Where to begin?
Francesco’s villa was a little piece of paradise!
It is hard to put into words the beauty of the villa, or the kindness shown to us by Francesco and the lovely caretaker Giacomo.
The booking process was easy, and from the very beginning Francesco was responsive (literally within minutes to almost every small query) - he went over and above with helpful information - more so than any other host we have come across on Airbnb, this was another level entirely!
Ustica itself is a fabulous island and arriving is a great experience - it’s so very pretty that it’s impossible for your heart not to lift as soon the island comes into view - the stresses of everyday life forgotten, and happily left behind. Could this feeling be beaten? It turns out that yes it could! When we arrived at the villa itself - Wow!
Francesco was there to greet us personally and took the time to show us around and explain the house and garden (with vegetables growing that we were told to help ourselves to, in addition to the thoughtful welcome basket of fresh vegetables he lad left for us!). The villa was exceptionally clean, the bed extremely comfortable and everything you could need was provided. The outside shower was a real plus! However, the absolute star of the show was the view, the sunsets from the West patio - I really have no words! Most nights we sat in awed silence just staring unbelievably at such a spectacle (when we weren’t frantically taking pictures!)
It’s obvious from our review how wonderful we found everything to be, but I would add that the kindness shown to us made it a very special place that will no doubt have us coming back year after year!!
One afternoon Giacomo took us to explore a ‘secret surprise of the island’, I won’t ruin it for my other guests, but if you are lucky enough to have the same experience, you won’t be disappointed!!
When the time came for us to leave (with hearts even heavier than our suitcases!), we had issues with the ferry due to the wind - and yet again, Francesco and Giacomo were on hand to help and make sure we were ok!
If you are thinking of booking this villa - don’t give it a moments more thought - do it, and go knowing that there are two very envious Brits in London (where it will most likely be raining)!