Spacious,charming elegance with magnificent views over mountains and sea.

The entire process of greeting our property managers, contacting them when necessary and departure was very smooth and professional. The apartment itself also lived up to our expectations. There were no surprises. The kitchen is small but functional. It was well stocked with any utensil a cook might need. The apartment itself is a charmingly refurbished 800? year old building in the older area of Belmonte Calabro. I estimate that about half of the apartments in the immediate area are empty awaiting a loving hand. The town itself has one bar, one restaurant (which looked and smelled good) and a small piazza. Realizing that we were in Calabria during a heat wave we were surprised that being atop the hill did not offer much repose from the heat, including at night. Thankfully, the apartment was well stocked with fans. The beach, and more night life was about a 10 min car ride down the winding road. It was too far to walk but there are plenty of cafes and gelaterias in the area. Amantea is the larger town in the area and it had some shopping as well as groceries and an open market for local produce.

Belmonte is a beautiful little village. We all loved it. Our girls (6 and 2) loved exploring the "secret passageways"; we dined al fresco at Intru u Vico and on our balcony (eating their food); Francesco and Andrea (and the Mamma and Papa) were incredibly nice and helpful. Most days we went to the bar at the end of the village where the girls had their granita. Daniele gave us a guided tour of the ruined castle and would have guided me up Monte Cocuzzo if I'd found the energy, but I just couldn't. We visited many of the villages around: Lago, Terruti, Fiumefreddo, Amantea, Cleto and some other little ones up in the mountains whose names I've forgotten. We attended the swordfish festival in Fiumefreddo and ate (and drank) like royalty (off plastic plates). We took early morning walks through the countryside around the village. We chatted to many of the locals and were gifted wine, tomatoes, cucumbers, figs, and bread. We swam in the sea at Belmonte Marina almost every day. We drove to Cosenza and got happily lost in the centro storico then ate like royalty in Ristorante Calabria Bella, this time off real plates. We explored the castle at Cleto then had lunch in a nearby agriturismo and ate the finest spread of food I've tasted in a while. Afterwards we were treated to a guided tour of the farm (where all our food had come from) by the chef. Wonderful.

And the apartment was perfect. Very charming, lots of character, comfortable, fantastic terrace with views of the mountains and the Med. Your comment in a previous email ("The apartment is yours for those two weeks", I think you wrote) made us feel very comfortable and very much at home. Thank you for that. We were lucky enough to see Stromboli the first few days, which was a real treat. (Apparently the summer haze normally obscures it.) And Francesco was always a complete star downstairs. He and his family, and especially his restaurant, really added an extra richness to our experience (and an extra inch to our waistlines).

We never used the internet - we had no need, or wish, to be connected to the outside world! Olympics? What Olympics?

And now I'm hooked on Calabria. I think the Aspromonte next time, although Sergio in the little tourist agency office around the corner from the apartment advised against it - said it's too undeveloped. Sounds perfect.

We had a very relaxing holiday in Belmonte which is a typical mountain top village. The apartment was spacious and more than adequate for us with the terrace being a highlight with its beautiful views. The restaurant nearby was excellent and Francesco looked after us very well. We explored the surrounding area by car but be warned although the Calabrians are more than friendly this changes when they get behind the wheel.

However we were charged 60E cleaning fee which had clearly not been carried out before our arrival. The kitchen floor was dirty and crockery had been left to drain and not put away. There was mould in the fridge salad drawer. In the bathroom there was used soap and face cloths in the shower,dirty washing in the machine and a used half bar of soap lying in the shower plug hole. The towels were very old and worn. There were a number of bags of pot pourri on the spare bed.On the lounge balcony a stepladder had been left. There were various mops buckets and brooms left lying about.

We were also charged 60E for meet and greet but were a little put out by Yvonne who looked at the flower pots and noticed they needed watering and said as she left Oh don't forget to water them .

Overall we had a most enjoyable holiday but do expect when renting a holiday home which we have on many occasions that we would be renting a clean and tidy apartment, this was not the case as it was more like moving into someones home with their personal effects being left around

This would not prevent us from returning but George needs to review the cleaning and find somewhere to leave his personal effects out of view of guests.

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Staying at this gorgeous place in Belmonte Calabro gave us a clear feeling and idea (which was just an assumption until then) as to why Odysseas went out defying the perils of the sea to arrive at this unmatched place on earth.

A great Thank You to Yvonne, George and Doug! - who helped us 'onboard' in the most friendly and easy way one would expect. We loved the sun and the full moon, the terrace, the view of the sea and the Stromboli, the tastefully furnished rooms, the kitchen which made us become a cook twice a day, the silence, the spirit of all the centuries and stories embedded in this unique site.

And - on a cultural and political note - if you want to understand what makes up Europe in a historical, cultural, religious and contemporary perspective: this is the place to go. Not the financial districts and - sorry to say this - the Internet.

Tom & Arkadi & Vitus

We were fortunate to have stayed in this beautiful home for one month and it is hard to express in words how beautiful this place really is. The scenery from our terrace overlooking the Mediterrean sea and the vast countryside was stunning.

Everything about this home is 5 star...spacious and all the conveniences that we are used to at home plus the bonus features....yes what can I say about that view! Eating on the terrace almost every day and night with the warm breezes The sound of the church bells at 0730 which was actually music to my ears got us up and going in the morning. We actually looked forward to the sound of those bells! The views were breathtaking from every direction.,wondering around the narrow cobblestone streets exploring and meeting the locals who were so friendly to us. I enjoyed cooking in the modern kitchen, dining on the terrace and If you are not in the mood to cook just below is a family run restaurant serving up delicious Calabrian style dishes. This home in the historic town of Belmonte Calabro is a vacation home that we would truly recommend for anyone wanting to experience the Calabrian culture and cuisine. Thanks to George and Yvonne for the excellent service you provided us which made us feel right at home.

Bella Belmonte!

Carmen & Paolo, Thunder Bay Canada