Is George Clooney renting out his Italian villa when he's not there?

Hi everyone....I was online surfing and found a site called SerendipityVillas.com which is a business that rents luxury homes in various parts of the world. To make a long story short, if you go to that webpage and click on destinations, you will see Lake Como and Villa Oleandra. Apparently George either is going to rent his Italian home in the future or has been. My guess is (this is just a guess) that something is up with our George! He is either going to pull up stakes at Lake Como due to (you can guess the reasons) and still own the house but rent it, or he will rent it for most of the year and keep it for his use over the summers. The pictures are worth a look at as none of the pictures are ones that have ever been shown in any publicity about George. They are beautiful! What do you all think!

the pool?

no
not his villa
too much luxury there

Carolina Gal wrote:Hi everyone....I was online surfing and found a site called SerendipityVillas.com which is a business that rents luxury homes in various parts of the world. To make a long story short, if you go to that webpage and click on destinations, you will see Lake Como and Villa Oleandra. Apparently George either is going to rent his Italian home in the future or has been. My guess is (this is just a guess) that something is up with our George! He is either going to pull up stakes at Lake Como due to (you can guess the reasons) and still own the house but rent it, or he will rent it for most of the year and keep it for his use over the summers. The pictures are worth a look at as none of the pictures are ones that have ever been shown in any publicity about George. They are beautiful! What do you all think!

Unless it's possible for there to be two Oleandras (anyone know if if there's a rule about that?), and someone is using the name for increased publicity, that's pretty interesting. Some of the photos look familiar, from Diane Sawyer's tour a few years ago, so it could be George's. It kind of makes sense to rent it out when he's not going to be there; why leave it sitting empty 8 months out of the year when it could be bringing in money? Let's start pooloing our finds together, ladies!

Never mind the whole villa, I would be happy to live in this bathroom:

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Doesnt look like it's George's taste to me. Way too ornate, not comfortable.

right

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Here's a link of video of George in Villa Oleandra. The style doesnt seem to match the pictures of the one for rent at all.

I am thinking that if he is putting the home up for rent, he would change many things about it. When you rent out property, whether high end or not, there is to be expected some hard use of it over the course of the rental time period. He would revamp the house with different furniture, rugs, etc. Some of the base flooring in the Diane Sawyer interview is similar. Also, I don't think that George or the realty would want people to know for sure it is his place as that would promote bogus rental inquiries, hence totally different pics shown. There is no pic or mention of the pool, but I could see George not wanting that to be part of the rental. Could you imagine the bad publicity if some kid/person drowns in it? In the description, there is mention that the master bedroom and bath occupies the top floor and I remember that being said in an article or interview somewhere and that it is big and George doesn't use it. I just think this is very interesting. I can't imagine that George would just rent it out for 8 months. With all the changes that would have to happen when renting a property, I can't imagine a person of his means going through all that trouble just to redo it again for the summer months during his visit. Certainly possible, just very interesting. Here is another thing I am wondering about. The busy guy is forever playing host to a revolving door of friends all summer long. You would think he would want to rest and have some down time. Perhaps, thinking about another less accessible home. Who knows?

I don't believe I've ever seen the whole villa, but the one on that site certainly doesn't fit with what has been shown.

His housekeepers stay there when he's not there, and I'm sure THEY don't want to be rented out!

Missa wrote:

Carolina Gal wrote:Hi everyone....I was online surfing and found a site called SerendipityVillas.com which is a business that rents luxury homes in various parts of the world. To make a long story short, if you go to that webpage and click on destinations, you will see Lake Como and Villa Oleandra. Apparently George either is going to rent his Italian home in the future or has been. My guess is (this is just a guess) that something is up with our George! He is either going to pull up stakes at Lake Como due to (you can guess the reasons) and still own the house but rent it, or he will rent it for most of the year and keep it for his use over the summers. The pictures are worth a look at as none of the pictures are ones that have ever been shown in any publicity about George. They are beautiful! What do you all think!

Unless it's possible for there to be two Oleandras (anyone know if if there's a rule about that?), and someone is using the name for increased publicity, that's pretty interesting. Some of the photos look familiar, from Diane Sawyer's tour a few years ago, so it could be George's. It kind of makes sense to rent it out when he's not going to be there; why leave it sitting empty 8 months out of the year when it could be bringing in money? Let's start pooloing our finds together, ladies!

