Our stay at Philippe's house was absolutely dreamy.

We had been wanting to visit Sicily for some time and did not really know where to stay but we are so happy we chose Castellammare del Golfo and this house !

The city is the perfect sicilian cliché : old people talking down the small colorful streets, children playing and laughing, charming restaurants and bars by the ancient port, amazing local products : hard to get bored in such a lovely town. Not to mention the people who are as smily and helpful as can be, very welcoming, you don't feel like a tourist !

Now the house : the vue is as pictured (even better in real life) : stunning. The beach (white sand and cute cafés) is a 5 minute walk from the house but the good point is the house is elevated which makes the vue so impressive and peaceful. The feeling when you wake up in the morning and come outside is really priceless. The terrasse and the pool parts are super comfortable and luxurious, it is also very calm.

The interior is as pictured as well : sober, cosy and comfortable; there is everything you need in the house : 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, plus a huge living room with a giant couch and TV (but trust me you will spend most of your time outside, except when you'll be cooking in the cute kitchen).

We also really appreciated Philippe's detailed explanations about the house, how to get there, where to shop and what to visit around : it made our arrival very easy and we felt safe and at home. He remains available by telephone or email and even if he's not in Sicily at the time, there are very nice and helpful friends of his who can come and help if there is something you're having trouble with that can't be fixed over the phone !

Although chilling by the pool and the beach are sufficient to make you happy, we took the time (thanks to our host's advice) to visit the area during our stay and we came across some very beautiful spots near Castellammare : Scopello, nature reserve Zingaro (where you can dive or hike), Erice (a beautiful medieval village on the top of a hill), and a temple near by with hot springs of water where you can bathe !!! Also we rented a boat for the afternoon (not too expensive) at castellammare's port (philippe will tell you where to go) to go picnic on another beach in the Zingaro reserve and had so much fun.

We didn't have time to go to other parts of the island but it made us want to come back next year to see more and hopefully stay at Philippe's house.