artnbarb
1000+ Posts
This review is for the apartment we're staying in now, but there are several other apartments for rent, all approximately the same size.
Our apartment at Residenze l'Alberata is everything we hoped for, and more. There are 6 apartments in the building, but the 2 daughters of the owners lived in 2 of them, so only 4 are available for rent. The building is on a hill, and the apartments are accessed from the back side. The ground level apartments don't have steps if you park in the covered area, and of course the apartments above require climbing the outside staircase, which is quite wide. Worth noting: the restaurant, located on the third floor of the building, is open on Thurs/Fri/Sat night for dinner, and it's possible that if you return home while people are still in the restaurant you might have to park on the street level, and climb a set of outdoor stairs to the ground floor apartments.
Our contact person was the daughter, Elena, who speaks perfect English (in addition to German and Spanish, and of course, Italian). I told her all the things I was looking for, and she was able to provide everything except the washing machine. Our apartment has a covered terrace in front, overlooking a beautiful small garden, and the terrace continues around the side, where is can also be accessed from the bedroom. This part of the terrace gets a little more sun, so this is where I hang the clothes I wash in the sink. Because of the overhang and the foliage, even in August the apartment stayed cool. I had asked about a fan, and Elena happily provided a fan on a stand which was perfect for moving the air on the hottest of days.
The main living area is a living room dining room combo, with a sofa bed, table, chairs and a hutch. 6 chairs are in the apartment, and the table can be expanded to seat six. At our request Elena also provided a small table and a nice lamp to use beside the couch - I hate overhead lighting, and knew there would be many days/nights when we'd need the additional lighting. Knowing that we'd be staying for 3 months, Elena also brought in an additional (small) refrigerator. It's been nice to have this extra fridge, especially when it was hot, because the extra fridge has a much better freezer than the undercounter one in the kitchen, and I do love to have ice for my water.
The kitchen is small, just a corner, with very little work space. Previously there had been a microwave in the corner, but Elena switched it out for an electric oven which has been much more useful. There's an electric kettle for hot water for tea or coffee, and so far we haven't missed the microwave a bit. The kitchen was nicely stocked, but I did request a few extra items, like sharp knives (they own a gastronomia, which is downstairs, so I was pretty sure between that and the restaurant I wouldn't need to being my own sharp knife). They also supplied me with aprons, a cheese grater and a few extra bowls. The cooktop is 4 burner but all electric, which isn't my preference, but is functional. We brought some plastic containers for food storage, and a salad spinner which we'll leave in the apartment.
The bathroom is large, with a nicely-sized shower, a bidet, toilet, and over-sized sink. Because it's a corner unit the bathroom has a nice size window.
The bedroom is large, with a large double bed, one single bed, and armoire and a small dressing table. There are bedside tables with lamps as well as overhead lighting, and also a door leading to the side terrace. A clothes rack and clothes pins are provided, as well as an ironing board and iron.
One of my requests was for an apartment with a washing machine, but that wasn't possible here. It really hasn't been a problem for us at all, for two reasons: #1, There is weekly maid service. The apartment is cleaned, the bed is changed, and all linens, kitchen, bath and bed, are laundered by the owner. Because of this all we have to wash are our own clothes, and many things I can wash out in the sink and dry on the rack, which leads me to reason #2, there is a laundromat just down the street. We try to go around one o'clock, lunchtime, and so far it's worked out well. There are 'regular' sized washers costing €4 (up to 7 kg) and larger machines for €7 (up to 13 kg). The washers take about 45 minutes and automatically add the soap and fabric softener. If you have sensitive skin or don't like fragrances, this might not work for you. The dryers cost €1 for 9 minutes, and we've found that 18 minutes works well for a regular sized load, but a lot of our shirts are quick-dry material.
Before booking this apartment my one concern was the internet. Elena offered to hook up a router in the apartment, and we've had no problem streaming video from the states (Using a VPN). The apartment also has a small monitor with Italian TV, and some channels are even available in English, but those have been reruns of American TV shows like CSI, so we usually just watch on our laptops.
The gastronomia (deli) downstairs usually has prepared food in addition to meats and cheeses. They also have a nice selection of grocery items, as well as fresh fruit and veggies, depending on the season. To be honest I've cooked much less this year, not because of the smaller kitchen, but because the gastronomia is just so convenient and so delicious. Antonio and Floriano (Elena's uncle and father) run the gastronomia, and Antonio even speak some English. Silvana, Elena's mother, is the cook, and she's always happy to offer advice or share a taste of what she's making.
We've eaten at the restaurant twice, and both times it was incredible. Again, it's only open on Thurs/Fri/Sat for dinner.
For us, the location is perfect. No, it's not on a quiet estate. There's no pool, and not much of a view, but for us, the location, just off the E45, just south of Deruta and east of Marsciano is in the center of our personal concentric circle in Umbria, near everything and everyone we want to be close to.
For our 3 months, we paid an incredible €450/month, plus utilities. Because we didn't arrive until Aug 13, but paid for the entire month, we weren't charged for any utilities in August. Heating and air conditioning is charged at the rate of €1/hour, and the one night we used the AC the total charge was €4. Those costs are easy to keep track of since the meter is right in the apartment. For the general electric and water, Floriano reads the meter at the end of each month, and for September the charges were €110.
