Villa del Mar Scopello

Location was amazing! Host was lovely and super helpful

Grounds were okay. Covered terrace nice. Bathroom ok.

We spent 4 nights here with 3 kids (age 9, 7 and 5). This is not a 'luxury' property, it is a rustic family owned beach chalet which has been simply updated. The outdoor space is great - proper shade under a large wooden canopy, mature shady pines, outdoor dining set, outdoor seating area and sun loungers and a wash down area at the back. There was always a gentle sea breeze / air movement coming up the hill from the beach during the hottest part of the day. The location is, in our opinion, fairly unrivaled for Scopello due to the privacy, tranquility and views, which are spectacular and no photo on booking.com truly conveys this. It is 250m down a steep, private (so car free) track to the beach with only 1 other house on it. The beach is stony, bring aquashoes. The interior of the chalet is basic, simple, tasteful and suited us fine as we were only inside to sleep. If you need a bit more luxury this is not the property for you. High quality mattresses and pillows in both bedrooms, very comfortable for sleeping. A 20 min uphill walk into Scopello, and it was fine to walk home at night using a torch (just take usual care). The host, Adriana, could not be more helpful, accommodating and is super responsive. Nothing is a problem, it is very reassuring. The water is crystalline, we had great plans to explore the area more but everyone just wanted to snorkel. Husband did some hiking into the reserve, which is only 800m from the house. Panne cunzato from the village bakery is excellent and makes for a great lunch. This was our second time to Scopello. We were last there 12 years ago and we still think it has a touch of magic about it. Compared to other places in Sicily its not too touristy, vast majority were Italians. We plan to go back.

There is one single air con unit in the kitchen for the entire house. We slept with the two bedroom doors open to avail of air con which worked fine for us as we were a family. Be aware that the road down is steep but manageable and there is usually a few 'visitors' each day as google tends to send some people down the road and they can find it difficult to get back up the hill if their car has a small engine.

The location was great with views of the ocean and lots of privacy as there are no houses nearby. The beds are very comfortable. Its more a summer house as there are lots of places to sit outside. Adriana is very helpful and attentive to your needs. You can walk to the village and to the beach although the driveway is very steep so you need to be fit!

We had some plumbing issues which were promptly fixed by Ariana. The place needs a bit of TLC as it felt a bit run down for the money. The outside lounges were breaking so we didn't sit on them, the kitchen cupboards were very damp inside and smelt terrible. Some new coffee cups would be nice not the very large cracked ones that are there.