My girlfriend and I had a fantastic stay at Gabriele and Chiara's apartment in Ortigia. The apartment itself is lovely - everything looks either new or very close to it, and it is both light and airy - with two balconies overlooking the street, It is also very quiet given that it is in a busy town, and it has shutters for all the windows, making it very peaceful at night. Nothing in Ortigia is more than ten minutes away, with the sea only a minute away down the street.

Both Gabriele and Chiara did their best to make us feel welcome - they got in touch with us early to make sure that we knew where we were going, and Gabriele met us with the keys and a bottle of wine as a gift within 5 minutes of us arriving, even though we were several hours earlier than planned. Gabriele gave us lots of recommendations as to where to go within Ortigia and left us his contact details in case we had any other questions. He was also on hand to wave us off, and interested in what we had found enjoyable so that he could pass this onto future guests.

One thing I would point out is that although the terrace is lovely and sunny, it is up a couple of steep flights of stairs. This wasn't a problem at all for us, but may stop it being accessible by those who are not very mobile.

Overall I would recommend Ortigia highly as a destination to visit - it is an incredibly atmospheric place, and very easy to while away a few days here. I would recommend Chiara and Gabriele's apartment equally highly, and would be delighted to stay again as and when I return.

I'd be happy to answer any questions about my stay if anyone would like to get in touch.