Where to start? First of all, the positives: it is a wonderful big house, amazing location by the sea and gorgeous gardens and living space, with a fantastic pool. We were extremely fortunate to have the place to ourselves. But...

The owner lives nowhere near the property and so arranges a man to oversee the entries and other needs. I followed her instructions and texted the man's number one and a half hours before we arrived at 4pm, but there was no reply and we were locked outside. When I called the owner she shrilly harangued me for not contacting anyone, but I had. I speak some Italian and tried to communicate this but she wasn't one for listening really and we had to wait '40 minutes' (actually 50) for the guy to drive down from Siaracusa to let us in. There was no apology from her and none from the guy who came- in fact, he barely spoke, just indicating where I should sign the legal disclaimers, not asking when we wanted breakfast, not telling us he lived on the property, just generally being distant. So, we couldn't get the wi-fi to work, no hot water in the shower, and we had to hunt the guy down in the morning to get us the shoddiest breakfast we've ever had. All of this we could put up with as the place is idyllic but.. having read all the reviews now we have been, I see that other people felt the same and clearly NOTHING has been done to fix these problems. The owner doesn't care. ****La proprietaria ha trascurato i clienti

1. 3 words: location, location, location. Literally next to the beach (rocks though, not sand) 2. The house is beautiful, the exterior (garden, pool and lounge) is beautifully decorated and well kept , it gives the impression of being in a little oasis . 3. There is available parking on the street just outside the house. 4. 10 min walk from the sand beach Fontana Bianche . We did a one night stay and we really enjoyed it.

Although the Villa is beautiful, a couple of suggestions and also things to keep in mind if you plan a stay here: 1. Breakfast included: literally one Brioche per person and a do your own coffee . (However I had already read this in the comments and we came prepared with our own food . There is a common fridge but it did not work. Fortunately the freezer did work and it was not very cold which allowed us to keep our food for 1 day) . If you plan to stay here and are a breakfast person: better to bring your own (non perishables better) 2. The room: not very modern and the covers had a couple of stains (you can see it is clean but it is stains that cannot be removed. still not what you want to see). However it was ok for the 1 night 3. The shower: the shower “hose” was loose and you had to hold it with one hand. The hair dryer did not work. 4. Payment method: this is unfortunately the thing that gave the bitter taste to our stay. We reserved with a Revolut card. the day of our arrival we saw via our bank two attempted charges (that we need to approve) : one of 83 eur and a second one of 833 Eur!!! From a company “Maraldo Srl” in Syracuse. Not recognizing this charge of 833 eur the bank blocked and cancelled our card. It turns out the owner had made a mistake entering an extra “3” but she never informed us . We lost a lot of time with the bank and then with the owner to try and explain to her why the payment did not pass and she needed to try a different card (she insisted on us paying cash although the issue came from them at the origin). We never got even an apology for this inconvenience. I advise the owner to contact the guests before charging: inform that a charge via “Maraldo srl” will be done (and not via booking) so there are no issues. And moreover: be careful with the amount € she enters!! 5. Not the owner nor the staff speak a word of English. Only Italian