The host. Francesco is a great host. He communicated in good time, and was very proactive in communicating ahead of time. The apartment had been well stocked ahead of our arrival, and was very clean. Where Francesco really came into his own was during the week. On our first night, there was a power cut to the village - I imagine not an uncommon occurrence given the state of the island’s infrastructure. Francesco could not have been more proactive- contacting the electricity board and phoning to confirm their response, and that the problem had been solved. He recommended beaches for us and actively texted during the week to check that we had everything necessary.
The location. The flat is in a perfect location. The photos on Francesco’s page don’t really do justice to the location. The apartment is on a beautiful sandy inlet, which is cleaned daily by a tractor with a giant rack on the back. The beach is quiet, and full of young families. It particularly comes into its own during the latter part of the afternoon and in the evening as it has a lot of natural shade, with a natural pool for toddlers to paddle in.
The apartment is 5 minutes from the The Lido - the beach which services the main town of Noto. This gets busy, so we tended to get there early (by around 0930) - not a problem with 2 small children! This beach is spectacular. You can wade out a good 30 metres in crystal clear shallow water, perfect for children. Though busy, the beach has a great vibe and is very chilled out. It obviously gets busier on the weekend with teenagers and young adults, but that’s to be expected. There are also some great restaurants, particularly on the Eastern edge.
The apartment. We have 2 young children, so travelling is always a bit more stressful than it should be! The apartment lacks air-con, which ordinarily might be fine (except when there’s a ridiculous heatwave!) - but that’s obvious when you rent it. The beds, bedrooms and bathroom are all fine. We found it very easy to adapt to Sicilian life for a week. We were there in the height of the August heat wave, when the apartment was incredibly hot at night, but Francesco can’t be blamed for this. Everyone in the village seemed to stay out as late as possible and snooze during the heat of the day which is what we did.
Overall. Loved the holiday, the kids loved the holiday and we’d happily go back. If the temperatures could just peak at 30 rather than 40 that would be perfect! Thank you Francesco!
Best wishes,
Nick and Soph