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 • Assistance and Special Services• Reservations and Payment • Planning your Trip • During your Stay • Living in the Village |
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| ASSISTANCE AND SPECIAL SERVICES Which languages are spoken? Isabella is pleased to speak with you in English, German, French, or Italian. Her husband, Carlo, speaks French and Italian. How will we find our apartment? In your confirmation notice, I will provide directions for you to reach Pienza. If you have a cell phone with you, call me to let me know when you arrive. If you do not have a phone, you may use one in the coffee bar next to Piazza Dante Alighieri. I will come and escort you to the village of Castelmuzio, and help you quickly become acclimated to your new home. We will be tired when we arrive. Is it possible to have some grocery items purchased and stocked in the apartment upon arrival? As part of the rental rate, you will find a full breakfast basket with milk, coffee, jam, sugar, tea, fruit juice, pastries, and breakfast biscotti upon your arrival. As an extra service, for €7,00 per person, we will shop the morning of your arrival date and stock you pantry and refrigerator with fresh bread, a portion of pecorino cheese, mineral water, pasta, and pesto sauce. Special requests can be made in advance for specific items. I will be celebrating a special occasion (anniversary, honeymoon, birthday, etc.) while staying at Le Casine di Castello. Can you help me celebrate by providing flowers or a gift basket? Nothing pleases me more than to help my guests celebrate a special event in their lives! I would be delighted to work with you to make your special day as beautiful, fun, and/or creative as you would like. Just contact me! Is Le Casine di Castello a B&B, and will breakfast be available each day? Le Casine di Castello is not a B&B however you will find a complimentary breakfast basket in your apartment upon arrival which will include items for your first breakfast. Are any staples provided? Yes! You will find ground coffee, salt, pepper, dried seasonings, olive oil, sugar, and balsamic vinegar for your use in the kitchen. If you run out of these items, please let me know and I will bring more. Are linens and towels provided? Are extras available? Yes, linens and towels for both kitchen and bathroom are provided. Upon request you may have additional ones. Is it possible to get extra cleaning on request? The rental rate includes the final cleaning at the end of your stay. You may request extra cleanings which will be provided for a fee. Is it possible to have a private cook on request? Yes, there are local women who will be happy to provide you with cooking services. They will provide the ingredients, prepare the meal, and clean up after the meal. The fee will vary depending on the number of people served and the menu selected. Will the apartment have a telephone? I will be happy to provide you with a cell phone to use while you are here. All you will need to do is purchase minutes for outgoing calls. This can be done very simply at the bookstore in Pienza. The apartment does not have a land line. Is TV available? Your apartment has a TV to watch local stations in Italian; there is no satellite TV. The apartment also includes a CD player and a radio. Is parking available? When you arrive, you may park directly in front of the apartment to unload your car. Afterwards you will park in a space only 30 meters away for the rest of your stay free of charge. Are pets allowed? We accept small, well behaved, house-trained animals. Please use a leash whenever they are with you in the village, and pick-up and dispose of their waste in trash receptacles. Is smoking allowed? Smoking is allowed only outside in the garden and terrace areas. The majority of our guests do not smoke, and some are very allergic to smoke. Therefore, we ask that the apartments remain totally free of all cigarette, cigar, and pipe smoke. Grazie! How does the heating and air conditioning work? Most of the time you will find the apartment very comfortable without the use of heating or air conditioning. If the weather makes heating or air conditioning a necessity, you will be charged only for time you use it. Utility costs in Italy are extremely expensive, and for this reason, it is necessary for us to charge for these services. Is it possible to take part in the activities if I’m not staying for a full week? Yes, it is possible however the activities will require additional fees. Is it possible to take part in the activities if I’m not staying at "Le Casine di Castello"? Only our guests are able to take part in our activities. We want our guests to enjoy our special activities in a small group and with people they have come to know during their stay. We find this creates a warm, friendly climate full of relaxation and fun. RESERVATIONS AND PAYMENT How far in advance should I make a reservation? The answer to this question is one of basic economics–when demand is high you must make reservations farther in advance. The months that are most in demand are late April, May, June, September, and October. For these times, I highly recommend that you begin to make reservations 10-12 months in advance to be certain you obtain the apartment you want for the week you want. Is it possible to book an apartment for a stay shorter than one week? Due to our weekly activities program (which begin in early April and run through early-November) we offer our apartments on a weekly basis (from Saturday to Saturday). Our special activities are included only in weekly stay rates. However, please contact me to see if I am able to meet your lodging needs whenever you are planning to come to Tuscany and I will do everything possible to assist you. In off-peak times (November – March) the minimum stay is 2 nights. Many vacation rentals require a deposit paid ahead of time. Do you require a deposit? No, a deposit is not