Tuscan villa would look. The real deal. It is very nicely decorated and the bed linens, towels and kitchen items were all very nice. The two upstairs bedrooms are air-conditioned. The downstairs bedroom is not. However, the room stayed relatively cool because the house is made of stone. (And we were there in the heat of August.) The property is beautiful - very private and quiet. The pool area is pretty and the pool is refreshing. It is definitely large enough for a family of five to play around in. At night you can light it up and it's so gorgeous. Plenty of lounge chairs surround the pool and plenty of beach towels are provided. The outdoor dining area was so pretty.

We met the owners at check in and they were lovely. They are very kind people who really wanted us to enjoy the home and the village of Aquilea. They gave us wine and a sweet bread and told us about two cool things going on that week in the village: pizza night at the bar and the church's festival. We went to the church festival and ate dinner and it was fantastic. We had grilled meats, tomato salad, zuppa (a local soup recipe, so good!) and wine and dessert. Everyone in the village was helping. It was awesome to experience part of the village's customs first hand.

Aquilea is just outside Lucca. Lucca feels like Florence on a smaller scale. The city is close enough to zip in and spend time there and feel like you're part of the action. However, the village is far enough away and up the mountain that you can also have peace and quiet on your vacation.

We drove to Florence and to other little towns close by too. Driving in Tuscany is not too crazy and places are pretty easy to find as long as you have GPS.

We also stayed in the Cinque Terre, Florence and Rome on this trip. The scenery is so beautiful, the food so fresh, the people so helpful. All of it is hard to properly describe. Tuscany is just fantastic. It is almost impossible to pick a favorite part of our vacation. If we had to choose, it would be our stay in Aquilea at the villa!

We loved everything. The house, including the kitchen and bathrooms, is beautiful. It looks just like we imagined a Tuscan villa would look. The real deal. It is very nicely decorated and the bed linens, towels and kitchen items were all very nice. The two upstairs bedrooms are air-conditioned. The downstairs bedroom is not. However, the room stayed relatively cool because the house is made of stone. (And we were there in the heat of August.) The property is beautiful - very private and quiet. The pool area is pretty and the pool is refreshing. It is definitely large enough for a family of five to play around in. At night you can light it up and it's so gorgeous. Plenty of lounge chairs surround the pool and plenty of beach towels are provided. The outdoor dining area was so pretty.

We met the owners at check in and they were lovely. They are very kind people who really wanted us to enjoy the home and the village of Aquilea. They gave us wine and a sweet bread and told us about two cool things going on that week in the village: pizza night at the bar and the church's festival. We went to the church festival and ate dinner and it was fantastic. We had grilled meats, tomato salad, zuppa (a local soup recipe, so good!) and wine and dessert. Everyone in the village was helping. It was awesome to experience part of the village's customs first hand.

Aquilea is just outside Lucca. Lucca feels like Florence on a smaller scale. The city is close enough to zip in and spend time there and feel like you're part of the action. However, the village is far enough away and up the mountain that you can also have peace and quiet on your vacation.

We drove to Florence and to other little towns close by too. Driving in Tuscany is not too crazy and places are pretty easy to find as long as you have GPS.

We also stayed in the Cinque Terre, Florence and Rome on this trip. The scenery is so beautiful, the food so fresh, the people so helpful. All of it is hard to properly describe. Tuscany is just fantastic. It is almost impossible to pick a favorite part of our vacation. If we had to choose, it would be our stay in Aquilea at the villa!

The best holiday ever!! We absolutely loved everythihg about Villa Pallina. A good time was had by all. Sonia recommendation of the Villa for our group worked out beautifully. Sonia was very helpful and always available to answer any questions every step of the way. Cristina both talented chef and caretaker, was very welcoming and helpful with suggestions of things to do. The Villa was set among the beautiful gardens, olive trees and oak trees. There was plenty of space for all to separa-te, roam, relax and have quiet time. At the same time it was wonderful for us all to gather in the spectacular equipped kitchen to cook and then share the meal on the lovely grand terrace in the garden.. We felt like living in the past with the old potteries and cutleries, the antique chairs and fur-niture, a very shabby atmosphere! We thoroughly enjoyed swimming in the private modern pool and walking up to the village for gelato. The add on activities were amazing which included Pisa, Cinque Terra, and a Truffle tour. The highlights were the Personal Chef Dinner and the Cooking Class that Sonia arrange for us. Chef Cristina is awesome cook! We loved the short drive to the charming city of Lucca and spending time shopping and strolling along the narrow streets. Villa Emily is truly a beautiful and peaceful place among the hills. Thank you Sonia for everything. We will treasure the memories forever! Dreaming of our next trip back to the countryside.

We adored this villa in the little village of Aquilea, about 20 minutes outside of Lucca. Though the drive up the mountain was narrow and steep, it offered beautiful views from this charming village. Adorable inside and out, we found the villa well stocked and equipped for all of our needs. The owners, Valentina and her parents, Gabriella and Adolpho, were always available at a moments notice, eager to help us with anything we needed. We were even greeted with a bottle of local wine and a delicious homemade apple cake from Gabriella! They really did make us feel welcome.

A short walk from the villa is the village "bar", with a small but adequate market attached. Elizabeta, who runs the shop, was so accommodating and provided us with fresh bread and local eggs each morning. All of it made for the most charming Italian vacation. We would love to go back again and highly recommend this villa.

A beautiful villa in a beautiful setting. The villa is well maintained, well equipped and charmingly furnished. The pool is really excellent and looked after to a standard that i have seldom experienced it was so clean and the water Crystal clear. The garden is so beautiful, decorated with shrubs, lemon trees and wonderful fresh herbs. This all made for a truly memorable holiday. We were welcomed so warmly and the Apple cake that was left for us was one of the most delicious things we ate in our entire holiday. The wine too was as good. We did get a lot of insect bites and there is a considerable ant presence on the lower terrace, but never mind, it didn't spoil our enjoyment. I really hope we will be able to return to this lovely home. The charming little bar with adjoining shop only 100 yards away meant that even in such a rural setting we could get what we needed from locals that really wanted to please you with a surprising array of quality ingredients. The bar was 'rustic ' but maintained local charm. We loved it.

The property could not have been better. Wonderful grounds - more than garden! Swimming pool fantastic and all of us , not just the kids, spent hours chilling out in and around it. The interior of the house is beautifully decorated and equipped: a wonderful home to us for the week. The web photos don't do the property credit! Really well looked after by Valentina and her mum and dad. The village is beautifully located in the hills but you'll need to get used to tiny roads and tight corners: don't hire the very big car! Lovely walk down - 30 mins- to lovely pizzeria, gelateria, bar etc. Great stopping off point to delights of coast, mountains,and great cities...but I found we needn't want to leave our shangri-la too much! Very hard to leave and would love to return to our villa paradiso!