Lucca holiday apartment: Cappella

The whole building and the first-floor apartment in particular are beautifully restored, very tastefully decorated, spacious, clean and well-equipped (dishwasher and washing machine especially appreciated). The views over the countryside are breathtaking. The swimming pools are lovely, clean, well-maintained and suitable both for young children and for people wanting to swim. The sunbathing area is very pleasant. The property is quiet, tranquil and luxurious and is ideal for a lazy holiday. The owners are helpful, friendly but unobtrusive.
We appreciated small touches such as toilet rolls, bottled water, tea and coffee, lots of books to read and some local information all being provided for us. The supermarkets (several in Lucca) tend to be closed on Sundays, so shopping before you arrive on Saturday afternoon is helpful.
The road up to Capella is 'interesting' and it took us until halfway through the week to be able to negotiate one paticular hairpin bend without needing to reverse partway through it! A car is essential.
The barbecue area for our use is lovely, but is rather a long way from the apartment to be practical to make much use of. We also didn't use our patio area as there was not much shade and we preferred the pool area to sit in.
It provided us with an excellent base for sightseeing with Lucca, Pisa and Florence all within easy driving disance, as well as beaches at Viareggio and further North. (If you hate crowded beaches, then it's definitely worth the long walk through the coastal wooded areas south of Viareggio to get to some rather quieter stretches with lovely sand.) There is also plenty of opportunity for walking from the apartment up into the hills, although we didn't make use of this. There are plenty of good, not-too-expensive places to eat in Lucca and cycling round the magnificent walls of Lucca was fantastic.
During the day there was usually a bit of a breeze which made the heat more bearable, but the evenings were very warm and close and anti-mosquito devices were necessary.
We thoroughly recommend this property and this area of Tuscany.