Feedback (or extracts) from people who have rented La Dogana recently
"We loved our week at La Dogana. It is so rare to find a holiday house that is so well equipped - everything that you need in the kitchen, comfy beds, bath towels AND pool towels, enough fans for every bedroom, DVD's for the children, loads of books and really helpful info on the surrounding area that was invaluable! Thank you so much for thinking of everything! We will be back!"
Charles and Ali ( and Lara, Tom, Lily and Lexie!), Kent, September 2011
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"We had a wonderful week, all perfect, thank you. We thought the cutting of the trees to expose the view from the table worked really well, new pool lining v. smart and fly screens great.Jim and Carrie looked after us very well. We all enjoyed the house and the garden hugely and we loved reading your 'diary' and the descriptions of your life there."
Mrs. R, Chippenham , August 2011 (also came in 2010)
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"We rarely go back to the same place twice, but last year La Dogana was such a success that this year we took it for a hugely enjoyable 2 weeks, much enhanced by the addition of a part time cook. Particularly recommended is local cook Narayana, who we hired with some reservation as she does not cook meat or even fish. By the end of the first evening, everyone was in love with this beautiful Prof. of Archaeology who produced superb food, including the best goat cheese you will ever eat, courtesy of her 10 goats. We also ate at the restaurant in the square in Monterchi which was very good indeed. In order to cope with all this eating, we walked for miles from the house and discovered a wealth of wild flowers and butterflies. The second week was very hot, so exercise gave way to expeditions to the numerous hill top villages devoid of tourists and full of charm. The more ardent culture vultures were well satisfied with the Madonna del Parto all to themselves just down the road, and Sansepolcro, which again, is virtually empty compared to the tourist centres in nearby Tuscany."
Owner's note 29.8.2011 " .. and they've already booked in for 2012."
Mrs. N, Oxfordshire, July 2011
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"... had a simply wonderful time in your beautiful house - we loved the peace and quiet, the gorgeous views, the house very comfortable, well equipped and a positive delight to be in... the house book very useful and the Stewardsons very helpful - not that there were any problems. The pool was a big hit, the fridge there adding to the 'feelgood' factor and we much preferred the slight saltiness to the usual chlorine smell and sting. ... so many different places to eat and drink - we tried them all! Total enthusiasm from the lads too - not a squeak about a lack of nightlife! Boules a big hit for us all." Mrs. A, London August 2010 |
****** "In our experience there are many houses to rent in Italy with pretty gardens, nice pools, beautiful views, interesting birds, from which one can go for wonderful walks and see great culture etc., etc., but for us, La Dogana has the edge because it is primarily a home with all these attributes. So, if you value the added comforts of: - a lived in atmosphere - furnishing of good taste with no compromise - a superbly equipped kitchen - a decent library with a large selection of guide books - a wide ranging CD collection - countless games - an owner who asks you only to come clean on the major breakages - an owner who through copious notes , directions and suggestions, makes decision making easy |
- Then La Dogana is the house for you."
Mrs. N, Oxfordshire, June 2010
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| "Our thanks once again for allowing us a brief share in lovely La Dogana (and of course for the lovely wine). We felt we were coming home....all as perfect as we remembered it, and we have really come to love the area. My husband has to stop me from dreaming every time I see a 'Vendesi' sign on some crumbling old house! Both families are agreed we want to come again - but that maybe we ought to leave it a year or two so we don't become too blase and end up losing our appreciation of how special it is. That may sound utterly perverse self-denial!" Owner's note: "It certainly does!" Mrs. L, Oxford, July 2010 (also came 2009) ******* | ****** |
"We had a wonderful, if short, week at La Dogana. Your home is lovely and so inviting. We enjoyed looking at Jocelyn's water colors. Also, being able to see the before/after photos of when you first purchased the property. You have done an amazing job!
Antonio gave us a brilliant cooking lesson - we prepared our own dinner.What a treat this visit has been.
One of our children began collecting real estate advertisements in Tuscany and Umbria. I think this trip may have started something? Maybe not for my husband or me but for them. Who knows!"
Mrs. S, Texas, July 2010
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"This was our third holiday in La Dogana but certainly not our last. At the heart of the experience of La Dogana is the perfect balance between the house itself and its location. The house is not just comfortable but full of character. It is sprinkled with many quiet nooks and crannies in which to read or snooze, sheltered from the Umbrian sun, but at the same time offers many options for more active guests including a superb pool and table-tennis room ...... But the attraction is not just the property itself but also its location.
