I find this a tricky review to write so I'll list pros and cons to make it easier.
Pros - Natalia was very quick to respond to questions and issues and very pleasant.
Maria, the lady who looks after the house and who cleans it is an absolutely delightful local lady and was the gem of the stay.
The position of the house is amazing - directly opposite a magnificent beach, walkable to cafes, bars, restaurants, shops. Avola is a lovely town.
The size of the house is fantastic, very spacious, lots of light, a great roof terrace, private parking.
Perfect place to use as a base to discover many other fascinating towns like Noto, Modica, Siracusa, Ortigia etc. etc.
The bed we used was comfortable. The towels are plentiful and good quality.
The kitchen is spacious with a large dining table.
Great washing machine.
Beautiful floor tiles. High ceilings.
Cons - the condition of the house. We love old houses but old houses need to be looked after and this one needs a lot of looking after.
Our main issues were that the house didn't look like the photos on the website. For example - there's only one sofa in living room not two and we couldn't use that one because you literally disappear into it and then getting out....forget it. Neither the armchair nor the wicker sofa in the photos are there.
The furniture on the terrace in the photo looks elegant, high quality and very attractive - nothing like what we arrived to. No loungers on the front terrace as in the photo.
The pots and pans were very limited and very old (unhealthy to use) we mentioned it to Natalia and she was totally open to the idea of us buying a handful and paying us back which worked very well. There is now a nice selection which makes the kitchen that's wonderful, now usable.
The description on the site says 'recently restructured'. That's just not possible.
The house next door was being renovated - their front terrace was full of rubbish and just took away any incentive to sit out the front and enjoy the garden. Plus the builders were there every day except Sunday. The issues with this were that we lost our privacy. They were all very polite but just couldn't help looking in when we were in the kitchen &/or in the living room. And although they politely and kindly didn't start making noise until 8am, noise of renovation work is .....well it's noisy.
Our issue with this is that we weren't told that it was happening or that the photos were very old photos. Had we seen the reality, we could've made our decision with the understanding of how it was and been much more ok with it. It was the 'unreality' of the real thing that just took us very much by surprise and it was unfortunate because the house itself has so much potential and is really very charming. There are many elements of it that are lovely and overall we enjoyed our stay but when a toilet seat is cracked, when the radiators are rusted etc. it's just becomes a little too much. With some tender loving care, this home would be absolutely lovely and if the photos are updated so you see the reality, then it would all just make much more sense.