Sicily Luxury Villas — Attraction in Palermo

I rent a beautiful house called “ I Picciotti” located 5 km from Noto. The villa is a modern one but made with the local stones and the interior design is beautiful. However, since we arrived the staff didn’t welcome us very well and we had to cook for our kid because they told us that they were too busy. We had to pay attention not to drop anything on the floor because the owner would get upset. The staff was not turning the garden lights on next to the pool area neither remove the plastic cover from the divani (I have pictures and video proving what I am stating). We were supposed to come with another family with kids but they couldn’t come because the house policy is not to have kids below 12 years old. However, the staff has a 8 years old that was all the time Inside the house playing with different toys. The day before checking out we have been told by Krishna (house keeper) that he would keep Eur 1,300 from the deposit because our 11 months babe had dropped a spoon of tomato in the dining floor causing two spots. The dining floor was already full of spots because the owner of the villa forgot to treat the tiles accordingly. Considering how much I have paid for one week of stay mu conclusion is that the Villa is beautiful but spoiled by the staff…not a friendly...

We stayed in Villa Cecilia Trabia from July 7 to July 14, 2018. We were mislead by this agency about 1) the number of people the villa could accommodate comfortably, and 2) the discrepancy in upkeep and quality between the main house and the cottages. The villa at best could sleep 14 adults comfortably; our friends, a couple aged 60+, ended up staying in a room that looked more like a prison cell than anything else. They marketed capacity at 22 adults. I have no idea on earth how that is physically possible after having stayed there. The cottages are badly in need of renovation and upkeep. Some rooms smelled like mildew. Sicilyluxuryvillas also used a completely different name for the villa (Arcadia Ridotto) on the contract I signed with them; I wonder why. When I asked the agent, Costanza, she said it is normal for agencies to use different names. I've never heard of this practice in my life, and I've rented villas across Spain, Turkey, and Italy. I strongly advise potential customers to think twice about working with...

As a professional travel writer specialising in Sicily for Rough Guides and Conde Nast, I have stayed in most of the island's finest hotels, but when I go to Sicily on holiday, when I really want to relax with family and friends, I far prefer to stay in a luxury villa. Sicily Luxury Villas have been brilliant at helping me choose the right villa. I've stayed in three of their villas now, ranging from Villa Valguarnera, where Princess Vittoria Alliata was the most charming and fascinating host, to a totally magical dammuso on the island of Pantelleria, where Ralph Fiennes and Tilda Swinton had just finished filming A Bigger Splash in its swimming pool. I've also spent a fantastic day in Palermo shopping in the market and learning to cook with La Duchessa, and had a glorious week hidden away in tiny Stella Marina -- my children's favourite -- where our garden opened straight onto our...