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Casa Glyn provides your own personal eagle’s nest away from any bussle to relax, recharge, read and contemplate the wonderful view of the mountains. Not much has changed here since Eric Newby wrote Love and War in the Appenines, Once recharged you can make trips down to the coast for culture, shopping, Chubbys (Cicchio) famous seafood shack and more. It’s rare to find somewhere so spacious for a couple or small family with a wonderfully equipped kitchen, huge living room and bedroom windows which open in the morning onto that mountain view with the sun rising. The local town Fivizzano provides fresh local produce, take away homemade ice cream and a sunny piazza for morning cappuccino. The local places to eat (as recommended by the owner) are quality home cooking food – nothing too complicated and no pressure to eat loads of courses. The local Nocino (walnut digestive) will dull all remaining senses of work, covid and anything else worrying you. Enjoy… but if you want to meet new people by the pool or your children need a disco try again!
Mr & Mrs Willes September 2021
“We had the pleasure of staying at Casa Glyn. A beautiful house that was restored a few years ago to a high standard. The house is hidden from view in the most idyllic setting in rural Tuscany. Perfect for us, wanting a tranquil retreat in the quiet countryside. Casa Glyn did not fall short in any way. The morning sun drew us out to the large terrace, where we took in the breathtaking views of the valley and Apuans in the distance. The house far exceeded our expectations. Large rooms, all well equipped, comfortable and clean. The gardens and pool were lovely too, both large and well kept. Parking was never an issue. The parking area is in the grounds of the house, behind closed gates. We always felt safe and secure.
This holiday was made extra special by Merrion Charles, the owner of the property and of course not forgetting her wonderful Border Terrier MoJo. Merrion provided us with recommendations of places to visit, including restaurants which she booked for us. Straightaway she grasped the sort of places we’d like and we were never disappointed with her choice. Nothing was too much trouble for Merrion, who always went that extra mile for us. A lot of the places we visited, we would never have discovered if it wasn’t for Merrion.
The local village of Fivizzano is in easy reach and had plenty of amenities for us. We visited other places further afield such as Portovenere and Lucca.
Often when arriving back after a day of exploring, we would be greeted by MoJo, Merrion’s Border Terrier. She was a lovely addition to our holiday.”
Family McIndoe from UK, Summer 2017
“We had an amazing time and it was a beautiful place! Merrion was fantastic with help and advice before and during our stay. She helped organise lots of special extras for us and had fantastic recommendations to make the most of the area. She provided excellent hospitality and we loved her and Mojo’s (the dog) company. Mojo was fantastic with kids and they are still talking about her weeks later. Thank you for the great memories!”
Holly Shepherd, 2018
We had a most enjoyable stay at Casa Glyn, a combination of sublime setting, a wonderful space and the lovely Merrion who was an added bonus throughout.
Merrion was on hand in the run up to our departure with help on car hire, supermarkets and boat trips and gave us the warmest welcome. Directions were good and we had no problems finding the house.
Framed against the backdrop of Cotto with its grand church and faded elegance, Casa Glyn is a little jewel, beautifully restored and in the prime spot. The terrace was even nicer than it looked in the photos (more private, spacious and extraordinary views), the table was ‘the best seat in the restaurant’ only no need to book and available every breakfast, lunch and dinner, and the pizza oven great fun even though we didn’t fire it up. We had pre dinner drinks on the terrace each evening watching the light on the mountains. Jacuzzi would be wonderful when the weather gets chillier.
The house itself… well set up and ergonomic kitchen with everything we needed and easy to tidy and clean. Everyone took turns to cook resulting in some pretty amazing meals. We loved the large central living room with dining table – perfect for board games, dinners indoors and even sleeping in the boat berth style corner bed / seat! The lower sitting room was much used for reading, sleeping out of the sun and listening to music. We like the three separate areas, the high ceilings and light feel to it. Fireplace will be wonderful in winter.
The bedrooms were fine – large double and attached bathroom great, small double perfect and side room best suited to a child.
Merrion was a joy to have on hand – always willing to advise and make bookings or just chat but never intrusive. Her little dog Mojo is excellent company and makes Casa Glyn feel like the home that it is.
We found it very hard to muster the energy / desire to go out although morning coffee in Fivizzano after buying groceries was a treat. Could easily have spent a month or two…
Best wishes
Peter, Jessie and family Summer 2018
House & Location – We all thought Casa Glyn was a fabulous house.
It was beautifully presented and is in a quite outstanding position. We loved the location, the setting and the views. (But please can you arrange with the Powers that be for the sun to set on the terrace in the evening and not behind the hills)
The property was well equipped and everything worked well from the showers to the Pizza oven.
