Baglio Occhipinti

Friendly staff, quiet and idyllic scenery. Delicious breakfast and dinner. A great place to enjoy a slow life

Quite a gem in a stark landscape tucked away in the countryside of Sicily. This part of Sicily is neither lush nor beautiful in the sense of Tuscany, but quite charming, especially on the grounds of Occhipinti, where there is an abundance of vineyards, herb and vegetable gardens and the famous Occhipinti winery nearby. After driving along dry roads with noticeable amounts of dumped trash (due to lack of regular public services), one pulls into the Occhipinti oasis. A lovely old baglio has been turned into a comfortable upscale hotel with clean swept modern rooms, a beautiful long pool, lovely landscaping and comfortable common rooms. While there are sites to see and places within driving distance for day trips, a stay at Occhipinti deserves at least a day on site to just relax and soak in the ambience. Breakfast is served in a beautiful room of former wine crushing vats and is beautifully displayed and varied with Italian cakes and pastries to local specialties. Eggs and bacon and delicious coffee drinks are included and can be ordered. The chef prepares an outstanding and varied lunch and dinner each day based on local ingredients. Never the same menu, one could eat lunch and dinner every day and keep enjoying inventive and superb cuisine. It’s possible to order fewer courses than the full menu, but hard to not try everything. The gardens and grounds are so pretty that eating outside at crisp white linen covered tables with candles and twinkling lights is a must at night. There is a sweet table for two near the kitchen and overlooking the pool that can be requested. As is the case in many places, there are loads of cats around – well fed and friendly, but be advised if you have allergies. The only bothersome thing was the multitude of flies that made it unpleasant to sit by the pool in the afternoon. Occhipinti has a sister winery which can be visited and the wines are excellent.

The property was beautiful, the staff were very pleasant and efficient. The meals were outstanding. Would highly recommend the property.

We visited this property for 3 nights, as soon as you arrive, you know you have happened upon something very special, it is a woman owned and operated property as well as winery! We toured winery, did a cooking class and ate most our meals there! The rooms were spacious and beautifully appointed, immaculate, with very comfortable beds. The services and kindness of the employees stay with you long after you depart! Rebecca, was one of the sweetest, and most attentive! I e mailed her from the states and called her several tomes, always a smile and a quick reply! Cooking class was incredible and very hands on, and we ate our raviolis with fresh tomato sauce as part of our dinner that night. I can only say, this is a very special place, beautiful to the eye, and good for the soul. It is a peaceful retreat, we were treated wonderfully, and many hugs upon our departure! Honestly, if you are in this area of Sicily, do not miss this little gem!!!

A beautiful old house and lovely vineyards and fruit and vegetable gardens. So peaceful tranquil and calm. Delightful staff. Fabulous pool. A wonderful place to relax and recharge and drink local wines and eat produce from the gardens. Wish we could have stayed longer

Baglio Occhipinti was a magical and very relaxing place - the building and setting are beautiful, all of the staff are so nice that you feel like you’re with family, the food is delicious and the wine list is amazing. I would also recommend doing a cooking class and visiting Arianna Occhipinti’s vineyard nearby, they were both major highlights of our Sicily trip. Thank you to everyone at Baglio Occhipinti for such a wonderful experience!

You will feel at home in this wine state, whether it’s cold in front of the fireplace or by the pool when it’s hot. The common areas are just beautiful, the living room is the dining area or the outside gardens full of corners to enjoy the aperitivo and watch the sunset. We had a suite simply beautiful. Maybe it misses some hooks to hang the bathrobes and towels and a mini fridge will be also very welcomed. The bathroom could be in a decoration magazine. Breakfast changed during our stay from a la carte to buffet and the latter was much better. The state focuses on wine as the family has two wineries and you can taste their fantastic natural wines. I will totally recommend a visit to those wineries. We had two dinners very nice food and service. The staff are very friendly and their knowledge of food, wine and the nature is impeccable.

What a con. A triumph of marketing over reality. Less than a hostel posing as a high end venue. My wife and I were celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary and we wanted to spend three days somewhere special & paid €430 per night. Our curtailed stay of only one night was far from being the special stay we wanted. The “suite” we booked comprised of bedroom about 4m square, plus an extra room empty with other than an old sofa covered with a bed sheet. Truly Awful! (see photo) Even a half self-respecting hostel wouldn’t have a wooden pole suspended by two pieces of string , rather than a proper wardrobe (see photo)! Or have a bedsheet thrown over an old sofa (see photo); uncovered electric cabling going up to a bare bulb room light (see photo); tiny bedside tables that couldn’t store anything (see photo); no drawers for clothing; only one small table; no waste bin; no milk coffee or sugar in the room; very limited power points even for the electric kettle; or a wooden ladder propped against the very tiny bathroom wall for towelling! The bathroom is effectively part of the virtually empty room & divided by a sliding door. Baglio is simply a basic conversion of an agricultural building with few additions. The greedy management business model is to focus all the investment in the dining area and charge as high as much as possible for this cost centre. They have no respect for the holidaying customer. My recommendation is to avoid Baglio Occhipinti completely.

We enjoyed two wonderful days and nights at Baglio Occhipinti at the end of June. A beautiful setting with friendly staff, excellent food and lovely rooms. It is the ideal spot to relax and from which to visit a few surrounding vineyards- including of course, Occhipinti. Highly recommended.