required. However, I will need your credit card details and your acceptance of the cancellation policy as a guarantee. Your credit card will never be charged if you complete your stay or if you cancel prior to 20 weeks before your reservation date. Is it possible to pay for my stay with credit card so I can get travel points? Unfortunately, I do not have any relationship with any airlines or credit cards that would allow you to obtain "points" for your stay. We kindly require payment at the end of your stay in cash (Euros) only. In the United States travelers checks are treated same as cash. May I use travelers’ checks to pay? It is not the same in Italy. Payment must be in cash as mentioned before. We do not feel comfortable carrying around so much cash until the end of our stay. How do you recommend we handle our payment? The very best way to obtain cash with the smallest bank fees is with a debit card that accesses your checking account. Use this card in any ATM in almost every city and town. There is a daily upper limit as to how much money you can withdraw per account—usually Euro 250,00-300,00. You will find an ATM only a few kilometers away in Petroio (3 km) or Pienza (8km). Castelmuzio is too small to have one of its own. To maximize your ability to obtain cash, as well as providing yourself with a backup plan, have every adult in your party come to Italy with a separate checking account and debit card. In this way, if you are a couple traveling together, you may obtain Euro 500,00-600,00 each day. This allows you to obtain your lodging payment in just several days. You may pay for your lodging at any time during your stay. We have a safe where we will keep your money if you desire. How much is the maximum ATM cash withdrawal per day per account? Usually Euro 250,00-300,00. This will vary from machine to machine. Also it will depend on the limits set by your bank. PLEASE NOTE: It is extremely important for you to notify your bank and your credit card company that you are traveling to Italy. If you do not, they often will close down your account when it is first used in Italy because they suspect someone is using your card in a fraudulent manner. What extra costs will I have connected with my stay at Le Casine di Castello? Our offer and confirmation will include all costs. You will not be surprised with any others. The basic rental price will include at least four activities that we will make available to you from April to mid-November. Heating and air conditioning will be charged on actual use and only at the rate we must pay. While you are here, we will tell you about and arrange for other activities that you may wish to participate in, such as wine tastings, special dinners in the local vicinity, massage therapy, Italian language classes, etc. These are not part of the rental rate, but will have a very reasonable fee, and are totally optional. Will the price be in USD or in Euros? All of our prices are in Euros. PLANNING YOUR TRIP How close are the various airports and train stations from Castelmuzio? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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I would prefer to use public transportation. Is it necessary to have a car? You will definitely need a car to stay in our area, otherwise it will be impossible for you to explore the towns and villages and the beautiful countryside around here. There is only one bus with a limited circuit, and the nearest railway station is a 45 minute drive! Where are the nearest car rental agencies, and what rental company should I use? The car rental business is extremely competitive, much like the airlines. What is the best/cheapest today may not be the best/cheapest tomorrow. I offer you a strategy more than a name. Obtain bids from as many companies as you want. Our guests frequently use AutoEurope, Europcar, Thrifty, NOVA, and many others. Even after you have made your reservations, keep checking on rates from all the companies—you may find a rental special or rate drop has occurred since you made your reservation. Be certain you are comparing apples with apples as you compare the rates you obtain. Often you will find a company’s bid does not include all the costs and will seem much lower, but in the end it really is not. Be certain to include in your request additional drivers, a car return in a city other than the one where you picked up the car, GPS unit, etc. With AutoEurope they will beat any rate you find. Here is the website to submit a bid. We will be arriving by train into Chiusi in the afternoon, and the car rental agency is closed in the afternoon? What do I do? If your travel plans will not allow you to get to Chiusi before the car rental agencies close, you can do one of several things. 1. Check to see if the agencies in a larger city, such as Arrezzo or Florence, stay open later. 2. Pick-up the car at the airport and drive from there directly to Pienza where I will meet you. 3. Rent your car from an Italian car rental company such as CAROTI. Contact them to negotiate a rate, and if you are successful in obtaining a rate that you like, ask them meet you with the car at the railway station at your arrival time. They are usually able to do this until 7:30 p.m. on Saturday and even on Sunday as well. You must ask them where you can drop-off the car. Because CAROTI is a local company, there will be limits as to the locations where you can return the car. This may mean that you must take the train to Rome rather than drop the car off there. Rent a Car Caroti Is it possible to reach Castelmuzio by bus or train? It is really very difficult to reach Castelmuzio by bus. It is not served at all by the railway. Is it possible to explore the area just by mountain bike? Yes, this is possible if you are a strong bicyclist and are used to using your bicycle as your primary mode of transportation. Where is the nearest bike rental? You may rent professional mountain bikes (hybrids) from Mauro at Orso on Bike. Bike Montalciano. You may rent them through me at a cost of Euro 15,00 per day (includes insurance, assistance and a helmet). You also may take a guided mountain bike tours with Mauro, an excellent local guide, who knows the area very well. He takes wonderful dirt roads and regular road tours in all the Val d'Orcia. A three-hour tour with Mauro has a cost of Euro 30,00 per person and that includes the bike rental! What are the temperatures in…? