Accommodations
Q: Where are the villa and townhouse located?
A: We are on the outskirts of the town of Torre de'Passeri. You can walk into the hills behind us or the town in front of us.
Q: What is the town like?
A: It is a mix of very old and new with several cafes, a couple restaurants, and shops, including a pharmacy, grocery store, hair stylists, a barber, and more. It is not a tourist town. It is very safe and the people are friendly and helpful.
Q: What are the bedrooms like?
A: The villa has three double rooms, a quad and a triple all with private bathrooms. The townhouse has two double rooms, one full bathroom and a half bathroom. We do not book groups that don't know each other into the townhouse because, really, nobody wants to share a bathroom with strangers.
Q: Are all the rooms the same?
A: No. They are all different but equally nice. The two biggest rooms in the villa are on the top floor, up two flights of stairs, and can be used for multiple singles. The room that has a private terrace is assigned to the first person who books a particular week.
Q: How many flights of stairs are there in the villa and townhouse?
A: There are two flights of stairs in the villa. One up to three bedrooms on the second floor and another up to the two big rooms on the third floor. Outside there is a flight of stairs down to the pool. The townhouse has two flights of stairs. If you cannot climb stairs, the villa will be a challenge.
Q: What are the beds like?
A: We have European queens (bigger than North American doubles but smaller than North American queens) and singles.
Q: Do the villa and townhouse have air conditioning?
A: The villa has air conditioners in each bedroom and the common rooms. The townhouse has central air conditioning..
Q: Are there televisions in the bedrooms?
A: No. The vast majority of our guests are English or French speaking and Italian television has very few stations in those languages. Most guests now travel with electronic devices and we have unlimited wifi. There is a television in the lounge with internet television that gets pretty much every channel you can think of.
Q: Do you have hairdryers, curlers and straighteners?
A: Yup. We also have shampoo, soap and basic toiletries.
Q: Can I get distilled water for my CPAP machine?
A: Yes. Not a problem. Just let us know and it will be your room when you arrive.
Q: Do I need to bring plug adapters for my electric and electronic devices?
A: Yes. They look like these.
Q: Do you have wifi?
A: We have free, unlimited wifi.
Meals
Q: What type of food is served at the villa?
A: We feature classic Abruzzese and Italian cuisine at dinner. For breakfast, we serve Italian or American coffee, pastries, fresh fruit, yogurt, and eggs any way you want them and more.
Q: What time are meals?
A: Breakfast is from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. except on Saturday’s when it is usually a little earlier in order to get guests to the airport in Rome for flights to North America. Dinner usually starts around 7:30 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Q: Can you accommodate special diets?
A: Yes. We have choices for vegetarians, vegans, and people with dietary intlolerances to gluten, lactose, and others. Just let us know before hand so we can make your stay as enjoyable as possible.
Q: Where do we eat?
A: Guests dine Italian style with each other at tables in our dining room, wine cellar or on the terrace when the weather is nice. During day trips, guests eat in local restaurants or at picnics if the weather is good.
Q: Do you offer premium wine?
A: Yes. The local table wine and national brand beer included in our package are excellent. But if you want to try some premium stuff, we have a wine cellar stocked with local, national and international reserve wines. Extra fees apply. Check out our upgraded wine package.
Q: Do you have other alcohol?
A: Yes. We have a decent selection of spirits.
Q: Is the tap water drinkable?
A: Yes.
Tours
Q: How do the tours work?
A: Our expert tour guides have developed a great set of tours that highlight the incredible beauty, culture and history of Abruzzo. Most guest leave it to our experts to put togther a great package of things to see and do. Our tours change with the seasons. For first timers, we generally run our Best of Abruzzo 1 tour. For returning clients, we generally run our Best of Abruzzo 2 tour. If you are a group of six or more, you can book a private tour intinerary selected from our Tour Options.
Q: Do we get a van and driver to ourselves?
A: If you are a group of six or more that has booked a private tour, yes. If not, we generally have two tour vans on the road each day on our Best of Abruzzo Tours. So you will be in a van with other guests.
Q: Can I pick the tours I go on?
A: Only if you have booked a private tour with six or more people? That said, we will be as flexible as possible to make sure you have the best tour experience we can offer. So when you book, let us know what kind of things you are interested in, and we will do our best make it happen.
Transportation
Q: Where can we be picked up and dropped off?
