Pauline
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Agency: Umbria Holiday Rentals
Apartment: Terrazza Mercato, 2bed/2bath
Link: http://www.umbriaholidayrentals.com/property/terrazza-mercato/
Date: September 2015
Terrazza Mercato is a fabulous apartment, right in the center of Spoleto. It is just off the Piazza del Mercato, on a lane. It was noisy only on Saturday night when people from nearby restaurants spilled out onto the streets.
The apartment is on the 2nd floor (US 3rd) so you have some stairs (40 steps), but they are not bad at all. It is a large apartment, very high ceilings, in a beautiful historic building. The furnishings are lovely and comfortable. It worked well for our group of 3. The master bedroom is very large with a sitting area.
Laurie and Norma, British and Australian expats, run this agency with apartments in Spoleto and some in the countryside. If you are driving, Laurie meets you on the outskirts of town, puts your luggage in his car, and you follow him to the public car park. You park, then get into his car, and he drives into the center as close as he can get to your apartment, then helps you get your bags into the apartment.
And now my complaints. In the listing the terrace looks nice, but in reality it is not. The part where the table is located has a low roof and is small, so we did not use it. We did eat in the dining room with the French doors open to the view of the rooftops and countryside.
In the listing, the kitchen looks fabulous, and it mostly is. But there is not a lot of counter space. Our small cutting board was falling apart and I texted Laurie about it, but heard nothing back.
For two groups sharing, the bedrooms are side by side and the main bathroom is beside the second bathroom, with another bathroom in another part of the apartment. We were spoiled at our previous place where the bedrooms were on separate sides of the apartment.
The parking in Spoleto sucks. We could have found free parking on the street, but it was a 20 minute walk away. Instead we parked in the pay parking which was an easy 10 minute or less walk. You get a ticket when you enter and pay at a machine before you leave. The price is per day, but it means for each part of a day. So if you park one afternoon, then leave the next morning - that is two days. The parking added up!
Now back to the positives. The price was reasonable - €850/week for the three of us. I looked at apartments in Lucca for this year and they were twice the price.
I would rent from them again, and probably will soon. I would pick an apartment with a nicer terrace.
Spoleto
Spoleto is built into a hillside so you are always walking up or down hill. There is an underground moving sidewalk that you can use to get around. This works well. There is good hiking right from Spoleto - over the Ponte delle Torri (historic bridge) behind the castle at the top of town and you are into the woods with well marked trails.
Spoleto is a lovely town. Lively but not packed with tourists. We loved our time there. We spent half the time exploring the town and doing hikes, the other half driving out into Umbria.
Our favorite cafe - Caffe degli Artisti on Piazza Mercato. Laurie pointed it out to us and we went every day.
Our favorite restaurant - Ristorante Pizzeria Taverna Dello Spagna on Via Fontesecca, a couple of blocks from the apartment. Small and friendly with several vegetarian options! Pizza in the evenings.
There is a deli on Piazza Mercato that sells cooked foods. We got dinner from them a couple of times.
My only complaint about the location is there is not a good grocery shop nearby. There are large supermarkets on the outskirts of town. BUT in Piazza Mercato there is a good bakery and two delis, so you can find most things. A van sells fresh vegetables in the piazza in the mornings. And we found a closed shop (maybe for vacation?) that sold vegetables. When walking down Via Monterone, on our last day, we found a small alimentari (food shop).
Steve and Joan outside our apartment building door.
Steve with the owner of our favorite cafe - Caffe degli Artisti, on Piazza del Mercato.
Apartment: Terrazza Mercato, 2bed/2bath
Link: http://www.umbriaholidayrentals.com/property/terrazza-mercato/
Date: September 2015
Terrazza Mercato is a fabulous apartment, right in the center of Spoleto. It is just off the Piazza del Mercato, on a lane. It was noisy only on Saturday night when people from nearby restaurants spilled out onto the streets.
The apartment is on the 2nd floor (US 3rd) so you have some stairs (40 steps), but they are not bad at all. It is a large apartment, very high ceilings, in a beautiful historic building. The furnishings are lovely and comfortable. It worked well for our group of 3. The master bedroom is very large with a sitting area.
Laurie and Norma, British and Australian expats, run this agency with apartments in Spoleto and some in the countryside. If you are driving, Laurie meets you on the outskirts of town, puts your luggage in his car, and you follow him to the public car park. You park, then get into his car, and he drives into the center as close as he can get to your apartment, then helps you get your bags into the apartment.
And now my complaints. In the listing the terrace looks nice, but in reality it is not. The part where the table is located has a low roof and is small, so we did not use it. We did eat in the dining room with the French doors open to the view of the rooftops and countryside.
In the listing, the kitchen looks fabulous, and it mostly is. But there is not a lot of counter space. Our small cutting board was falling apart and I texted Laurie about it, but heard nothing back.
For two groups sharing, the bedrooms are side by side and the main bathroom is beside the second bathroom, with another bathroom in another part of the apartment. We were spoiled at our previous place where the bedrooms were on separate sides of the apartment.
The parking in Spoleto sucks. We could have found free parking on the street, but it was a 20 minute walk away. Instead we parked in the pay parking which was an easy 10 minute or less walk. You get a ticket when you enter and pay at a machine before you leave. The price is per day, but it means for each part of a day. So if you park one afternoon, then leave the next morning - that is two days. The parking added up!
Now back to the positives. The price was reasonable - €850/week for the three of us. I looked at apartments in Lucca for this year and they were twice the price.
I would rent from them again, and probably will soon. I would pick an apartment with a nicer terrace.
Spoleto
Spoleto is built into a hillside so you are always walking up or down hill. There is an underground moving sidewalk that you can use to get around. This works well. There is good hiking right from Spoleto - over the Ponte delle Torri (historic bridge) behind the castle at the top of town and you are into the woods with well marked trails.
Spoleto is a lovely town. Lively but not packed with tourists. We loved our time there. We spent half the time exploring the town and doing hikes, the other half driving out into Umbria.
Our favorite cafe - Caffe degli Artisti on Piazza Mercato. Laurie pointed it out to us and we went every day.
Our favorite restaurant - Ristorante Pizzeria Taverna Dello Spagna on Via Fontesecca, a couple of blocks from the apartment. Small and friendly with several vegetarian options! Pizza in the evenings.
There is a deli on Piazza Mercato that sells cooked foods. We got dinner from them a couple of times.
My only complaint about the location is there is not a good grocery shop nearby. There are large supermarkets on the outskirts of town. BUT in Piazza Mercato there is a good bakery and two delis, so you can find most things. A van sells fresh vegetables in the piazza in the mornings. And we found a closed shop (maybe for vacation?) that sold vegetables. When walking down Via Monterone, on our last day, we found a small alimentari (food shop).
Steve and Joan outside our apartment building door.
Steve with the owner of our favorite cafe - Caffe degli Artisti, on Piazza del Mercato.
