We have chosen Villa Paradiso because of great reviews and the versatility of the offer. After a few days in Villa Paradiso we feel we can offer a pretty fair review with pros and cons. We do not want to spoil the magic but we have somewhat mixed opinion.
First of all our apartment is advertised in the category „the entire house”. It should be in „an apartment within a house” category. Worth mentioning is that the main photo and 7 other out of 27 show the public/shared space in this property. We believe it is by mistake as the other apartments in this house are described as apartments or hotel rooms. From the Italian description you can draw conclusion that it is rather an apartment in a bigger house. Nevertheless it is confusing. The description contains contradictory information on number of guests, beds and bedroom configuration. In our case that was not a problem only because we were in two. If you are in 3 or more our advice is to consult this issue with the host before booking this room. There are exactly 3 rooms in this apartment: bathroom, kitchen and a bedroom with an access to the terrace. Surprisingly there is a bed in the kitchen, behind the curtain though, but still… in enfilade to the bathroom.
We need to report that during our stay we could not lock our apartment because there was no key for one of the three entrances. Even though we have been told to take it easy as the island is very safe we felt concerned. For us it was asking for a trouble.
The house stands in beautiful panoramic place. The vast terraces are perfect to enjoy the 180-degree view towards the Lipari and Vulcano. You cannot underestimate the views from the terrace. It’s the main advantage of this house. Not only is the place scenic but also calm and a little bit off the beaten track. You might consider renting a vehicle if you plan some trips, sightseeing or going to the beach - public transportation will not solve the problem. You might ask the host for a lift service (EUR 10 one-way to Lipari town).
The hosts were very friendly and approachable. It was easy to get along with all the staff and discuss some common matters. Due to the language barrier, however, sometimes it was a bit harder to discuss the details.
The atmosphere is informal and relaxed, which is good. You feel welcomed and cared for. Apparently the hosts must have a penchant for a hippie lifestyle also in home decor - it is somewhat homespun. In fact the apartment is more cluttered as on the photos. Frankly speaking, judging from the photos we expected more refined Aeolian simplicity than a medley of random knick-knacks. The bright side was that we have found a nice guidebook in our room. When it comes to the dark side some might feel uncomfortable with the photos displayed in the apartment - some of them depict plain nudity and others might be disturbing, repulsive or creepy. Anyway, they are controversial and you probably do not want to show them to the youngsters.
When it comes to cleanliness, we had an impression that it is not the strongest side of this accommodation. There was an unpleasant smell that probably came from something damp. Besides we had to remove the bed cover from the bedroom because we smelled something disturbingly reminiscent of (I’m sorry) urine. We very much hope that it was just the smell of an unfortunately chosen detergent…
Contrary to the photos on Airbnb site there was no washing machine in the bathroom. We were offered to do our laundry in a private washing machine of the host for which we were later charged.
You can book a breakfast or a dinner - the meals are tasty but quite repetitive in style, especially the antipasti. It is worth mentioning that the wine and fish of the day were delightful. For the breakfast we were given the single-use plastic plates which was out of place and ruined the good impression. Villa Paradiso seems to operate as a hotel-like facility offering flexible time frames for meals, but in fact all the guests were served roughly in the same time. You might ask for a different time but be prepared it may not work. Meal (and transfer as well) prices are not as competitive as we were informed given the offer available on the island.
Be sure that you know the price list of the services beforehand to avoid surprise costs afterwards. The prices for additional services may also vary depending who you ask. For example the rental price of a vehicle onsite was slightly different from that offered to us before via AirBnb. We were charged for laundry without prior information that it is extra paid. For us it was kind of slippery.
Considering the above, we believe that the offer although interesting and original is overpriced especially if you add extra services. In our case they finally doubled our bill. If you feel that you like this lifestyle and wish to spend a few days in such an original place it might be a good idea.