A: We will pick you up and drop you off almost anywhere in downtown Rome or the Rome airports (Fiumicino or Ciampino), or Termini or Tiburtina train stations in Rome. We also go to the downtown Pescara, and the Pescara airport and train station on the Adriatic Coast.
Q: How do the shuttles work?
A: Each Saturday morning, the shuttles leave Villa d’Abruzzo and drop off our guests in Rome or Pescara. Once the departing guests are dropped off, our drivers start picking up arriving guests.
Q: What time are the shuttles?
A: The shuttles depart the Villa in accordance with the needs of departing guests and their travel plans. This generally results in departure times from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. in order to make the two hour drive to the Rome airport for departing flights.
Q: What arrival and departure times should I book my flights for?
A: The best Rome airport arrival times for us are mid- to late morning - 9 a.m to noon. and the best departure times are early afternoon - 1 p.m.-ish is usually great.
That said, we can make almost any time work. The only time to avoid is an early morning departure as it is a two-hour and 15-minute drive from Villa d'Abruzzo to Fiumicino Airport without any traffic delays, and we add time for potential traffic problems. That means if you book a 9 a.m. flight, you will leave the villa at 4:30 a.m. to be at the airport at 7 a.m.
If you do get a great rate on an early morning flight, best to book a hotel in the town of Fiumicino for the Saturday where we can drop you off and then fly out on the Sunday.
Q: What about shuttles further away, say Florence or the Amalfi Coast?
A: We can pick you up almost anywhere in Italy, but there will be an extra fee. Ask us and we will give you a quote.
Q: What kind of vehicles do you have?
A: We have two nine-passenger Fiat Ducato vans, a five-passenger 2016 Doblo van, and a small 2015 Fiat Panda.
Weather
Q: What’s the weather like in Abruzzo?
A: The weather in Abruzzo is generally pretty sunny.
April is coolish with highs in the mid- to upper-teens and cool nights by the wood stove. There is rain, but usually not for days at a time.
May sees the temperatures rise to high-teens to mid-20s. There is some rain, but not much.
June starts to get pretty hot. Upper 20s and usually little to no rain.
July and August are hot. Low to mid-30s are normal with some days even hotter. (That’s why we have a pool and top-notch air conditioning.) There is generally no rain except for the odd thunderstorm.
September things start to cool down. Mid to upper 20s.
October gets cool returning to high- to mid-teens with more frequent rains and nights by the wood stove sipping rich red wine.
Services
Q: Do you have laundry service?
A: Yes. Pack light. For 15 Euro, we wash and fold a medium load.
Q: How often do you change the bedding in a week?
A: Once, mid week. However, if you require more, just let us know.
Q: What other services do you offer?
A: We can set you up with a hair dresser or barber, massage therapist, spa treatments, pharmacist, gym, bike rental, and more. Just ask and we will do our best to get you what you want.
Tipping
Q: Is it customary to tip the staff at Amazing Abruzzo Tours?
A: You are under no obligation to tip any of the staff, but most guests do and the staff appreciate it.
Q: How do I go about tipping the staff?
A: There are two ways of doing it. You can give the tip directly to the staff member, or you can give it to Jake or Lisa and they will split it up among the staff members.
Q: How much should I tip?
A: It's up to you, but the normal lump sum tip is about 150 euros per room, which gets split up among the staff members.
Booking and Cancellation
Q: How does the booking work?
A: We book on a first-come, first-served basis. We don’t reserve rooms for people while they think about it. The room is reserved when the deposit is made.
Q: Can I switch my booking from one week to another?
A: You can switch the booking more than 90 days from the trip. You cannot switch the booking within 90 days of the trip.
Q: What is your cancellation policy?
A: If you cancel your trip 90 days before your arrival date, we return 75% of your deposit. If you cancel your trip for any reason within 90 days of your arrival date, there is no refund. However, you can transfer your trip to somebody else. If you are worried about having to cancel your trip due to health reasons, we strongly urge you to purchase travel insurance, including trip cancellation insurance.
Miscellaneous
Q: Is the water drinkable?
A: Yes. The water in the taps in all of Italy is great. Italians still love the bottled water though.
Q: Do most shops and restaurants take credit or debit cards?
A: No. Big shops in the towns and cities generally do take plastic, but the smaller shops and restaurants, especially in small towns, may not. There are lots of ATMs to use in our town, so you don’t need to travel with a lot of cash.