Sitting in the hills above Pistoia, Villa Martinelli is an excellent base for exploring the local area and beyond.
Split across two floors, the Villa has an open plan kitchen, dining and sitting area with double doors providing access to the outside terrace dining area. The kitchen is well equipped and met all our needs for the 2 weeks of our stay.
The only access to the upper floor is via a narrow metal spiral staircase that may prove a challenge for anyone with mobility issues. The main bedroom is spacious and there is plenty of storage space in the smaller second bedroom.
The pool is fabulous and a real asset to the property even if it does fall into the category of “lovely once you are in” as it can feel a bit chilly after you have baked in the Tuscan sunshine for a while.
Stefano, Beatrice and their family are truly lovely people, on hand to help out if necessary but conscious of the privacy of their guests. Generous to a fault, you could not ask for nicer neighbours.
A car is a must (make sure the horn works!) but be aware some local roads are steep, very narrow and some with blind turns, including the road leading to the Villa. For peace of mind, it is worth considering taking out additional damage insurance for your hire car but arrange this before you travel rather than taking the unnecessarily expensive ‘excess reduction’ insurances offered by the car hire companies.
Pistoia is a lovely old town, well worth a sightseeing trip or two in itself. It has plenty of shops, cafes, gelateria etc. Of the local supermarkets we think that the Co-Op and the Conad Superstore are the best. Pistoia is on the main rail line between Pisa and Florence which makes it ideal for exploring near and far. You can get to Florence in 30 – 50 minutes and Pisa in about the same amount of time. Should you wish, you can get to Venice or Rome in 2 – 3 hours. There is ample parking in Pistoia and the car park nearest to the station (Parcheggio Cavallotti) only costs 2 euro all day.
Other than to get some shopping in you wouldn’t really need to leave the Villa if you didn’t want to, spending days by the pool, watching the birds of prey as they ride the thermals off the hills, distant church bells cascading around the valley marking time that has slowed to a snail’s pace, evenings spent sitting on the terrace listening to the local stag population bellowing in the forest as the lights of Pistoia twinkle in the distance.
Did we have a great holiday? You bet.