In short, the verdict was:-
“All fab and we would defiantly recommend it to like- minded friends. It scored 10/10”.
As you know, due to the fantastic weather, we spent most of our time at Casa Glyn but we enjoyed our outings especially our two visits to the Agriturismo Restaurant up the hill! (10/10) and to the Castello on Thursday.
Last but not least, we want to congratulate Mojo and you for “being there but not being there” at CG if that makes sense.
We were always very grateful to you for your “discretion but also your omniscience and readiness to help us, including re watching Lions in NZ!”.
So many thanks for a terrific holiday.
With Best Wishes, Annabel and Paul
Hi Merrion
Thank you so much for our wonderful stay in Casa Glyn.
The villa was beautiful , spacious and extremely luxurious whilst still retaining all the charm of an old Italian home. The swimming pool was stunning and the hot tub with the views over the valley and mountains in the dusk was just perfect.
Thank you also for all your expert help with booking us the best restaurants in the area , organising our massages and our fantastic evening in with our own amazing chef.
In all our Italian holiday was relaxing , exciting and stimulating all at once. It was the best of all worlds. We look forward to staying in another of your villas in the future because if our recent week was an example of the standard of holiday that you can organise , it has to be done again!! Thank you and lovely MoJo , Merrion xx
Best wishes
Duncan Eileen Mary Niamh and Caspar September 2019
We loved our stay at Casa Glyn. In a 3 week holiday where we were staying mostly in hotels, your beautiful villa really was like a home away from home. It is very comfortable and well equipped. We loved preparing our meals in your kitchen or “braai-ing” on your terrace, but most special of all was eating at your outside table enjoying the spectacular views.
We love the outdoors so living in your little hamlet was great for us in terms of access to walks and river swims, not to mention your pool which was very well used. My only complaint is that we didn’t have a longer stay. You planned such great day outings for us to really special places like Gabriella’s castle, the Cinque Terre and Lerici that we didn’t have enough time to just relax at “home” or to go to Siena. The location of Casa Glyn really is brilliant as you can easily access the beach and the mountains as well as beautiful old towns and villages. You were so helpful with all your maps, directions and restaurant bookings. Thank you, our stay definitely would not have been the same if we had not been able to pick your well travelled brain! I still miss the owls – their hooting across the valley at night is so special!
Tasioulas Family, South Africa – August 2012
“….I’m sure you already know but we did all have the most fantastic time staying with you and we do send you our very great thanks for all your kindness and help. We so enjoyed meeting you and it was marvellous to have the benefit of all your “inside knowledge”. We thoroughly enjoyed everything we did and I’m afraid we have no criticisms – not even by way of constructive feedback !”
Holdsworth Family, London, UK – August 2012
“We absolutely loved our stay at the Villa, it’s position was perfect, close enough that we could explore the area but remote enough that it really felt like an escape. The villa itself was beautifully appointed, and was very comfortable.
Merrion’s vast knowledge of the area, and of traveling in Italy in general, was a huge benefit, and helped us to ensure that we had a truly authentic Italian experience.”
Philippa Selfe & Party, South Africa April 2012
We had the most perfect week on our honeymoon at Casa Glyn. Merrion did everything she could to make our stay a special one – we arrived very late to a warm welcome and a bottle of fizz to her beautiful villa that you instantly feel at home in and awoke the next morning to THE most magical of views, one that will stay with us for ever, it is truly incredible. Merrion’s advice on which local stores or restaurants to visit was invaluable and made our stay all the more memorable. The house is extremely well designed, very comfortable and is appointed with everything one could need on holiday. We would recommend it to anyone and will no doubt be returning again in the future. Thank you very much Merrion and Mojo for a wonderful stay.
Stay in touch and all the very best.
Guy & Annalise De Glanville, London – September 2012
Hi Merrion
Thank you so much for our wonderful stay in Casa Glyn. The villa was beautiful , spacious and extremely luxurious whilst still retaining all the charm of an old Italian home. The swimming pool was stunning and the hot tub with the views over the valley and mountains in the dusk was just perfect. Thank you also for all your expert help with booking us the best restaurants in the area , organising our massages and our fantastic evening in with our own amazing chef. In all our Italian holiday was relaxing , exciting and stimulating all at once. It was the best of all worlds. We look forward to staying in another of your villas in the future because if our recent week was an example of the standard of holiday that you can organise , it has to be done again!!
Thank you and lovely MoJo, Merrion xx