Our stay at Antica Aia surpassed all our expectations. We had the most fantastic holiday.

The villa itself is absolutely beautiful. All the bedrooms and bathrooms are spacious, clean and tastefully decorated. The kitchen is well equipped, we cooked many lunches and dinners there for 7 adults with ease. The outside area and the pool are perfect for lazy days in the sun with a large shaded area with dining table and hammock, beautiful gardens and plenty of sun loungers around the pool.

You definitely need a car when visiting, the villa is not walking distance to any amenities but Sampieri is just a 5-minute drive away; is a small beachside town with a bakery, small supermarket and butcher. Scicli is about a 10-minute drive inland and was one of our favourite baroque towns in the area. It is not touristy at all and has some nice little bars on the main street as well as dozens of fantastic restaurants (La Grotto was delicious). It particularly comes alive on a Friday and Saturday night when all the locals come out and socialise on the street with take-away pizza and ice cream. Oriana was very helpful in arranging a return 7 seater taxi for is in the evenings so no one had to be the designated driver.

Last but not least, Oriana and Michele were incredible hosts. They went out of their way to make sure we had everything we needed, made recommendations for places to visit, booked taxis in the evening and made restaurant reservations. We cannot thank them enough for making our trip all the more special.

If you are going to Sicily please do not stay anywhere else!