Parker VillasReviews of parkervillas.com

We rented a villa near Orvietto through Parker Villas and could not have asked for a better experience. The property was even better equipped than represented on the website (tennis rackets provided, and so on). The service was outstanding. Recommendations for local chefs and other amenities also wildly exceeded our expectations. We rented another villa the following week through another company (A&K) and thought Parker Villas was the best to work with. We have recommended Parker Villas to several friends since our return.

My wife and I rented Galantino in Tuscany for two weeks in June, 2015, and couldn't have been more pleased with the villa, as it was exactly as presented on their website. Roberta Lerman, our Parker travel advisor, carried us through the whole process; renting a car on arrival, explicit directions to the villa, suggestions of where to visit, to dine, and set us up with hotel reservations in Rome upon leaving. She was always a phone call away as was the Parker representative in Italy if we had a problem with anything - which we didn't. Highly recommend Parker Villas and their advisors.

Working with Parker Villas for an amazing month in Italy was truly the right choice. I did check out similar companies and they didn't compare. There were 16 of us, and for many, the villa was the best part of Italy. Most of us were first-timers in Europe. Roberta Lerman was so helpful...always prompt with replies/solutions/ideas. I couldn't have asked for more!

From the planning/rental process to check out from the apartment, all went smoothly. Actually better than "smoothly" - Parker Villas - and Margie (Margaret?) went far beyond the usual rental process - making sure that we understood what we were getting into with suggestions about trains, an excellent price on a rental car with instructions to get to the rental agencies, itinerary suggestions. She was patient, informative, easy to talk to - and made sure that our plans were going to insure a great vacation. Our experience with Parker Villas could not have gone smoother and I have already recommended them to friends.

This villa was tucked away outside of a small town. The grounds were beautiful and the villa apartment was rustic and lovely as we had hoped for. The on site staff was fantastic and the wine tasting dinner was fabulous!! Great way to make new friends! We would definitely return to this villa!

November, 2015 This was our fifth time to use Parker Villas and once again, we were not disappointed! Our agent, Roberta Lerman took great care of all our arrangements and was wonderful in responding to emails and calls. Our week at Cottage Vicuña, outside Rome, was marvelous! The property was charming, and comfortable. The countryside was even more beautiful than described and the owner, Sergio, took us to town to see where all to shop, eat, and park. He even took us to the train station and told us how to get to Rome the best way! We took advantage of his directions and made the trip into Rome a couple of times to see some places we had missed on previous trips. It is easy to make the connections, and make use of the train and Metro to get around, and then home to the Villa. We toured Tivoli one day, and made the trip to Spoleto. Both were easy, wonderful outings. We took advantage of the glorious weather and view at the villa and spent a couple of days just enjoying the beautiful grounds. We were fortunate to be at the Villa the week of the olive harvest on the property, and got up close and personal views of the olive oil pressing! It was a truly memorable trip, and will be hard to surpass!

I am going to split this review into two sections. The first will address Parker Villas as a company and the second part the actual villa and area. When opting to head to a part of the world where we had never been before to an extent you have to go by just trusting your instincts. From the the first moment of communicating with Parker Villas we felt completely comfortable with the the particular agent we hooked up with. Roberta Lerman was friendly, knowledgeable about her "product" and really made us feel special. Her attention to detail re the booking, our requirements and hopes, was completely professional. During the times we were in contact with her directly on the phone or via email she delivered the highest levels of customer service. Once we were more or less decided on the property to use we never at any point felt under pressure to close out the arrangements. Of course Roberta later on passed over our booking to the payments department and we were handle by Michelle Bellamore. Again the level of service was excellent and off we went on our holiday (see review below). Upon our return we were contacted by Roberta to check that our experience was as we had hoped for and, to be fair, making certain that we were happy with the level of service provided by herself and Michelle. So cutting to the chase. Were we satisfied? Damn right we were! Would we both use again and recommend Parker Villas as a company? Most certainly we would! Thanks to both Roberta and Michelle for doing such a great job. They helped us achieve a wonderful relaxing holiday. Graeme & Gillian Scott Casa Galantino Aug 15th – Aug 29th 2015 Montefollonico, Tuscany This was our first visit to Tuscany and frankly we stabbed a bit in the dark as to where to base ourselves. To say that we landed on our feet with this property, which suited us perfectly in an area which was beautiful, is an understatement. Montefollonico is a very small sleepy walled hill-top village similar in size to where we live and so we felt right at home. The villagers were very friendly, especially in the local shop as we attempted to make ourselves understood with little knowledge of the language. Having driven down from Florence airport with no difficulties we were met by Mariella (the owner) who showed us around the 1300 year old former wine cellar. We had been aware at the time of booking that this flat was on several different levels and as we have no mobility problems the few steps required to negotiate between the open plan rooms caused no problems. Stone walls and flooring kept the flat cool and very pleasant from the heat of the sun which we had to ‘endure’ for the two weeks of our stay. As a couple we have simple needs so we made good use of the local shop for our supplies whilst treating ourselves to only three evening meals out, twice in La Botte Piena, really excellent, and once in La Chiusa: very expensive but beautiful food in very comfortable surroundings. We also enjoyed being welcomed most early evenings to the small café bar for a couple of Proseccos sitting outside in warm air listening to the banter of the villagers. I must also highly recommend the local wines as well. The village sits right in the heart of the wine and olive oil making region and the quality of both is quite superb. We had no intention of driving long journeys to seek out our excursions. With the exception of just under one hour to reach Sienna most of our destinations were within a forty minute circumference: Pienza, Montepulciano, Bagno Vignoni, Montalcino, San Quirico ‘Orcia, Abbey of Sant’ Antimo and Rocca D’orcia for example. There were so many small places to seek out and explore in stunning countryside. There is something magical and arresting about the area. I feel certain that is down to a combination of the physical rolling land mixed with the soil colours blending with the greens of the cypress trees, vineyards and olive groves and the light itself. Everywhere you turn is a photo opportunity. By our own choice Sienna was the only large place we visited. We were expecting to be crammed in with thousands of other tourists but, whilst it was busy, there was plenty of space and the only long queues were to be found in parts of the Duomo di Sienna. Okay, so as you can tell we were captivated by the area and the flat where we stayed. I don’t want to end the report on a down note because there really was none. However there are just two very small points about the flat itself. The internals were as described and viewed from the numerous website photographs and very comfortable. The kitchen had plenty of equipment but lacked knives with which to butter bread and a teapot would have been nice. The main change I would apply to the property to raise it up to five star review would be to have the garden area landscaped. The basic area of the small garden is fine, with comfortable garden furniture including a large table sun umbrella, the views spectacular but the ground was uneven, sparsely covered in patchy grass and in need of TLC. For a relatively small investment, nice paving stones covering the central area and reaching the wall for the view would transform the area into a haven of peace and relaxation. I know that we will most certainly return to Montefollonico again in the future and for sure I would select this property once more as our base. All of the comments above combined to provide us with a lovely quiet retreat from the hustle and bustle of modern life. Switch off your electronics for a while and relax in glorious surroundings, it’ll do you good we guarantee it. Graeme & Gillian Scott

Our total experience was excellent. Accomodations were great, our villa owner/host was delightful and most helpful. The Tuscan countryside and local residents were very friendly and helpfull. Thanks again to Parker Villas ; Staff and assocs. The Kellihers