Never mind the whole villa, I would be happy to live in this bathroom:

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You are so funny , it's pretty bathroom.

FWIW, I don't think these pictures match the ones we've seen of his villa and if you were renting it out, you'd want the pool as well (that's one of the biggest selling points so to speak).

However, some years ago I met a journalist who told me that he'd stayed at George's villa. I assumed he was interviewing George and asked him about it and the journalist said that no, George wasn't there and he (the journalist) had rented it privately through some connections of his. He stayed in a guest villa, not the main house.

I've no idea whether that journalist was telling the truth about this or going in for a bit of self-aggrandising. It was some years ago now and I remember the journalist was quite uncomfortable with the conversation so I changed the subject. It's possible he'd agreed to confidentiality or something like that.

I know nothing about villa besides its name. And it refers to a tree, very common in the area, Oleandro can have pink, pale pink or white flowers and it is beautiful but doesn't smell like bird cherry etc have just wonderful smell when blossoming.

So there are probably many many villas by that name in Italy.

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No it doesn't look like it...also nearest Location is
Malpensa Airport 45 mins

I would imagine George lets selective people use his Villa..... but not through a general letting agency......I wouldn't if it was mine !

I don't think it's his. Probably another place with the same name:

Villa Oleandra is perfectly located, in the heart of Lake Como, the epicentre of the area. The villa is roughly 45 minutes from Malpensa airport (Milan) or Agno in Lugano. The property is located in an extremely strategic position allowing guests to use all means of public transportation with ease and meander around Como on foot. Entrance into the property is off of the main coastal road, through a large, electric gate controlled by a surveillance camera. The parking area is ample and there is also a 3 car, covered garage. The main villa has seven bedrooms and the guest house, three bedrooms.

Entrance into the main villa is into a large marble foyer with a beautiful, wrap-around marble staircase, and large chandelier hanging from a 40 foot hand-painted fresco ceiling. The rear end of the foyer enters into a space which leads to a gym and workout area equipped with parquet floor, yoga balls and mats, free weights, elliptical machine, stationary bike and a full bathroom with shower.

The second floor is found up a flight of 30 marble steps from the first. The second floor hosts 5 bedrooms. The first is a large double with parquet floors and an en-suite bathroom with bathtub. The second is a large double with parquet floors and a marble en-suite bathroom with shower. The third is the master suite with a queen-size bed and parquet floors and an enormous en-suite, fully marble bathroom with separate bathtub and shower facilities and a double marble sink. The fourth bedroom is a pink queen double with parquet floors looking out over the back garden and the fifth is a pink French double as well, best for young adults or children as per the style of furniture. The 4th and 5th bedrooms share a bathroom with a large shower and double sink. The final bedroom is found on the top floor of the villa and represents a suite with a bathtub.

The guest house is found above the three-car garage and boasts its own separate entrance, therefore, it can be rented as part of the entire villa and/or as a completely independent unit. The entrance into the guest house has a washing machine on the entrance level. One flight of 16 stone steps brings you to the main floor which hosts the open living room with L-shaped couch, a stone fireplace, and flat screen TV. The living room is also air conditioned. There is a full kitchen with an oven, microwave, dishwasher, and refrigerator/freezer. Both the kitchen and living rooms look out over entrance driveway of the main villa. The guest house has 3 bedrooms. The first is a twin with a large dresser and external bathroom with shower. The second is the master bedroom, a double, with a large, built-in closet, large dresser, and external bathroom with bathtub and large shower head. A set of 4 steps leads to the 3rd bedroom, which is a double.

The main villa enjoys central air conditioning, an 8-person elevator, a video-conference room, and on-site staff in separate quarters on the property.

Having just come back from the area, this sounds a lot nearer Como City to me . It also doesn't sound nearly as old, and makes no reference to the wonderful ceilings and parapet features and gardens, or dock for boats on the lake's edge

OR, the pizza oven!!!!! I thought It's Me posted an outside pic of George's Villa Oleandra that only showed 5 windows and there are more windows on this Serendipity site.