Thinking of Renting a Villa in Italy?
Internet helps you connect with people around the world, including Italian villa owners offering their houses as holiday rentals. As you dream of the perfect Italian holiday in Tuscany, Sardinia, Puglia, or Sicily, you look at pictures, amenities, and proximity to towns. You instantly place yourself by the private pool of your rental villa, taking in the sun or standing on the patio enjoying the surrounding mountain views. You think about what it will be like to cook in the fully equipped kitchen with locally grown produce. And then you arrive after renting the villa by yourself through Internet and find that the reality lacks lustre. All your dreams are dashed.
Massimo Villas helps you avoid these crushing setbacks to find the ideal rental villa and create the perfect Italian holiday. We work with you as an independent consultant. We meet all of the owners and key holders of the villas on our portfolio. We travel around all of our destinations to learn about our villas and provide you with the best information for renting the perfect villa in Italy. For 18 years, we have offered Italian villas to clients from all over the world. We improve each year based on your recommendations, learning from our guests so we can grow our business. From this experience, we have created the following recommendations on what you should know and what you should be prepared for when looking for villa rentals in Italy.
Asking Basic Questions
If you decide to search independently for villas in Italy you should ask basic questions about the location of the property, amenities like pool and air conditioning, and what services are offered. Establish what you want for your villa holiday, what type of location – whether by the sea or in the countryside, as well as define the budget in order to find the perfect property.
If you wish, you can start your researches based on three or four locations, and narrow down the island or mainland destination you want to visit.
Speak with a Villa Rental Specialist
After you have picked a few choices for your holiday, it is time to speak with a specialist. Contact Massimo Villas to ask questions and discover more about the regions you are interested in. Tuscany is a wonderful and idyllic region often with larger rental properties than other areas of Italy. Home to Chianti and other spectacular wines, as well as the Medici heritage, it requires significant budget or rental specialist with deals available.
Sicily is ever popular with rising prices particularly in Taormina. The summer heat can also be rather debilitating, which may determine the time of year you wish to visit. Cefalu, the Egadi and the Aeolian Islands may be alternative areas of Sicily to consider for your holidays.
When speaking with your specialist, provide as much detail as you can regarding your requirements, amenities, and features. Make it known if you need baby cribs, wheelchair access, and other special amenities. Let the specialist know if you are planning to bring pets or need Wi-Fi access. By offering details, Massimo Villas can provide better recommendations that suit your needs and desires, for the perfect holiday rental package.
Location and Rentals
Villas in Italy are often about privacy with private pools, barbecues, and more. However, villas near a town may lack some of the privacy you desire. It is best to think about the location and the features you wish to have in your holiday villa. If you absolutely want to be near a town or in the heart of the village, ask your specialist what limitations may exist. You have access to shops, restaurants, fun, sightseeing, and entertainment, but you may compromise on privacy.
Ask for Extras, Specials, Discounts, and Tailor Made Packages
Unless you ask for specials, discounts, bespoke packages and extras you may not know what is truly available. Often Massimo Villas is able to work with you to obtain some special offers for your perfect villa holiday in Italy. We have established relationships with villa owners over more than a decade to provide you with all you need. This also includes occasional special offers, discounts and more.
Putting everything in Writing
We understand your hesitation with booking on contract. You may have suffered in the past with tough to get-out-of-agreements by booking on your own. If you decide to book on your own or go with a different company, please be aware of the importance of having a contract and reading all the fine print. This is the best protection you can provide yourself with. Contracts ensure there is an agreement between you and the owner, as well as your specialist, detailing all prices including any bespoke options you require.
Our last word of advice is insurance. Travel insurance is invaluable to you, especially during these unprecedented times. Any delays, errors, or other unforeseen issues that may occur are protected by travel insurance, in some cases, COVID related issue are covered too. It is the last item that can offer you peace of mind as from the moment you start planning your villa holiday in Italy, up to your arrival. Now you know how to obtain the very best for holiday villas in Italy. You can sit back, put your feet up and dream about your perfect Italian holiday.
Marketing Information
Before you start looking into renting a villa or apartment in Italy, it is important to go over some marketing information. A lot of confusion occurs when travellers start their researches, because they see many of the same properties listed online, but under different names. It might lead you to think fraud is occurring. It is not in any away fraud or a scam. Owners have their own website for advertisement. There are also villa rental specialist companies like Massimo Villas. And rather than driving every visitor back to the owner website, specialist companies wish to retain your business. This is due to the added services, expert knowledge and advise that these company can offer. The villa names may differ from site to site, but it is a marketing technique to help you find a trustworthy specialist that will put together all the components of your holiday, offering you a wider selection and professional assistance – invaluable if you want to make sure you book the right holiday!
