Hugging Sicily's stunning southern coast, Azienda Agricola Mandranova is more than just a guesthouse with friendly owners. To stay here is to be thrust into the heart of Sicilian family life - with its emphasis on conviviality and the cucina. Regular cooking classes, in which ingredients are plucked straight from the olive tree-filled gardens, make the evening meal a focal point of the blissful day.
Packing tips
It's more a case of what not to pack. Travel light as you'll want to bring home as much of Mandranova's homemade wild fennel or pistachio pesto, and tuna in olive oil as possible.
Hotel restaurants
The Mandranova restaurant is where co-owner Silvia serves up traditional Sicilian dishes such as torta di mandorle (almond cake) and timballo di anelletti (local pasta with peas and aubergine), all made with fresh-from-the-garden ingredients. Guests shouldn't be surprised if the hotel's dogs lie at their feet throughout the meal.
Hotel bars
There's no actual bar, but guests can enjoy aperitivi or digestivi in the two living rooms or on one of the stylish mint-green plastic sofas set in the gardens.
Activities
Spice up your culinary skills with the hotel's cookery class (60) - Silvia will discuss the menu with you the day before and take you through all the steps in preparing it, using locally sourced ingredients and garden-grown vegetables. For ocean-bound fun, ride the Tornado - Mandranova's 38-foot boat - along the coastline, stopping at an island for lunch and spotting dolphins on the way, before returning to Port Licati to take in the daily fish market.
Contact Book Azienda Agricola Mandranova with Mr & Mrs Smith or call 0845 034 0700
Rates 122-1,988, including breakfast and taxes.
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