General Information - Tuscany DESCRIPTIONS All houses are carefully selected and described as accurately as possible. We prefer to provide as much information as possible rather than not enough. In order to please the many nationalities with which we work, our descriptions utilize terms that are accepted and used by most tour operators. If something is not clear, please ask us for further information. Bathrooms are described as complete when they contain a WC, washbasin, bidet and either a bathtub or a shower. Anything which is not described is not available. Please ote that house rental is not like hotel rental: houses are self-catering units and do not offer hotel services. BEDS AND LINEN All bedroom and bathroom linen is provided weekly. Although the swimmingpool areas are furnished with chairs and tables, owners get upset when they see guests using blankets from the beds to lay on in the sun. Beach towels are not provided. Beds will not be modified after your arrival. FURNISHINGS The houses are all completely furníshed and equipped. Toliet paper and soaps are not provided. Kitchens have gas, electric or mixed gas/electric ranges, refrigerators, and usually ovens. You are not allowed to move furniture around in the houses, nor to remove furniture from inside and place it outside. HEATING The type of heating available is described for each house. According to the house measuring system, it is either payable on consumption or at a fixed weekly rate. Ask the keyholder on arrival what system is applied. Heating will be paid always directly to the keyholder along with fireplace wood. Italian law states that a house must not be heated for more than 12 hours per day and only from mid October to mid April. Please be careful in using house heating because it can present you with an unpleasantly expensive surprise at the end of your holiday - Italy produces wonderful wines and olive oils but no combustible fuels, which are all imported and, therefore, very expensive. When heating is used, total gas or diesel consumption will be charged in all houses. SWIMMING POOLS All pools are guaranteed open from the 1st of June to the 30th of September. The owners or the caretakers have access to the pools for maintenance. Beach towels are not provided. MAID SERVICE / COOKS Several houses have access to local maids. They usually charge € 12 per hour. Please let us know if you are planning to have a maid. We will pass the information on to the owner or keyholder and you may arrange hours and days on arrival. In many houses, maid service is provided automatically and, in these cases, the houses cannot be rented without the maids. Several houses have their own cooks and if you want their services, please let us know in advance. GARDENS In order to maintain the gardens in good condition, the owners or the caretakers have access to them. DOMESTIC ANIMALS Pets are allowed in some houses under your complete responsibility for any damages, bites or scratches that occur. You may be asked for an additional damages deposit to cover your pet. WATER All houses have potable water. Please try to use it sparingly during the summer months because Tuscany sometimes runs dry. You are not allowed to wash automobiles or to fill children's playpools unless authorized by the owners. ELECTRICITY Some of the houses have a limited electric capacity of 1.5 Kilowatts. This means that you must be careful in using more than one appliance at a time because you will trip the circuit breaker that will shut the electric system off. This can be aggravating when you have to look for the electric control panel in the dark. Electricity is all 220 volts. TELEPHONES Many houses have telephones for guest use. You may be asked for an additional telephone deposit. Most houses have telephone meters and you will be charged at a fixed rate per unit. Some houses are not provided with meters. In this case you will be asked to leave a deposit that will be returned to you following a reading by the telephone company of units used. Italy has an excellent cellular phone network, so if you own a cellular phone you should have no problems using it. Italy uses primarily impulse dialing rather than digital, so make sure you modify your portable computer software if you plan to access your email and the internet from Italy. BABY COTS Cots are provided free of charge in those houses where the description states that a cot is available. Some houses do not provide baby cots. Please note that only the cots are provided. You must bring your own cot linen. If you need a baby cot, please let us know so that we may notify the owner. REGISTRATION / DAMAGES DEPOSIT / FINAL CLEANING On arrival, please give the keyholder your passports or I.D. Cards. Italian law requires registration of guests within 24 hours of arrival. On arrival you will be requested to pay a security deposit of € 260 (There are a few properties where the security deposit is more than € 260. The required security deposit for each property is indicated in the price sheet.) Most keyholders will also accept foreign currency. Personal checks and credit cards will not be accepted. At the end of your holiday, your security deposit will be returned to you less costs of any damages that occurred. Clients will find the houses clean and tidy on arrival and should leave them in the same condition on departure. Although final cleaning is included in the price this does not extend to leaving houses in a mess nor to leaving sinks full of dirty dishes. Should this be the case, you will be charged for the extra cleaning expenses. You will also be charged € 5 per bag of garbage left at the house that must be removed and disposed of by the keyholder. INSURANCE We strongly advise you to buy holiday cancellation insurance. Most insurance companies offer this service in some form at a very contained cost and the small extra charge is worth not facing the aggravation of losing one's holiday budget because of illness or change of plans.
|