Me and my girlfriend and another couple stayed in this wonderful house for six days. Our expectations were high as we'd been reading previous guest's reviews and watching the photos of the house over and over again before we finally travelled to Sicily. As Luca guided us through the house we knew right away that our expectations had been surpassed - this house is truly amazing, spacious, clean and decorated in the most alluring imaginative way; small pots, old tools, beautiful kitchen/bathroom tiles and lots of other antique objects which are giving the house an authentic feel of an old Italian farm house.

The big terrace became just that placed we had dreamed of, were we spent long summer nights (20-25+ C) using the barbeque Luca had just bought to grill the fresh vegetables we bought from the many fruit and veg stalls in Balestrate.

Another plus was the outdoor shower, which was really useful after coming home from a day at the beach.
All the windows in the house have been fitted with mosquito nets, so all we had to do to keep the flying blood-crazed militia from entering the house was to keep the main door closed as much as possible (which also helped to keep the house cool). The balcony on the top floor has a wonderful view overlooking the Golfo di Castellammare as the house is situated at approx. 250 meters above sea level.
To reach the beach from the house its about a 10-12 min walk, or 2-3 min with car.
The Balestrate beach was nice & calm and not too crowded on the weekdays but was jam-packed during the weekend.

On top of being a wonderful house, the location of the house is a great starting point for those who want to explore the northwest of Sicily:

Monreale is just a 40 minutes drive away (avoid the autostrada and enjoy the beautiful mountain/rural route)
Scopello and Riserva Naturale Dello Zingaro and San Vito Lo Capo 45-60 minutes away
Palermo, Trapani/Erice is 40-50 minutes away
The ancient city of Segesta is 45-50 minutes away
and even Cefalù is within reach from Balestrate (1,5 hrs away).

Balestrate as a town is nothing special, although the view of the sea and the mountains are quite remarkable. (Tip: for the best Trapanese pasta try Trattoria da Geronimo!)

Luca as a host was second to none: friendly, easy-going and informative. When we arrived he gave us a useful map of Balestrate with a list of supermarkets, bakeries, restaurants etc. Whenever we had any questions or minor problems, Luca responded right away to make sure our stay in Sicily went on without any letdowns. Luca even texted me to make sure we had closed the windows when the Scirocco winds (hot and dry desert winds) swept across Sicily to make sure our bedrooms remained cooled!

I would highly recommended this gem of a house to anyone, hopefully we will be back soon, or rather, I know we will be back!...