Hilary Sellars - Australia

May 2023

"What a privilege it was to stay at your beautiful apartment. After sailing for the previous week where we were all couped up and dealing with less than ideal weather arriving at the Sicilian House was just what we needed. Maria was so patient with our continual alteration of arrival time due to auto strada closure and stop off at Castelbuono. The heating was on, we all had hot showers and relaxed in the very spacious rooms with the great reading material.

We really appreciated the wine, cheese and salami left for us. The beds and linen were the best we had in Sicily, the  kitchen was fabulous to cook and eat in.  You have thought of every possible comfort!

The locals were so welcoming, shopping was a delight and we had a fabulous cooking class with the lovely Santina at Il Baghu. I just wished we could have sat out on the balcony but it was not to be unfortunately.

Just in case you have other guests who want to post ceramics home it might help if they know that Giovanni D’Angelo  doesn’t ship to Australia (or so we were told). Two of the group sent ceramics home from the Polizzi post office. The staff  were very helpful ( including going with them to the fruit shop to get a box) but with the language issue and obvious lack of experience it took over 2 hours and in the end they didn’t have the chance to supervise the packing or request a “ fragile” sticker. Consequently they lost 60% of the contents. Luckily my little platter survived in my suitcase. The others knew that loss was a possibility and were happy to have some things arrive so it’s not a drama.

Suzanne there is nothing I can suggest to improve your guests’ experience, thank you so much for the opportunity to experience a Sicilian mountain town."

Paul Barrett - Australia

July 2022

"We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Sicily. Your house is delightful and Polizzi Generosa was a postcard town full of very friendly people and great food. We were blessed with great weather the whole time we were there.

Your notes were also very helpful in getting the most out of our stay, thank you.

We’d love to visit again sometime and will certainly recommend to friends."

Rachel Doak - Canada

June 2022

"The house was fabulous. We really enjoyed our time there and will definitely visit again

You have a beautiful home there!" 

Marie Russo - USA

September 2019

"My family and I were fortunate enough to stay at The Sicilian House while visiting family in Polizzi. The place was amazing….from the local couple who met us at the side of the road to take us to our apartment (also with fresh bread to accompany the cheese and olives they bought us) to the beautiful apartment …..a truly great experience.

The apartment is updated with the most high end appliances and accessories, but maintains the old world charm of the area. It is centrally located so we were able to walk through the town and enjoy the pastries, people, churches and food. Its location also allows day travel to other larger cities in Sicily."

Janis Dolce - USA 

September 2019

“The Sicilian House is a stunning house not to be missed and the views are even more beautiful than in the photos as is every detail of this amazing home. Being greeted by Maria and Giuseppe so warmly makes you feel part of the village as soon as you arrive and they are always easily and readily available to help with anything you need or have questions about.

They even called a restaurant to stay open for us to eat lunch as we arrived late. I can go on and on about this home and town but I suggest if you are thinking about it , book it without a single hesitation. You will be wildly happy you did! Thanks Suzanne, Giuseppe and Maria for an unforgettable experience.”

Mary Canter - USA  

September 2019

“We are an extended family of twelve, siblings, cousins, nieces, friends who stayed at The Sicilian House for three nights at the beginning of our two week  tour of Sicily in September. Polizzi Generosa is the ancestral home of our maternal grandparents.

When the door opened to the palazzo, we gasped. What a magnificent residence. Everything about it was amazing. The attention to detail, the cleanliness, the size of the rooms, the decor. Every need was attended to. I have traveled throughout Italy for over forty years. This hotel is among the best. What a gem. The contrast of the ancient town and the stunning contemporary interior works so well.

A stay at The Sicilian House and a visit to Polizzi Generosa even if your grandparents were not born here would be a real treat for anyone who loves architecture, good food and history.”

Wendy Shaw, David Kent, Gillian Godfrey and Iain Morris - Canada

April 2019

We have had a wonderful week at The Sicilian House in Polizzi Generosa. Who knew what was behind the green door! We lounged on the terrace, lolled in the lounges, cooked in the fabulous kitchen and gorged ourselves on the terrific selection of books. Not to mention walking all over the village and touring the towns and mountain trails in the area. 

Thanks for the thought put into every detail, the terrific 'house book' full of useful and much relied on information, and the guided tour of the lower flat.

Another great trip to Sicily, and whets our appetite for more."

Manny, Kiki, Daniella And Alex - USA

April 2019

"Suzanne, thank you for sharing this beautiful home with us! It truly is a special and unique place. 

Every detail has been thought of! Such a wonderful place to come home to after a day exploring the beautiful Polizzi Generosa. Maria and Giuseppe were so lovely and available for anything we needed during our stay. We hope to be back again soon."

