Hotel Villa Enrica - Aeolian Charme — Hotel in Lipari

I really wanted to give 5 stars but there were a few issues I want to highlight. On the positive, the hotel was nicely located near the main town, the staff were so so nice and extremely accommodating. The pool and pool bar is amazing and very nice. The rooms come with a big balcony and they're very clean.

Downsides: the hotel offers services to book experiences on the island. We did the beach club, sunset wine tasting, and tour of Panerea and Stromboli. We had issues with these (see below).

1. The beach club was not very good. Cash only and the closest ATM was a 30 min walk away. The hotel staff did not tell us this ahead of time. Then they served us drinks out of a paper cup that broke apart after about 15 min. There were far nicer beaches and beach clubs on the island but this felt like the cheapest and worst one.

2. sunset tour at the winery was very pretty. The winery was beautiful and the wine was nice. However the group was huge and was entirely in Italian. There were other groups that were non-Italian as well. The communication was confusing at best. I wish the hotel communicated that it would be in a huge group (50+ people). I expected something more intimate.

3. the worst was the island tour. It was another huge group (50+) jammed on a boat entirely in Italian. We had barely an hour on Panerea and only 2 hours on Stromboli. We had no idea what to do on the islands and we were not told anything ahead of time. I've done tours like this in other parts of Italy (like Capri in Amalfi coast) and they at least tell you what to do and not to do. And they offer in languages other than Italian. They also did not serve food and the times they stopped on the islands were the times all the restaurants were closed for both lunch and dinner. We found ourselves rushing to find food. And we got back really late and most dinner places were closed on Lipari.

Overall my feedback is that for a 4 star hotel that boasts helping tourists to book experiences and be a local guide, their communication was really lacking. That and the companies they chose to partner with were huge tour companies that were very confusing and of lower quality. For the price and 4-star rating I would expect more.

Lastly the AC in the room was very weak, which it was 32°C each day which made for very uncomfortable sleep.

I want this hotel to succeed, but if they want more international tourist they need to up this part of...

Beautiful and relaxing hotel on Lipari! My partner and I spent 6 days at the Hotel Villa Enrica on Lipari; I was at a research conference while on Lipari and spent most of my time at the conference. Hotel Villa Enrica was such a wonderful and relaxing place to stay during the research conference. It is a gorgeous property, beautifully maintained, and with a most picturesque view of one of Lipari's ports. Absolutely gorgeous! The staff are all so friendly and willing to help; even in our broken Italian, they were very helpful and kind. When we checked in, the staff gave us a detailed overview of the hotel, services that they provide, and even recommendations for transportation (if you use a local taxi service, you get a reduced rate!) and restaurants. Every morning, the hotel offers an extensive and very delicious breakfast--all on their patio overlooking the port. The breakfast has something for everyone, with vegetarian options as well. The rooms are quite spacious--large beds, extra living room/couch area, outdoor patio, and a nice bathroom. Our room was quiet and climate-controlled. And, they also have an amazing swimming pool (and bar!) also overlooking the port. The hotel is relatively easy to access from the port. If you don't have much luggage you can walk from the port to the hotel (about a 20-minute walk) but it can be steep in some areas. However, if you have quite a bit of luggage, we recommend taking a taxi. Otherwise, you can easily walk "downtown" from the hotel (we did every day). There's so much to do in and around Lipari, so many places to explore (it is worth renting a car!), so many restaurants, and fun shops and galleries. Plus, even during the tourism season--Lipari still feels relaxed and offers lots of adventures. We are so thankful to the staff at Hotel Villa...

We stayed in this place in October 2020 and overall had a great time. The premise is lovely, overlooking the bay and the view from the pool are is amazing. The place itself as well as the rooms are clean and spacious. Seaside rooms offer a great view, garden rooms (which we had) mostly offer a huge, secluded terrace. The staff was extremely friendly, and the breakfast selection was, even in Corona-times, more than we had expected.||So, what was the downside? Mainly three things:||1) Internet in our room was not working. It worked well in the breakfast area, but not in our room. We were told that it is because “Apple products” cause problems, which was not more than a cheap excuse for a badly WiFi setup (each room has a separate WiFi SSID which speaks for itself). I know that internet access is not everything, but it has become a commodity and I expect it to work.||2) If you are a light sleeper, definitely bring earplugs. The neighbours of the hotel all have dogs and they kept on barking loudly all night long each night of our stay. This was really annoying; however, we know that this is not the hotel owner’s fault.||3) At least in our room, having hot water in the shower was a hit and miss. Sometimes, in the afternoon, we were lucky – but very often, especially in the morning, we were not. Hot water supply is a basic and this hence bothered us quite a bit.||To sum up: If a couple of things get fixed, this place would receive a five-star rating. Note: In case you come to the island without a car: The hotel is a bit off the city centre. We did not mind and walked downtown each day (10-15min), but it is quite steep...