Luxury villa on the waterfront in Torre Archirafi - Sicily - Italy

Looking for something other than the standard Florida get-away for Christmas, and not wanting to be trapped in a Caribbean resort, we (wife, three adult daughters and their spouses) looked to Europe and discovered the Villa le Ancore in Sicily. It was easy to get to, about 40 minutes from the Catania airport, which has connections with many of Europe's major airports. It is large, well equipped and lots of bathrooms (5), very important when traveling with 5 women. The central heating system worked well, there was lots of hot water, the kitchen was well-equipped and the beds are large and comfortable. We were there for three weeks, mid-December until the first week of January, the weather was pleasant (10 to 17 degree centigrade) walking around weather, not beach or swimming weather. We had only one day of rain and even then it wasn't cold. The location, next to the town of Riposto, was convenient. Riposto has lots of shops and supermarkets and a number of good restaurants, and there were many others within easy driving distances. It is on the Ionian coast, at the base of Mount Etna, and there is lots to see. A car is a must, the main roads, the autostrada are excellent, the secondary roads are slower and narrow by North American standards, but it doesn't take long to adapt. The back country roads through the mountains, are narrow and twisty, but the scenery is gorgeous and the mountain top villages are well worth the effort. Villa le Ancore is only a 20 minute drive from the tourist mecca of Taormina, and an hour from Syracuse. Sicily is riddled with history, both ancient and modern, everything from Greek and Roman ruins to World War ll gun emplacements. Italian cuisine is, of course, excellent and Sicilian cuisine which features a lot of seafood is even better with influences from the mid-East and northern Africa. For us Sicily was a great place to visit and the Villa le Ancore provided with excellent accommodations. We would highly recommend both.

There were 10 adults in the villa from mid-May to mid-June. The owner accomodated us with 5 bedrooms upstairs containing a matrimonial bed in one room, and queen sizes in the other four bedrooms. There was an additional small single bedroom downstairs we did not need to use. The formal dining room seated 10 easily, and living room was very spacious, with alot of seating. It was nice to have a dishwasher, two refrigerators with freezers, and a washing machine on premises. We prepared many meals in the villa's kitchen. The location is beautiful.. with a view of Taormina coast, and of southern Italy across the Ionian Sea. Our favorite 'close-by' place to visit was Giardini Naxos.. a cute beach town with sandy beaches and lots of restaurants. Our 3 terraces were great.. one on main level surrounding entire villa.. one with doors that opened off of three of the bedrooms upstairs, and a roof-top terrace accessed from an out side staircase. You do not want to park a large car under the villa, as the turn is short, and drive too steep. It was nice to have the villa secure, as the drive-way gate locks. We enjoyed our time at Villa le Ancore, and the villa was very spacious. The owner was very prompt in assisting us with questions, or any needs if they arised. Guiseppina, thankyou so much for your warm welcome and hospitality.

Very beautiful villa with lot of space, beautiful terraces. On the one hand we have the frontal view on the sea, on the other side of Mount Etna. The house is very warm, well-appointed - ideal for large families. Villa LE ANCORE is the most beautiful house in the city of Torre Archirafi! We were welcomed by the owner, a case of problem, she is there within 10 minutes. For people who want to be in a place outside the mass tourism, it is perfect. We met no other tourists! It is a fishing town, very family. Prices in restaurants, bar are minimal. The strategic position for excursions like Catania, Taormina, Etna, Siracusa, Messina ext. One negative point, facing the house the beach is with stones, for to go to sandy beach, take the car.

Thank you very much!

My family, two couples of friends and I were at " Villa le Ancore", in the first week of June. It is a comfortable and cosy house with a beautiful terrace seaside where you can admire a wonderful view. The sun rise is unforgettable at dawn. Even more you can admire in the terrace above the house : a wonderful view of Etna.We have done a lot of interesting tour itineraries: taormina, Siracusa, Acireale, Etna...

Thanks to the landlady, a very helpful and kind woman and thanks for the welcome full of colours and for our unforgettable stay in the wonderful Sicily!

The villa was very spacious with lovely terraces around the house and the location is great on the waterfront. There's also some bars and restaurants in the vicinity and more in the near cities Riposto and Giarre. Only problem was to find the way to the villa as the roads in Sicily are very small and without good signs, which naturally isn't a fault of the villa.

My group of 5 persons was else very satisfied with the villa, but there are a couple of such a big things which needs fixing before you can call the villa as "luxury". The first and biggest thing is the bathrooms. They didn't work so well, neither toalets or showers for the reason that the villa must be at least 20 years old and there haven't been any renovating after the buildingwork. Normally in Italy the bathrooms are often the best part of the apartment.

Another thing was the gas stove which luckily had also one electric ring, as the gas rings didn't cook nearly anything because of very small flames (even my local friend tried to fix it without any success). So we made only breakfast in the villa and else were eating out.