We love this apartment, this location, and most of all this family. We've already booked it again for next summer.
Our apartment at Residenze l'Alberata is everything we hoped for, and more. There are 6 apartments in the building, but the 2 daughters of the owners lived in 2 of them, so only 4 are available for rent. The building is on a hill, and the apartments are accessed from the back side. The ground level apartments don't have steps if you park in the covered area, and of course the apartments above require climbing the outside staircase, which is quite wide. Worth noting: the restaurant, located on the third floor of the building, is open on Thurs/Fri/Sat night for dinner, and it's possible that if you return home while people are still in the restaurant you might have to park on the street level, and climb a set of outdoor stairs to the ground floor apartments.
Our contact person was the daughter, Elena, who speaks perfect English (in addition to German and Spanish, and of course, Italian). I told her all the things I was looking for, and she was able to provide everything except the washing machine. Our apartment has a covered terrace in front, overlooking a beautiful small garden, and the terrace continues around the side, where is can also be accessed from the bedroom. This part of the terrace gets a little more sun, so this is where I hang the clothes I wash in the sink. Because of the overhang and the foliage, even in August the apartment stayed cool. I had asked about a fan, and Elena happily provided a fan on a stand which was perfect for moving the air on the hottest of days.
The main living area is a living room dining room combo, with a sofa bed, table, chairs and a hutch. 6 chairs are in the apartment, and the table can be expanded to seat six. At our request Elena also provided a small table and a nice lamp to use beside the couch - I hate overhead lighting, and knew there would be many days/nights when we'd need the additional lighting. Knowing that we'd be staying for 3 months, Elena also brought in an additional (small) refrigerator. It's been nice to have this extra fridge, especially when it was hot, because the extra fridge has a much better freezer than the undercounter one in the kitchen, and I do love to have ice for my water.
The kitchen is small, just a corner, with very little work space. Previously there had been a microwave in the corner, but Elena switched it out for an electric oven which has been much more useful. There's an electric kettle for hot water for tea or coffee, and so far we haven't missed the microwave a bit. The kitchen was nicely stocked, but I did request a few extra items, like sharp knives (they own a gastronomia, which is downstairs, so I was pretty sure between that and the restaurant I wouldn't need to being my own sharp knife). They also supplied me with aprons, a cheese grater and a few extra bowls. The cooktop is 4 burner but all electric, which isn't my preference, but is functional. We brought some plastic containers for food storage, and a salad spinner which we'll leave in the apartment.
The bathroom is large, with a nicely-sized shower, a bidet, toilet, and over-sized sink. Because it's a corner unit the bathroom has a nice size window.
The bedroom is large, with a large double bed, one single bed, and armoire and a small dressing table. There are bedside tables with lamps as well as overhead lighting, and also a door leading to the side terrace. A clothes rack and clothes pins are provided, as well as an ironing board and iron.
One of my requests was for an apartment with a washing machine, but that wasn't possible here. It really hasn't been a problem for us at all, for two reasons: #1, There is weekly maid service. The apartment is cleaned, the bed is changed, and all linens, kitchen, bath and bed, are laundered by the owner. Because of this all we have to wash are our own clothes, and many things I can wash out in the sink and dry on the rack, which leads me to reason #2, there is a laundromat just down the street. We try to go around one o'clock, lunchtime, and so far it's worked out well. There are 'regular' sized washers costing €4 (up to 7 kg) and larger machines for €7 (up to 13 kg). The washers take about 45 minutes and automatically add the soap and fabric softener. If you have sensitive skin or don't like fragrances, this might not work for you. The dryers cost €1 for 9 minutes, and we've found that 18 minutes works well for a regular sized load, but a lot of our shirts are quick-dry material.
Before booking this apartment my one concern was the internet. Elena offered to hook up a router in the apartment, and we've had no problem streaming video from the states (Using a VPN). The apartment also has a small monitor with Italian TV, and some channels are even available in English, but those have been reruns of American TV shows like CSI, so we usually just watch on our laptops.
The gastronomia (deli) downstairs usually has prepared food in addition to meats and cheeses. They also have a nice selection of grocery items, as well as fresh fruit and veggies, depending on the season. To be honest I've cooked much less this year, not because of the smaller kitchen, but because the gastronomia is just so convenient and so delicious. Antonio and Floriano (Elena's uncle and father) run the gastronomia, and Antonio even speak some English. Silvana, Elena's mother, is the cook, and she's always happy to offer advice or share a taste of what she's making.
We've eaten at the restaurant twice, and both times it was incredible. Again, it's only open on Thurs/Fri/Sat for dinner.
For us, the location is perfect. No, it's not on a quiet estate. There's no pool, and not much of a view, but for us, the location, just off the E45, just south of Deruta and east of Marsciano is in the center of our personal concentric circle in Umbria, near everything and everyone we want to be close to.
For our 3 months, we paid an incredible €450/month, plus utilities. Because we didn't arrive until Aug 13, but paid for the entire month, we weren't charged for any utilities in August. Heating and air conditioning is charged at the rate of €1/hour, and the one night we used the AC the total charge was €4. Those costs are easy to keep track of since the meter is right in the apartment. For the general electric and water, Floriano reads the meter at the end of each month, and for September the charges were €110.
We love this apartment, this location, and most of all this family. We've already booked it again for next summer.
