We have just returned from our trip to Tuscany and would like to share our experience.

When we decided to go to Italy, we were very lucky to find a villa near Florence on www.villasinflorence.com  their web site was very easy to follow and was packed with information and photos of beautiful Florence villas . This was to be a family holiday and we thought that a villa rental might be the perfect answer, as it proved to be. It is not always easy to please the whole family.

Villa di Valiano was our choice, a beautiful villa and really peaceful, it was much nicer than we had expected it to be and  was very well equipped. The position is ideal and the owners were most welcoming and very helpful. Our Italian is no too good but the people were absolutely great and if they didn't speak English they would make gestures, we usually managed to get the message.
The nearby bus service is very reliable, even when you don't have a ticket (worth noting they should be purchased before getting on the bus!) and can be bought at the village shop 15 mins walk away. The kids loved the bus ride into Florence and were fascinated by the Italians. The trains from Florence are excellent too and you can get almost anywhere within a short time.

We spent a lot of time at the villa, on some days, I would relax by the pool whilst the kids took a dip or ran around the gardens, my husband grabbed the opportunity to play golf. (It really made his holiday) he never ever dreamed of being in Tuscany and be both near his beloved golf and his beloved Florence. A great combination for all of us! It just worked out fine for everyone.
The kids loved the town and really enjoyed the barbecues in the evening. This was my time the kids and hubby prepared the food and I took an evening bathe in the pool. Other times we went down to "Strada in Chianti" to the local restaurants. We found eating out to be very reasonable throughout Tuscany, even in the big cities.
We took a trip to the wine cellars, it was a shame that my husband had to drive but I really had the time of my life wine tasting, we did however take a couple of bottles of Chianti back with us, so he caught up later.
The road network is excellent, making it an ideal rental position for visiting lots of interesting places and we didn't find the Italians that made on the roads, we did see a few hands raised in the air, when we forgot to keep to the right though. We loved San Gimigiano and had a trip back there before we left.

We would have no hesitation in renting through www.villasinflorence.com on our next visit to Italy and would recommend them to anyone.