We had a most wonderful week at Villa del Cielo (Villa Pace). The house was perfect for our three German, Norwegian and Australian families (6 adults and 7 children). The villa is situated only 15 minutes from down town Siena. But when you sit in the garden and enjoy the amazing view you have the feeling you are in the middle of rural Tuscany. The beautiful big pool was in constant use as well as the hammocks in the shade under the trees. Our Italian house keeper Andrea (who spoke English, Spanish and French) did everything to make our stay most pleasant. One evening he and his charming wife cooked an amazing three course Tuscany dinner for us (Andrea is a professional chef) and served it on the terrace of the villa. When we come back next time we will definitely book one of his cooking classes!

Per il mio compleanno il mio fidanzato mi ha regalato un soggiorno a Villa del Cielo. Una magione da mozzafiato incastonata nel fascino segreto della Toscana. Ovunque, intorno a noi, albuscelli, eleganti e sinuosi cipressi,ulivi argentei,alberi di alloro torreggianti dalle colline, lecci scuri e piante ripiene di fronde verdi piacevolissime da guardare. Con quel silenzio che si depositava tra i colli, riempiva gli spazi e acquietava la mente. Nuvole ovattate che galleggiavano lievi nel cielo sereno,pronte a sfinirsi per l’arsura della terra madre, e il pensiero trasportato ovunque, come in un volo, ma mai trattenuto. Le nostre menti erano esaltate. La casa era fresca, e gli arredi, e gli oggetti d'arte, e i dipinti antichi che decoravano le stanze, conferivano ai nostri abbracci notturni un che d'incestuoso che mi affascinava completamente. Cosa dire della piscina...un luogo incantato, nel quale tornare a perdersi nei giochi dell'infanzia. E le amache a cullarti nell'abbraccio dei cipressi, nell'odore sensuale della vegetazione, e nel canto meraviglioso e impertinente delle cicale. Non mancava nulla. Anzi, c'era ogni cosa lí. Un caro saluto ed un ringraziamento, ed anche un abbraccio al nuovo gestore, che ha fatto rinascere la poesia di Villa del Cielo. Quel posto bisogna amarlo, e lui, ne sono certa, lo ama più di chiunque altro.

I've been renting villas and houses in Tuscany and other regions in Italy for over 20 years. This house at one time had been nice we think. But it has been neglected and appears no one has been taking care of this house - inside and out. Our issues were the cleanliness and condition of the house and grounds which was awful. Basic cleaning from previous renters hadn’t been done and we removed old boxes and bags of opened food and filled a trash can with empty shampoo bottles – there were 3-4 used bottles in each bathroom, most of them empty – and used-up air freshener containers scattered throughout the house. We directed the young woman to clean the main living room - the former chapel - where there was a thick layer of dust on the table surfaces and floor and huge spider webs that had obviously been collecting in doorways and windows for weeks or months. Basic cleaning had not been done in the house. The windows in bedrooms, bathrooms and common areas were filthy and hadn’t been cleaned in weeks, with spider webs both inside and out. The limonaia had filthy windows, leaves and spider webs covering surfaces, dying lemon trees and dirty, mismatched pillows scattered everywhere. The house and grounds are in a state of disarray and abandonment. The bushes are more than 2-3' over grown, plants in the pots scattered around were dry and completely dead. The view would have been good across the valley - but you couldn't see it because the bushes hadn't been cut. The old BBQ was unusable and rusted, with rusted-out utensils scattered about the area. This sorry site is the first thing you see upon arrival. The pool was filled with leaves and insects. Dead leaves were piled on chairs and tables. Something as simple as watering the plants, sweeping the terrace, cutting the weeds and trimming the bushes would have made a better first impression. Given the pricing for the week and expectations based on descriptions and pictures we expected a much higher level of quality. The house is not being cleaned or maintained properly and it shows. The grounds are not being maintained and the attention to the details (towels, basic cleaning, glassware, windows and crockery) are severely lacking. Everyone received bath towels upon arrival, but on the third day of our stay the laundry service dropped bundles of new towels and we discovered bath mats and hand towels. prior to that our only option was to step out of the shower onto a filthy and stained bath rug. What we liked about the house: the dining tables under the pergolas outside, the screens on most of the windows, the fans, the AC units in some of the bedrooms, the pretty antiques, the way the chapel has been repurposed but kept the interesting architectural touches, the fact there’s a clothes washer, the lovely material used for the curtains and some of the bed covers. However, the screens are dirty and many are broken or ripped, the dining tables are uncomfortable and dirty without tablecloths or table linen, and the laundry room was so jam-packed with dirty sheets and towels from prior guests we could barely get to the washing machine. We understand living in the country next to a white road, and one expects things to be dusty, however, this was well beyond a few days or weeks amount of dirt. This was the worst and most disappointing experience. With so many beautiful places to stay in Tuscany, stay somewhere else. Next time when our favorite places are booked, we will change our schedule! Lesson learned.

This was our first time to rent a villa in the Tuscany region. We contacted Rent-A-Villa and spoke to Nicole, who is now a good friend. She took our needs and location and found the perfect place. Located 3 miles from Siena. Our GPS took us right to the gate of the villa which was locked but the property manager, Jesus, answered his phone and was there in 10 short minutes. The Villa del Cielo with Caminetto (with fireplace) was beautiful. It's actually a 1,400 year old chapel with attached quarters for religious priests and nuns. I can't tell you how beautiful the hillside view was from our villa. Each morning, the fog would would lift and provide an incredible view of not only Siena but the Tuscany valley region. The bedrooms were spacious by Italian standards and very comfortable. The WIFI usually worked but the hot water heater couldn't keep up with the demand of six couples until the manager fixed it. The only real problem were the two electric gates allowing access to the property but we finally figured out how to make them work right, (again with the help of our manager). The combination of the chapel, two kitchens, seven bedrooms and five bathrooms were amazing. Plenty of room for all. The fireplace was located off one of the kitchens in a sitting area which became a perfect place for a glass of wine after walking through Siena all day. Two outside arbors were perfect for those of us enjoying a evening cigar with our wine and of course stories of our travels of the day. Weekly villa cleaning is required by rental agreement which was 190 euro per week. The utilities were an additional 500+ euros per week which is understandable because the villa was only 727 euros per week. When that's divided by six couples, it's still very reasonable. It was too cool to use the swimming pool but the grounds made for a very pleasant stroll each morning. On the winding road to the villa you'll pass a restaurant called Ristoranti Montebuccio. Please stop and have dinner there. It's less than 2 minutes from the villa and has a varied menu. We ate there 2-3 times a week when we didn't want to drive back into Siena. It's a family atmosphere with great food, local beers and wines. I apologize for this long review but we stayed here for three weeks and had a total of twelve couples come and go while were there. So this review encompasses all of our thoughts. Ciao! Bill