We stayed at Villa Iris with 4 other couples, who were close friends, from 7-14 October 2017. This beautiful Villa is centrally located in Tuscany, near the medieval town of San Gimignano, and many other gorgeous Tuscany sights. We were impressed from the moment we saw this property online. You must reserve well in advance (2 years to 1.5 years) if you wish to have the week(s) you want. We were in frequent contact with Martina, who coordinated all of our requests (Private Chef dinner, Cooking Class, arrival, etc). We were met by Gabriele, Lucia and Christina (translator) upon our arrival at the Villa. They allowed an early arrival, for my wife and I, so we could drop off our luggage and pick up another couple at the airport. They showed us each room and explained how to use the Sauna, appliances, TV, built-in BBQ pit, etc.
The property is absolutely stunning. The grass is well groomed, the flowers are beautiful, the pool water is clean, and the Villa inside is very spotless, spacious and beautiful. Each bedroom is very spacious and had a beautiful ensuite bathroom. An amazing buffet was provided for our group arrival in the evening.
Five of us enrolled in the Cooking Class with Lucia, Christina and Monica while the rest of us ate what they prepared. Everyone enjoyed it very much and the food they prepared was excellent, which was served with some great wines. The homemade pasta was so good, we're all going to attempt to make it when we get home. On one of the nights we had Lucia, Christina and Monica prepare dinner. The men in our group have been friends since we were 5 years old and the Private Chef dinner was for our 60th birthday party, complete with delicious Tuscan food and wine. Everything was fantastic! We had the seafood/fish dinner which was excellent. The calamari was the best we've ever had! We used the built-in BBQ on the nights we cooked for ourselves.
The pool area was our go to meeting area to sit and relax after a long day of sight seeing. The pool water was cold during our week in October, however, some of us Canadians were still bold enough to go in for a swim.
Gabriele, Lucia, Martina, Christina and their team are amazing hosts and made our vacation an exceptional 5-star experience. They were very accommodating and friendly during our entire stay.
The weather during our two weeks (7-21 Oct) in Tuscany was absolutely stunning. It was sunny everyday, no wind, and temperatures of 23C during the day to 10C at night.