April 2023
Family, Friends, and Adventure
Nicoletta from Cultural Italy worked closely with me to plan a trip for 10 people that started on the Amalfi Coast and then proceeded to Como. The experience of working with Nicoletta was fabulous. She was responsive, flexible, and very knowledgeable in helping create a trip that everyone raved about. It was great that she also was able to pivot on a dime in finding us an alternative activity (a fun cooking class) when the weather interfered with our actual plans. Everyone we interacted with throughout our trip was helpful, kind, fun, and enthusiastic. I felt our tour guides were top-rated, our transfers were excellent and I am sure our group will be talking about this trip forever. Thanks, Cultural Italy for your hard work, great advice, and wonderful itinerary suggestions. Highly recommend this group!
Feel free to use any pictures that I sent you –
Ratings for the various people:
Barbara – 5 stars – she was so knowledgable
Giusi – 5 stars – very knowledgeable (loved that she took us up the funicular early and we beat all the crowds) – she also knows everyone in Como which we thought was great, really made us feel the culture. Very enthusiastic. I think she also arranged Pieter for the Lake tour and he did a wonderful job (and it was a cold and dreary day – he made sure we saw everything). Guisa is an excellent guide. We asked a lot of questions, she also made sure we got some lovely photo opportunities.
William – We would give him 10 stars if that was an option. I think it was by far the favorite activity for the group. He was so much fun, he taught us so much about cooking, and the family lemon farm is fascinating. Excellent choice for a cooking class.
Fattoria Terranova very enjoyable and again I would give them 5 stars – I guess we just loved everything. Beautiful location has very friendly staff and is just a fun activity making pizza.
Enzo and his team were extremely professional, did a nice job, were on time, and even though we did not make it to Ravello, he also was able to make us a lunch reservation in Amalfi that we all enjoyed, Also important to know that to get to the villa is a very narrow road, etc and they did a great job getting in and out with the vehicles.
Finally the Villa – It is excellent for a large group, and also for people who are traveling together but want some private space. The layout is interesting – the main floor had a bedroom/bathroom, then the lower floor (which you accessed by going outside and down some stairs) had a separate bedroom bathroom and then had a separate area with a kitchen, eating, living room, bedroom, and bathroom. This allowed for privacy and the villa itself was really soundproof. Also, it was accessible to the pool.
Finally, the upper level had two bedrooms and a shared bathroom. Almost all the rooms had a view.
The pool area was great and we used it quite a bit considering the weather. The pool was heated and I think we all went for a swim at some point. The view is spectacular. In warmer months this is a great spot if you don’t mind being away from the typical tourist stuff. My group liked to walk into town (about a mile maybe to Sant Agata) and we even took the bus to Sorrento and back one day (it was fairly easy). Allowed you to relax a bit more. We might have bought out most of the wine in the Torca mini marts (haha)
One thing that I knew, but forgot to tell others, was that wash clothes are not the same in Italy as in the US – I packed my own but with the villa only changing out bath towels once, some of my group was caught off guard – would be good to suggest people bring some type of washcloth – I always pack disposable ones.
Now to the services: First off we had a wonderful woman named Anna who came every morning and brought us croissants, made us espresso and coffee, brought in milk, cereal, etc as we needed it and we just reimbursed her. About the 3rd day she brought us a loaf of homemade bread – I mean really, how sweet it that – and it was delicious.
The two dinners that were prepared by Eduardo the Chef were spectacular and I would tell anyone who stayed there (or any of the other Feeling Italy properties) to do that. It was wonderful.
Finally, I worked primarily with Gianluca while staying there and he made sure that if we needed something we got it right away – as an example, I forgot the key to the villa one day and he was immediately there to meet us to let us in. His office was about 5-10 mins away. He also helped arrange some transportation and arranged to get us groceries from a list I sent in advance. Just a really high level of service.
I hope this all helps you! I am going to look for your social media presence and I think some of my group also was want to share how great their experience was.
Thank you for looking after us and arranging a wonderful itinerary.
Ciao!