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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What will the weather be like? As you can see from the temperatures above, the weather is usually moderate year-round. Some evenings may be cool and breezy, so you may want to bring a sweater or windbreaker. Summer clothing such as shorts, t-shirts, casual pants and dresses are fine for the summer months and are appropriate almost everywhere. A cap or hat is also a good idea to protect your face from the sun. I recommend that you bring clothes that you can layer so you can adjust for your comfort throughout the day or from day-to-day. DURING YOUR STAY What are your check-in/check-out times? Upon arrival, please meet me in Pienza at Piazza Dante Alighieri no sooner than 3:30 pm. If you are familiar with the area and wish to meet me in Castelmuzio, please call or email me ahead of time and we will make specific arrangements that will fit easily within our schedules! Please call me if you require an earlier or much later check-in, and I will do everything possible to make things convenient for you. Check-out time is 10:00 am. Will my hair dryer and other appliances work in your apartment? Yes, they will work but you must have both a converter and an adapter to make them work. The converter is necessary to keep your appliance’s motor from burning out, and the adaptor is needed to fit the plug into our European-style, two-prong outlets. These items are not provided in the apartment, and it is a good idea for you to have them with you, especially if you are staying in several places during your vacation. Feel free to leave your hair dryer at home, however, because you will find one in your apartment. I really love to open the windows to let the breeze and sunshine in, but I do not like flying insects and mosquitoes. Will our apartments be equipped with window screens? If you have been to Italy before, you probably know that it is unusual to find window screens–but you may rest easy at Le Casine di Castello, because our windows are equipped with window screens. Throw open the windows and enjoy!!! We are coming to visit in the summer and I hear that the area can be quite hot. Are your apartments air conditioned? Il Cielo is air conditioned. Because the utility costs in Italy are so very expensive, we recommend that you use it sparingly but certainly when you need it to be comfortable. When you are gone during the day, be sure to close the windows including the shutters to keep the sun out of the apartment. It will make a tremendous difference in the inside temperature. Il Nido does not need air conditioning because of its location under Il Cielo and its thick stones that provide a natural barrier to the heat. Instead, we have provided Il Nido with a dehumidifier to keep the air cool, dry, and comfortable. LIVING IN THE VILLAGE Must I be able to speak Italian in order to live in Castelmuzio? I am afraid I will feel very isolated. Do not be afraid! And believe me when I tell you that striking up a conversation with a local resident, using your hands and body, and flipping through your English/Italian dictionary will be one of the most enjoyable experiences of your trip. The people in Castelmuzio realize that Italian is not spoken very much in other countries, and they do not expect our guests to be fluent. Learn a few phrases (such as those found here) and use them! The good people of Castelmuzio will really appreciate your effort. Is there a supermarket in town? Castelmuzio has its own Coop grocery store that you can walk to from your apartment! It is very handy. However, hours of operation are very different in Italy compared to most countries. It is open from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm and then again from 5:00-7:30 pm, and closed on Sundays. Is it possible to shop on Sundays? The Coop grocery stores are always closed on Sunday. You will find other little shops that are open in Pienza, San Quirico d'Orcia, Montepulciano and Montalcino, but not in the very small villages like Castelmuzio. Are there restaurants and cafés in town? Yes, Castelmuzio has two very good restaurants within the village and/or easy walking distance. See the section "Things to Do, See, Taste, and Buy" for details. Is there a bus stop in town? Yes, there is a bus line from Sinalunga, Trequanda, Castelmuzio, Montefollonico, and Montepulciano. The bus stop is just across the road from Le Casine. Where is the closest Tourist Information Office? There are two that are very close—in Pienza and Trequanda. Is there a doctor, a dentist, a pediatrician? All of these are available in Pienza. I will be glad to provide telephone numbers and to call the doctors for you if you need one. Where is the nearest hospital? One of the very best hospitals in Tuscany is in Montepulciano! Where is the nearest pharmacy? There are pharmacies in both Trequanda and Pienza Where is the nearest bank and ATM? The nearest bank is in Petroio just 3 km away. It also has an ATM that is available 24 hours a day. Is there a post office in Castelmuzio? Yes. Its hours of operation are 11.00 to 12.30. It is closed on Saturdays and Sundays. Is there an Internet point in town? There is no Internet point in Castelmuzio, but upon request you may use my computer and email service at my home from 10:00 am – 12:30 pm. There will be a new Internet point available in Pienza starting summer 2008. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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