Use a Specialist to Gain References
Renting a villa in Italy can be done on your own, but you open yourself and any other visitors up to a host of issues. It is an investment, one worthy of being as ideal as you hope. You do not want to arrive without assurances. By using a specialist to at least tap into some references you know you will find the perfect villa rental, in the area you prefer and with all the amenities you are looking for. By using a specialist you can work with experts who have really inspected each villa before making a recommendation to you: they know the property inside out and can make suggestions and give you the best advices based on your individual needs.
Sleuth on your Own
Gather more information than any agency website provides you. Agencies are great when you wish to find a home and vet the owners. Testimonials are also helpful, but do a little sleuthing on your own. Take the property and Google it to find out what other sites are saying.
Remember to take reviews with a grain of sand – meaning you should not trust reviews 100% of the time. Too many negative reviews will mean something is wrong. One complaint is normal, two can happen, more than three means you might wish to look elsewhere as you look for the perfect holiday villa in Italy.
Decide on the Size
Visiting Italy as a group or couple means you have different needs. If you require a place that sleeps more than 8, a hotel is certainly out. A hotel would require at least two or three rooms to accommodate your group and it can be rather expensive to go down that route. Renting a villa for a large group while seemingly expensive is often more cost effective. There is a chance of spending less than €30 per person a day with the right rental villa.
With larger groups you may not have an ensuite for each person, but you will have more privacy. Additionally, you can cook in the house or apartment helping to save on food costs. Even for smaller groups, renting a villa can be cost effective due to all the amenities offered and the absolute privacy and independence. Just think about sunbathing comfortably on your honeymoon or swimming privately in your infinity pool. No one can disturb you. Plus, you are not in a hotel which can be noisy. Start narrowing down your search for the perfect villa or apartment to rent by thinking of the size of accommodation you need based on the type of trip you wish to organise.
Make Sure you can Contact Someone Nearby
Issues happen even during the perfect holiday. While you do not want to plan for an incident such as a flooded toilet or a lack of electricity, this inconveniences may occur. Speak with the owner to make sure he will be accessible in case of any issue. If nothing else, plan ahead by finding a local handyman you can trust before you go. If you are renting through a villa specialist determine if they will be on hand 24/7 in case of emergency. At Massimo Villas, we have teams of professionals on the ground to help you solve any problem or organise last minute activities.
Know when to Look
At the beginning of the year is when we all start planning the dates for our holidays and arranging for time off. This is also a good time to begin your search for a place to stay. If you visit during popular holiday seasons such as Christmas, New Year’s Eve, and summer, it will be difficult to find discounts early in the year, however, places tend to book up quickly, which may mean that if you leave if too late there may not be nothing left in the area you wish to visit. By starting early you can have a wider selection of property available and you can discover what special offers are currently in place and see if they match with your budget and dates.
Know what your Needs Are
The villa specialist will need to know exactly what you require for your holiday, from the amenities to the pets you wish to bring. Make sure to ask about wheelchair access, handicap accessibility, baby cribs, toys, and other amenities you may need based on your holiday plans.
Renting a Car
There are times you may wish to spend the entire holiday in your villa rental, but you may also be there to explore the wonderful architecture, shops, and culture of Italy. To do so, you have options such as public or private transportation. Public transportation such as buses are great if you are happy to be dependant on the countries’ transportation schedule. With a private rental car, you set your holiday terms for relaxation, tours, and private tours.
Consider a Private Cook
If you have a large party, hiring a cook may be the best way to get dinner on the table while at the villa. It can be a lot of fun to sit around letting someone else prepare your meals or you can enjoy a few cooking lessons from a qualified Italian chef. You can also book a cook to prepare breakfast every morning, taking out every stress!
What should you look out before making a booking?
There are a number of important things to consider when you rent a villa. Firstly, check the villa company name and the property manager’s name in Google. Ensure there is evidence the company exists and is a professional company you can trust to provide you with a top-notch booking service. If you cannot find evidence of the company you should go elsewhere. Sites like I-Prac can help you find a trusted holiday specialist.
Of course, most of the time you will find plenty of evidence to support the existence of the company you have selected. For example, our company provides a professional service to all our clients, and is capable of handling whatever booking you wish to make. We are always here to provide advice and support at every stage, to ensure you have the chance to book your ideal Italian holiday.
