Nancy Pirrone

Review of soloSicily

May 16-23, 2015:

May 16-23, 2015:
Villa Oikos was perfect for our group of 5 couples from California, all good friends for 30-40 years, celebrating a 60th birthday for my husband, whose parents were both from Sicily.

We rented Villa Oikos through Solo Sicily and they were wonderful to work with. Emanuela always responded quickly and made sure all of our questions were answered and requests were met. If she was unavailable, someone always responded on her behalf within minutes. I have rented several vacation homes through similar websites, but Solo Sicily went above and beyond any of the others, especially impressive because we were communicating between California and Italy.

Villa Oikos was so beautiful and we felt right at home immediately! The owner, Carlo and his wife Lory, were wonderful and accommodating and did everything to welcome us, and make our week there very special. I actually feel we made a friend for life and I hope when they visit California, they will let me know. If we had a question or needed anything, Carlo arrived within minutes. He and his family were waiting to greet us upon arrival, even though we arrived hours later than we expected to (after a flight delay, rental cars, and drive from Catania). They were all waiting graciously and had an amazing welcome basket for us, and a pantry and refrigerator stocked with food for our use. They were so generous and we truly appreciated everything they did... down to the little chocolate gifts in each of the bedrooms. Carlo's interpreter Marta was adorable and such a help as we do not speak Italian; and as we discovered, most people in Sicily do not speak English.

A friend who lives in Catania recommended we stay in the Modica/Noto area because that is where they like to vacation. The Villa was located a few minutes outside the town of Modica, where we had some wonderful meals and adventures, and a few minutes away from Modica Beach, where we had lunch (twice) and watched Carlo and friends windsurf. We were able to take wonderful day trips to Noto (for the Flower Festival), Syracusa and Taormina as well. We could have taken more, but we wanted to spend the rest of the time relaxing and enjoying the beauty of Villa Oikos.

We arranged for a Chef and Sommelier one night, and although it was not the cooking experience we were expecting (because of the communication, I am sure mainly on my part) it was one of our most memorable evenings in the 2-1/2 weeks we were in Italy. We were expecting a chef to cook a meal for us in the home (we had visions of sipping wine and watching them cook) but cooking for 10 with the menu we pre-selected was not possible in one afternoon. If you are looking for that experience, you may want to schedule a pizza making class in the home, or pick a simple menu. All in all, it was wonderful and entertaining and we had a great evening!

We hope you enjoy Villa Oikos as much as we did - it was a memorable vacation, one of our favorites!