First I will say this - Antonio and his wife Carla will have us spoiled for any future Airbnb experiences, because they were such awesome hosts!

Leading up to the trip, when we hadn’t even reached the country yet, Antonio was very easy to reach and was always happy to answer any questions we had or offer advice.

Antonio asked us to let him know when our bus was due to reach Syracuse. He was there promptly to pick us up at the bus station and drive us over to the apartment, then showed us everything we needed to know about the place. He also had a bottle of Sicilian wine, some chocolate, and a bowl of oranges and lemons waiting for us, which was very thoughtful and appreciated!

The apartment itself exceeded our expectations. It is one big open room (with a nice bathroom off the kitchen) which was very cozy, comfortable and warm - quite an awesome space! - and was equipped with everything we needed for a very comfortable month-long stay. The Internet connection was great too.

The apartment is perfectly situated - right next to the bridges that lead into Ortigia, which is beautiful beyond description and is now one of our favourite places. Just up the road is the Temple of Apollo and the daily Ortigia market, which you have to visit if you’re in the area - any kind of fruit, vegetable, fish or spice you’d want (amongst many other things). Just strolling through the market and listening to the vendors shouting out various things in Italian is quite an experience in itself. There are also grocery shops, restaurants, gelatarias and whatever you could possibly need peppered all around the apartment building. And a laundromat is right across the street as well.

Antonio was sure to let us know he was just a ring away should we need anything, and he and Carla were always very warm and friendly and very helpful with anything we needed - whether it be questions we had about running routes in the city, or where to find local markets/grocery stores. Carla also was kind enough to bring us to the train station when we left.

We can’t recommend Antonio and Carla as hosts, or their apartment, highly enough!