Villa San Lorenzo Scala REVIEW: Self catering apartments in Italy

Bobbing around on an inflatable, listening to the kids squealing with laughter in the Villa San Lorenzo pool, I couldn’t help but feel a little smug at finding this stunning self catering apartment in Italy with a pool. Villa San Lorenzo is situated in the center of Scala, a small village off the Amalfi Coast just 2 km from Ravello. Villa San Lorenzo has a number of modern family friendly apartments, and is walking distance to the square in Scala. Here is our Villa San Lorenzo review.

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Italy self catering holidays

As a family of five we often opt for self catering holidays. It gives us the flexibility of working to our own routine and eating what we want, when we want – it definitely makes it easier when you travel with young children. It also means that the children can go to bed when they are ready, and we are not trying to keep them entertained during late meals in a restaurant.

Don’t get me wrong, we love to eat out when we are on holiday, but we often choose to cook back at the apartment, as in all honesty it helps save pennies for more travel.

We travelled to Italy the August bank holiday week, and booked direct flights to Naples with Ryan Air. We had a taxi transfer direct from the airport to Villa San Lorenzo.

Self catering Italy with a pool

We spent ages looking for self catering villas, or self catering apartment in Italy with a pool that fitted our tight budget. The Amalfi coast in August is busy, and very expensive. We were heading over for a wedding in Ravello, and wanted to stay near to the wedding venue. This is when we stumbled across Villa San Lorenzo in Scala, and I couldn’t believe my luck that it was available for the week.

This family friendly holiday apartment in Italy is located in the village of Scala and has private pool, large gardens and a swimming pool. Wifi is available too.

Villa San Lorenzo Review, self catering apartments, Italy

We stayed in a family apartment suitable for 4-6 people. This apartment has an open plan living room and fully equipped kitchen. There is a sofa bed in the living room, and a further twin bedroom and a double bedroom. There is a large bathroom equipped with a shower. The apartment is equipped with air-conditioning, television, iron and ironing boards and hairdryer. There is also a coffee machine, anyone who knows my husband will know how happy this makes him.

The kitchen is fully equipped with everything you need for your stay.

My first thoughts when we arrived was how spotlessly clean the apartment was!

The private outdoor terrace is beautiful, with a patio area with a table and chairs and a BBQ, and then a further raised grassed area with chairs overlooking with incredible views over to Ravello.

We love Italy, having stayed in Lake Maggiore a couple of years back with our children. This summer we had been travelling in our camper van and had not long returned from the Isle of Wight and Shropshire Camp Bestival prior to our trip.

In all honesty I had only one real plan in Italy – to celebrate our lovely friends getting married in Ravello, and anything more was a bonus. I was looking forward to some serious R&R in the sunshine.

San Lorenzo villa was just perfect for a laid back family holiday in Italy. We were able to explore Ravello and Amalfi but also able to take some time out to enjoy the sunshine by the pool with my family and a good book. Absolute perfection.

San Lorenzo Villas and the pool

I alway worry about the scramble for sun loungers at the pool, and having to get there early to almost secure a sun bed . You don’t have to worry about that here. We often had the pool all to ourselves and it was amazingly quiet. There was always plenty of sun loungers and umbrellas. I loved wandering around the grounds with the lemon trees surrounding the villas.

The check in process was really smooth and I was very impressed. We had great communication by text and email leading up to our stay. We were greeted on arrival by a friendly smile and the check in was really smooth. The team were always on hand to help throughout the stay with useful tips for walking, places to eat, bus timetables and suggested taxis numbers. We genuinely couldn’t fault the team at all.

Tips for staying at San Lorenzo Villa in Scala with kids

• There is a small but well stocked grocery store in Scala and also a fruit and veg store and it has everything you need. This is only a five minute walk from San Lorenzo villa. There is also a pharmacy.

• There are a few great restaurants in Scala, and they are family friendly and reasonably priced – there wasn’t a huge choice if you are vegetarian, but the pizza was ALWAYS amazing.

• There are a large number of steps walking from San Lorenzo to Scala so just be mindful of that with little legs. You can walk to Ravello and it takes about 25-30 min with quite a few steps that can be warm in the August heat.

• Taxis in Ravello or Amalfi are EXPENSIVE. We often took the bus, and you can purchase tickets from the square and it is about 10 minutes into Ravello and 20 minutes to Amalfi. Please be mindful that the bus does get really busy, particular the bus going to and from Amalfi. It was easy to get out of Scala but tricky to get available seat on the bus back for five of us.

How to book Villa San Lorenzo in Scala

We stayed in Villa San Lorenzo for one week from the 23rd August 2023. We booked flights to Naples with Ryanair and arranged taxi transfer from the airport.

Click here to check rates and availability for Villa San Lorenzo.

Villa San Lorenzo review -final thoughts

We all absolutely loved our stay here. Villa San Lorenzo offers a perfect base to explore nearby Ravello and Amalfi. Ideal if you want to escape the crowds, but close enough to explore the surrounding areas.

The location is beautiful and the apartment is spotlessly clean. The outdoor area is well maintained and pool area and the private terrace are beautiful. We often had the pool all to ourselves.

Scala has a number of lovely family friendly restaurants within walking distance.

Would we return? 100% yes!

This article contains affiliate links. Should you click to purchase, it is at no additional cost to you, but I receive a small commission.