Carmela and Marco D'Amore - Australia

September 2018

"To Suzanne, Gaetano and our wonderful hosts Maria and Giuseppe. My husband Marco and myself would like to thank you for the hospitality and the most amazing place to stay in Polizzi Generosa, the heart of the place - The Sicilian House.

Wow! Wow! Wow! I will be back next year! The people and the hospitality of this beautiful village is beyond words. I felt at home and feel like Maria and Giuseppe are like my own family. 

Thank you Suzanne for extending your own hospitality and giving us the pleasure of being in your Sicilian House."

Chetan Lawda - England

September 2018

"Stunning property. Beautifully furnished. Full of history (check out the wine cellar!) and lovely views from the terrace. 2 living rooms/lounges and a huge kitchen. 

Perfect for large families or big groups. Joseph and Maria were amazing property managers who looked after us so well."

Louise Forde - Australia

August 2018

"We had a wonderful holiday at The Sicilian House it was something that we didn’t expect, high in the mountains and a quaint village atmosphere. The friendliness of the townspeople and Maria and Giuseppe looked after us very very well.  We were all sorry to say goodbye to them.  

I would recommend a stay at Polizzi Generosa and The Sicilian House to my friends. The house has been renovated beautifully."

Paul Rodgers and Sue Johnson, Chris and Alison Mitchell, and Rob and Nicky Blackmore - UK

May 2018

"We spent two weeks in Sicily in May and the absolute highlight of our holiday was the five nights we stayed at The Sicilian House. The apartment was truly outstanding with a combination of luxurious fittings, a cornucopia of books on Sicily and tasteful artwork. Breakfast on the balcony each morning was another high spot – it was tempting to stay there all day and observe how the views changed during the course of the day.

Giuseppe and Maria were ever so helpful, always available and keen to please. A tour of the whole building was organised, which was real delight. We were introduced to Paul, the artist living in the ground floor apartment, and had an opportunity to buy some superb wine from the store in the cellar. Paul, in turn, took us to a local pottery to see the statue he was making, just before it was fired in the one of the kilns. Another highlight!

Polizzi Generosa is a pretty village with plenty of interesting architecture. We enjoyed strolling through the narrow streets, but we wouldn’t recommend driving through the middle of the village like we did by accident one day – a bit of a hair-raising experience as the street seemed even narrower from inside a car! The locals are very friendly and welcoming, and seemed to enjoy our attempts to buy food with our limited Italian vocabulary. Still, we managed to buy really tasty bread first thing each morning from a near bakery.

We had splendid walks in the mountains close to Polizzi Generosa each day of our stay. May is a magical time to be in the Madonie mountains with abundant wild flowers blooming everywhere we went. We can recommend walking around Vallone Madonna degli Angeli, Piano Cervi and Pizzo Carbonara. All of these are easily accessible by car from Polizzi Generosa and we were able to use the walking guidebooks in the apartment to ensure we didn’t get lost.

Thank you, Suzanne, Giuseppe and Maria, for enabling us to have such a wonderful time. We can’t recommend The Sicilian House highly enough."

Andrew Lowth, Jillian Smith and Nigel Smith - Australia 

September 2017

"Dear Suzanne, Giuseppe and Maria, thank you for the wonderful 3 nights that we have had here in Polizzi. The house is beautiful and so thoughtfully put together with lovely books and special things to make our stay so much more wonderful.

We have loved Polizzi and the surrounding areas, the people, the food and the generosity of spirit will stay with us forever. We were lucky enough to be here for the San Gandolfo Festival and experience the town celebrations and such cultural history. 

Each one of us is taking away an experience and memory... for me, the wild boar pappardelle was beyond words aagh and the cannoli. Thank you again to Maria and Giuseppe for the generous time they both took to make our stay so much more rich and thoughful. Hope to return one day."

Dan, Marion, Holly, Alex, Kathleen and Jack - Australia

September 2017

"It is worth passing through Polizzi Generosa just to stay at this beautiful apartment. It is fitted out with everything you could want including a beautiful terrace, all kitchen things for cooking up a feast and a full library of fiction and non fiction on Sicily. The beds and towels were the most luxurious we had in all of the places we stayed in Italy!

Suzanne is easy to deal with over email and the caretakers Giuseppe and Maria are genuine caring people who will make sure you are looked after - they speak great English and were born in the village.

We arrived on a Sunday when the shops are closed from 1pm but on finding we hadn't had lunch they quickly took us to a local market and organised food and wine for us speaking to the locals - cheap and some of the most delicious food we had the whole trip! On learning that we were thinking of going to a particular restaurant they made a booking for us without us even asking.

The village itself is beautiful and interesting. While the weather was a bit rainy for walks even driving around the national park gave us a lovely impression of the startling and varied landscape. Do not get concerned if Maria and Giuseppe do not give you an exact address to meet you at - they helpfully met us at whatever point we entered the village to make it easiest for us and we followed in our car to the best parking (we then just walked throughout the village - it is quite small).

