My husband and I spent 3 wonderful weeks staying in Casa Colomba this August.
Our first impressions of the town and the apartment were equally favourable. As in: WOW!! The apartment is actually BETTER than it looks on the website. It is all SPOTLESSLY clean, and Marie & Lorenzo have thought of absolutely everything. And I mean EVERYTHING. Soap, detergent, spare towels; you name it. There are maps and guide books and a bookshelf of great holiday reads (in case you run out of books, like I did). They even put together a welcome pack of groceries (and prosecco!!) so that when we arrived after our long journey, we didn't have to think about shopping straight away.
Italy was experiencing a heat wave while we were there, but the apartment was high enough to catch the wind, which cooled everything down to a pleasant sleeping temperature...and there is an electric fan in each room anyway to help with circulation.
And did I mention how FRIENDLY everyone is? Marie & Lorenzo are definitely the most accommodating hosts we have ever met in all our years of travel. Apart from the exceptional pre-stay communication (all emails answered quickly, all concerns addressed), Marie went out of her way to make us comfortable. She booked restaurants for us, gave us the skinny on the best beaches to go to, and even took us all out one day for a tour of Vicopisano (she's a bit of a history buff). We finished it off with a visit to the local olive-oil maker, who thanks to Marie's introduction invited us all in to his house for a tasting of all the wonderful food (and oil) they produce on the farm. This was definitely the highlight of our whole trip!
The town itself is terrific. It's small, but the locals are SUPER friendly and welcoming. Actually I don't think there's a friendlier town in all of Italy. There were waves and smiles from the locals every day, the shopkeepers were all helpful... even the bus driver got off the bus to walk us over to a machine where we could buy cheaper bus tickets than he was selling.
We are 100% Vicopisano converts now. The location is perfect: half an hour from the beach, Lucca & Pisa. An hour and a half from Florence by public transport!! So easy. And if you can be there for the Medieval Festival like we were, then you will DEFINITELY take home memories to keep for a lifetime. So much fun!
Would we go back? Absolutely!!
Enjoy!