La Dogana's situation is secluded and peaceful. It commands superb views across the valley,best of all having pre-dinner drinks on the upper terrace as the sun set on the very same Umbrian landscape which inspired artists many centuries ago.
The nearest town, Lerchi, offers reasonable shopping - not to mention excellent ice cream ....... the nearest large town, Citta di Castello, is elegant, unpretentious, interesting and well provided for in shops and restaurants ......... In short the achingly pleasant dilemma is that La Dogana is so attractive that one would like never to stir from it and yet the surrounding area is so full of attractions that one would like never to stay at home.
It is in the daily resolution of that dilemma, different strokes for different folks, that the pleasure and excitement of La Dogana most resides.
Our four adult daughters and their significant others each enjoyed the holiday in their own chosen way and would wholeheartedly add their "Amen" to this small hymn of praise. The line from Shakespeare's sonnet captures something of our experience: "When I consider everything that grows, holds in perfection but a little moment...."
Mrs. McD, Dublin, August 2009
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"We've been staying in Italy every year for the last 10 years, and I can honestly say this is the loveliest house we have ever visited. La Dogana has it all - stunning views, a beautiful pool and garden, lots of games on site, and a wealth of delightful mediaeval towns in easy striking distance. But above all it's not an impersonal holiday let, but rather the loved country home of its owners - comfortably furnished and prettily decorated, lined with books and paintings, with a fantastically well-equipped kitchen(even a kettle - an unheard-of luxury in Italy!).
A typical day for us: breakfast on the terrace with views across an unspoilt wooded valley to the ancient walled hilltown of MSM Tiberina - a morning pottering around Citta di Castello or Sansepolcro, followed by the inevitable Italian lunch - a lazy afternoon reading by the pool, while the children splash around, watch lizards, or thrash each other at table tennis - supper watching the shadows lengthen across the valley in the evening sun - and a highly competitive family bocce (bowls) tournament over a bottle of wine to round off the evening.
We stayed with another family, with a total of 4 adults and 6 boys ranging in age from 11 to 18 - with so much indoor and outdoor space and so many lovely places to sit and gaze at the view we never felt crowded.
It is an intensely peaceful place, the sound of birdsong and bees buzzing in the lavender all you can hear most of the day. We saw hares in the fields nearby, and rescued a large hedgehog who had clambered into the pool overnight and was looking very sorry for himself on the top step when we found him. Porcupines also visit the garden - we heard some strange scratchy swishy noises overnight, but we never saw one.
The local towns are not grand and busy like Florence or Siena, but they're nonetheless dripping with atmosphere, art and architecture ....... the famously inaccessible Urbino is well worth the longer drive across the mountains. The frescoes in the Oratorio di San Giovanni there were breath-taking.
Mark and Jocelyn, and their English-speaking agents in Italy (Jim and Carrie), have made this house a place you never want to leave. They have been attentive to our interests and needs, made suggestions of things we might enjoy, always responded quickly to queries, and made us feel for a brief while that this bit of paradise was ours too."
Mrs L, Oxford, July 2009
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"La Dogana left many happy memories and we are all talking about coming back. We were left wanting for nothing. We also used a local girl Narayana on three nights who came to cook for us, giving the Mums a holiday after kids tea.
We were lucky enough to be surrounded by an army of fireflies the first couple of nights. We all loved the house and the garden - I am sure a lot of love (and effort) has gone into it and it shows"
... the sheep were made in China!
MT, Clapham, July 2009
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"We had the most wonderful Easter at La Dogana. The house is lovely, extremely comfortable and very cosy sitting around the log fire.... visiting the surrounding villages is perfect... local restaurants are delightful.
After twenty years of renting villas in Italy, La Dogana is one of the loveliest and most memorable. We definitely hope to return."
AM, London, April 2008
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"We have stayed at la Dogana for two family holidays and will definitely go back again. It is the most wonderful place .... extremely comfortable whilst keeping all its original charm. It is very well looked after by a nice couple and always immaculately clean. It is in such a stunning setting with wonderful views and very private. The pool is lovely and there are plenty of other things for children .... A really, really special place, highly recommended."
Mrs G-W, Andover, 2008