10/10 Excellent
Nick J.
3 Sept 2019
Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy
Wonderful 10 days!
We had an amazing time in this villa with our friends. We were 6 adults and 3 children (2 families and 2 singles) and the villa was so huge that we never felt we were on top of each other. In fact, we kept on losing each other.
The main building was perfect for the 2 families and the 2 annexes were ideal for the 2 singles. Each group had its own bathroom/shower room which was perfect, and our family of 4 had the two rooms next to the living room which had an internal door to keep the noise away from the sleeping baby. Overall the property is decorated tastefully with lots of antique furniture with plenty of storage. The kitchen was functional with lots and lots of plates and dishes - even a MASSIVE moka to make coffee for the large group.
We spent most of our time outside - either on the outdoor sofa area, or the dining area or in the garden (or park!) or by the swimming pool (especially the two 5 year olds were in it the whole time). It was so peaceful to have the morning coffee looking at the park. And dinner was always prepared in the outdoor kitchen, which is covered so on the one rainy evening, we moved the table to have our 3 hour long dinner without getting wet.
The location of the villa is slightly higher than the sea (i think?) which meant that we were away from the unbearable August heat. It was always a degree or two cooler than by the sea, which was fantastic for us. It was still hot enough to be in the pool by 9am. In the evening you could stroll around the grounds which has orange, mandarin and olive trees, and have a view of Mount Etna.
One needs a car to do shopping as it's a 15 mins drive to the village where you can also get fresh fish. The owner Francesco recommends the fish monger on the left.
Lastly but not least, the agency was efficient, and the owner Francesco is a lovely lovely man. We had a last minute sudden change of plans and had to check in a few hours early on the day, and the agency quickly made it happen and Francesco was absolutely accommodating. He was around to help and answer questions, but also made sure we had our privacy. We also had some accidents and broke some of the items, which we wanted to replace but his comments were "No, you could always come back next year with one"
Some of us are looking at coming back in...May!
Nick J.
Stayed 9 nights in Aug 2019
