10/10 Excellent
Stuart P.
Oct 6, 2019
Character villa in a wonderful setting
This is a stunning villa in a tranquil location, impeccable and extensive gardens and fabulous views. A converted wine press with restored features integral to the living space make for a lovely setting. We spent two fantastic weeks here in August. Located around 600m above sea level makes for a cooler climate - the few times we dropped to sea level we found the weather stiflingly hot but never suffered at the villa's altitude.
Numerous small villages and towns nearby offer plenty of local restaurants within a short drive from the villa. A car is essential as the rural roads aren't designed for pedestrians. The kitchen is adequate for preparing meals, the villa is clearly home for the owner during parts of the year. This villa is all about outdoor living and the various dining and seating areas on the terrace outside the villa and the pool area, with views out to sea, made the holiday.
The main visitor centre at south Etna is just a 30 minute drive and is a 'must'. Being so close allows you to visit early before the tour coaches and queues arrive. We also enjoyed Taormina, taking in an opera during our stay, and enjoyed a boat trip out to Stromboli to see a more explosive volcano. We booked Mediterranea Crociere through Trip Advisor and would thoroughly recommend as they don't overfill their boats as other cruises we saw.
The main house has two double bedrooms with a further double bed in the annex by the pool. We didn't use this additional space, but this and the pool without a shallow end, wouldn't be well suited to small children. Our one small negative is that we felt let down slightly by the overall cleanliness on arrival. We had to clean the kitchen, crockery and cutlery before first use, the wider cleanliness was resolved by Marco. This mustn't detract from what is in every other sense an amazing villa, away from it all, in a superb setting.
Stuart P.
Stayed 14 nights in Aug 2019