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Siracusa Accommodation: AirBnB in Ortigia

From May 2 to May 5, 2014, a friend and I stayed in Siracusa. We were in a small house found on AirB&B, listed as "Cute confortable house in Ortigia": https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/718143. We really wanted to be in Ortigia, the island that is the oldest part of the city. But demand outstrips supply in that area, so hotels there are expensive. This place was the perfect answer. The price was excellent; we paid $270 for 3 nights. It was a very small house, with a twin bed bedroom on the ground floor along with a kitchen and bathroom, and a double bed room upstairs. The bathroom even has a washing machine, and the kitchen is fully stocked with all kinds of items. It's run by a father (Sebastiano) and son (Luca), and Luca explained that when there is no tenant, he himself sometimes stays there. That explained why it was in such good shape, and why there were such good stocks of everything - from extra blankets to glass cleaner to a DVD player to regular and decaf teabags to almost any cooking implement you could think of, if you need it, it's here. The location was as central and convenient as promised. And Sebastiano runs a gift shop just outside the door, and lives across from the gift shop, so he's really a hands-on "landlord." He was very concerned that we have a good stay, and really went the extra mile (for example, helping greatly with the car).

The only negative is erratic Internet. Sebastiano is aware of the problem and trying to work on a solution (it's proving to be complicated so it may take a while). The Internet was often slow, and it's so unpredictable that Sebastiano doesn't even advertise the house as having Internet availability (so, finding any at all was a pleasant surprise).

I'd certainly stay here again.

Posted by
10186 posts

It looks fantastic except for the two painful looking red chairs in what looks like the breakfast area. But with that lovely little terrace, who would ever need to use them, haha.

Does the upstairs bedroom get terribly hot, though?

Posted by
11294 posts

"It looks fantastic except for the two painful looking red chairs in what looks like the breakfast area. But with that lovely little terrace, who would ever need to use them, haha."

The chairs were not uncomfortable. The terrace was nice, too.

"Does the upstairs bedroom get terribly hot, though?"

We were there in early May, and it wasn't too hot (I slept downstairs and my friend slept upstairs, but he had no complaints). There's a skylight in the upstairs bedroom that can be opened, so you can get cross-ventilation and good airflow.

Posted by
10186 posts

Sounds like you found a real gem! And are kind enough to share it. Thanks, Harold.