To sum up - best Airbnb we'd ever stayed in and we will recommend it to all our friends and family."

Natalia Lasaosa - Spain

August 2017

"We had the pleasure to stay in The Sicilian House this summer. The house is amazing, not only because of its decoration (bringing together tradition and modern style) but also because of Giuseppe and Maria (who take care of the house) who were extremely kind, specially with our kids.

Visiting Polizzi Generosa is also a great experience: its location (great landscape and sunset), its churches, its market, traditional shops… everything is worth to visit. And we are sure that the best way is staying in The Sicilian House.

We had a very nice time."

Dominique Rizzo - Australia

June 2016

"On first appearances Polizzi seems like a quiet little Sicilian village perched high in the mountains overlooking the rugged lands of this exotic island of Sicily.

We ventured to “The Sicilian House” for a dinner with my tour group and entered into what I can only describe as stepping back into history and taken to an era of opulence, grandeur and classic Sicilian style.

Suzanne, host and owner of The Sicilian house has not missed one single detail in renovating her stunning apartments which not only house 5 star accommodation for couples or small groups but she has also thought of everything opening her cellar to host a magical and unforgettable dinner with local chefs, entertainment and food that featured in a classic dinner inspired by the novel “il Gattopardo”.  

The whole evening was one met with joyous exhilaration for all my clients. It was the talk of the tour for weeks after.  

Thank you so much Suzanne for all your organising and we hope to definitely see you again in Sicily."

Anne Hillary - USA

June 2016

"What an absolutely lovely visit to The Sicilian House! The apartments are spectacular.

Thank you to your elegant and diligent attention to detail. It is much admired. I will treasure this visit with my mother for a lifetime, and hope to see you again soon when I return with my family. 

Thank you for your gracious hospitality."

John Stephens - UK

April 2016

"We really enjoyed our stay at The Sicilian House. The apartment was lovely, very comfortable and very well specified, which we appreciated. We also especially liked the library of books.

Giuseppe and Maria were lovely and looked after us extremely well and sorted out everything we needed. In retrospect we wished we had hired them to give us a guided tour of the town!

We also really liked the town and region, although it did feel slightly 'early season' in terms of bars and restaurants (though we did have two lovely meals out). We also had a great day walking up in the mountains north of PG (Polizzi Generosa)."

Shobha Govindia - UK

April/ May 2016

"My family and I have had an enjoyable and very comfortable week's stay at your house in Polizzi. Thank you for sharing this great Palazzo with us.

This was our third trip to Polizzi and we knew our way around the town. Maria and Joseph have been great hosts and made us most welcome & at home. They accompanied us on the tour of churches around Polizzi and to the ricotta farm.

We were not too lucky with the weather so did not get best use of terrace. Maybe next time! Would definitely recommend  The Silician House for a stay in Polizzi.

Suzanne, I loved some of the pieces of furniture and accessories you have in the house. Would be good to know where to source them! Best wishes and thank you."

Rosemary & John Sabatino and Bridget Roeber - USA

September 2015

"When we planned our trip to Sicily to trace our roots never did we expect to find the splendor of Palazzo Notar Nicchi in our family's village of Polizzi Generosa.   

You have created in The Sicilian House a fabulous residence restored with care for its history and an decorator's eye for the modern, all nestled in the beautiful mountains.  Maria and Joseph gave our stay the feeling of a welcoming family.  They helped in every way and guided us through the maze of public record searches and introduced us to the history and beauty of the town and its people.  The luxurious accommodations, setting and beautiful views made our stay one we will never forget. We look forward to returning to Polizzi Generosa and The Sicilian House with our family in the future."

"It is indeed rare to find a heaven within a heaven, but within the divine walls of Palazzo Notar Nicchi and within the extraordinary village of Polizzi Generosa, I have found one. From the crisp white linens and smooth stone surfaces of “The Sicilian House”, to the excellent food at the local restaurants, to the adorable old men who with a twinkle in their eyes chatted with me as we walked down the main streets during the evening passeggiata, I was in heaven.

I have also found the rare generosity of those who have made my first visit to the birth place of my grandfather a time I will never forget.  

My hostess Suzanne, with the enthusiastic assistance of Giuseppe and Maria, provided me with not only the luxurious surroundings of an exquisitely-appointed vacation home, including a beautiful terrace with an unsurpassed view of the valley and mountains beyond, but with the thoughtful and much-needed advice, suggestions and attention to detail that made my trip complete.

Their sincerity in wanting me to feel welcome and cared for was so genuine and appreciated, that I can certainly say that they honorably upheld the ancient tradition of Polizzi “Generosa”; a name added to the village of Polizzi by Roman Emperor Frederick II in the 13th century as recognition of the character of its generous people."