If you have the opportunity to stay in this apartment, you are VERY lucky! Don't even bother reading anymore reviews because not only is the place incredibly relaxing and exactly as advertised, but Andrea and Samuella are beyond stellar hosts! My praise for these people and their family could fill a book. I'll try to keep things concise. First of all, Andrea me up from the bus station, which was very accommodating and a huge relief considering it is very difficult to navigate sicily when you are without a car. (Even if you are travelling without a car and you're concerned about the location of this apartment, let me assure you that you can get around and you will experience the charms of a small Sicilian suburb.) After picking me up from the bus station, Andrea invited me to his house for a delicious lunch prepared by his mother. Right from the start I was impressed. The rest of the trip consisted of a multitude of generous and exciting experiences that most airbnb hosts would never bother eliciting the effort to accomplish. It's important to note that Andrea is well versed in lesser to completely unknown parts Sicily. He is passionately working on developing tours to show people the "wild" side of Sicily and I had the fortune of going on an excursion to a deserted island with him. It was an exciting, hilarious, relaxing and informative experience. We ate sandwiches in the shade of an abandoned tonnara boat house and then fished off the rugged precipice of the island. After fishing we went snorkelling and relaxed with fresh Granitas. I highly recommend going on an excursion with Andrea, it's well worth every penny you spend on it.
While the excursion was an amazing adventure, everything else about this experience was filled with joy and kindness. While Andrea's sister Doriana took me for a tour of the main sites in Catania, she practiced her English and tried teaching me some of the basics of Italian. Samuella gave me a beautiful beaded shirt, I was invited to her dance recital and given a tour of her Etna's Flavours space below the apartment and probably best of all, I was invited to Samuella's father's house for a family "food party." "Food party" means we ate massive quantities of insanely delicious Sicilian food and then lay around on a scenic Volcanic beach between Aci Castello and The Cyclopes Islands. Google the location and squirm with envy. ;)
Okay, hopefully my gushing, fan-girl rant has been somewhat useful to future airbnbers. I don't have any criticism for Andrea and Samuella, they are what airbnb hosts should strive to be, and even then none of what they did felt contrived. They are very honest, fun, generous and accommodating people. I actually booked two additional nights with them after my three nights were up! Samuella offered me a room in an apartment directly below this one and it was lovely :)