We suspected before we arrived... we were pretty sure coming down the olive lined drive... we BELIEVED when within just minutes we sat down on our terrace with a glass of Franco's vino rosso--this is our favorite place in Italy. Relaxing, quiet, warm, homelike and welcoming; Casa Rondini is a jewel. The farm is beautiful with a large olive orchard and vineyard and a beautiful vegetable garden to compliment your cooking if you choose. And the kitchen isn't just well equipped, it comes with an assortment of spices, olive oil, a bag of sugar, etc. so you can really cook. Unlike the next place we stayed that had a kitchen less well stocked than an IKEA store display. Oh, and the eggs, free range chicken eggs that are so tasty for breakfast.
Franco and Bozena offer three special nights where you are invited to join them and fellow guests for dinner. Unfortunately we missed pasta night, unfortunate because I'm sure it was just as wonderful as saffron night and pizza night. There's a fee involved but the value is very high. The food is marvelous, the hospitality warm, wine and cordials flow freely, and it's just fun.
The only drawback we found was the day before our arrival a lightning storm zapped the local internet service. This was a bit of an inconvenience, but not near so much as it was for our hosts because they depend on the internet to run their business. Ah well, repairs don't happen so quick in Italy.
A prior reviewer wrote of their disappointment in no TV. What on earth would you be doing watching TV. Go outside! You're on vacation. E 'bello qui--it's beautiful here. Have you seen the Milky Way? You can see it here. Glorious. Look at Montegabbione just over this way, and just over there is Monteleone. TV IS NOT NEEDED. We only wished for the internet so we could peek ahead a little better on what we could go see tomorrow.
If you get the opportunity go to see La Scarzuola. It's close by but you need reservations and a large enough group to justify a tour. It's indescribable but one of the more unique things we did during our stay.
My final thoughts? This place is awful. Don't stay here. Leave it to us. We'll take care of filling the calendar because we're coming back.