Villa Anson Silj, heritage property, RM Italy

Our family visited beautiful Rome for our wedding in June 2024 and our stay at Villa Anton Silj was a major disappointment. Upon arrival, we found two out of three air conditioners broken with temperatures reaching 38°C. Three of the 20 beds were just living room sofas in a room without curtains. The houses and kitchenware were dirty, and we had to gather utilities from all three kitchens to cook a meal. We asked for breakfast at 20 euros per person, a total of 400 euros per breakfast for 20 people, with real value under 100 euros. On our first day, after a long flight with children, our requested dinner was delayed by three hours, leaving the kids hungry. The meal, mainly boiled spaghetti with minimal sauce, cost 25 euros per person. Other issues: - A broken toilet left one house uninhabitable for three days. - A leaking dishwasher. - A clogged kitchen sink - Low water pressure made one shower unusable. - Only one functioning coffee machine. - Falling toilet paper holders. - No garbage bins - A dysfunctional washing machine - Mildew issues. Four extra air conditioners were eventually provided, but they were noisy and inefficient. Meanwhile, the hosts had a properly installed AC. Housekeeper Eleonora was unpleasant and rude, showing no inclination to help, and her assistant Sara was similarly unhelpful. After we left, we were charged an additional 250 pounds for made up reasons and we received no explanation or answer from the hosts. Stay away from Villa Anton Silj!

We had an incredible team weekend at Villa Silj. Bernard and his wife were the best hosts I’ve had yet with Vrbo. They were accommodating, resourceful and made us a once in a lifetime dinner that was paired with tasty organic Italian wine from the region. Highly recommend for large groups, weddings, events or just a weekend with family.

We had a wonderful stay. The property is vast with friendly horses next door for the kids to feed. It’s so close to Rome’s tourist sites (30 euro taxi) yet far enough outside the city for peace and quiet. The owners were great help when we needed. It’s a quaint property.

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Villa Silj - and we plan to return, hopefully soon, with our children. Villa Silj rests atop an extensive relaxing garden with centennial mediterranean pine trees - a privileged setting that we found beautiful and soothing. The garden surrounds the main house and is peppered with distinct places, outdoor rooms, sculptures and sensations in a very open, welcoming way. It is well kept, green, open, tall and spacious, and unlike many important gardens, nothing in it evokes the petty will to command, to order or show off- and this we found sincerely welcoming and -truly- elegant. Like the garden, the apartments and our hosts, Dado and Eleonora. Our apartment was a free standing two-story small building, with a porch, a dining room-kitchen, a living-room and study, a bathroom and a bedroom with one great, warm (november ) double bed with linen sheets. Upstairs-which we didn't need nor use on this occasion - there were more rooms for a further 4 adults and more children. The apartment had everything one needs to live autonomously, in good quality and good style - without pretense - and provides a spatiousness, quietness, independence, economy and ease of living which would be impossible at a hotel or anywhere in the center of Rome. Dado and Eleonora welcomed us like friends and made us feel immediately and fully at home. They have made Villa Silj their home over the last 25 years or so and are the living representation in the depth and breadth of all the nice qualities they have put into the apartments and the garden. Villa Silj is located in Prima Porta, which is about 20 minutes by car from central Rome. We flew in from Seville in a direct Ryanair flight to Ciampino, rented a car, drove for about 30 minutes through the G.R.A. (the acronym for the city's highway belt) to exit 3 and arrived without too much difficulty. To get to Rome, we drove 5 minutes to Saxa Rubra train station, parked the whole day for 1,20 €, bought a train ticket (1,50 € per person each way), which left us at Piazza del Popolo.The train ride is not elegant, but it is hassle-free and inexpensive, two things I would not be able to say if I had to drive to the center of Rome and park. We spent our first full day seeing just about 10 of the 800 churches in Rome. Our second full day - we did not leave Villa Silj, and I preferred it!

For two weeks Villa Silj was our home to 3 generations, 15 of us in all and we greatly enjoyed the villa's many assets; the beautiful grounds, the cooler location in the hills above Rome with good access to all the attractions in Rome. The thoughtful hosting from Bernard and his staff; the wonderful dinners, the driving services and all kinds of local information added a lot to our enjoyment of the villa. Villa Silj, although historic and interesting is not luxurious accommodation, but we were all comfortable and remember our time there as a wonderful holiday.

This Roman Villa was fantastic to return to after a long hot day sightseeing in Rome. We were two families with 7 teenagers and rented two of the cottages. We greatly enjoyed the BBQ and pool and the grounds were lovely. It was a perfect set up for our families. We did not have cars and traveled by train and bus in and out of Rome. It was a great adventure and made us feel like locals just a little !