Pros - The amazing view of Mt. Etna and the sea from our balcony, the charming garden, free…read morebreakfast, clean throughout, free parking, acceptable level of service.
Cons - Low quality beds, basic rooms, tiny bathrooms, non working wireless internet despite it being an advertised feature, not many modern amenities.
My wife and I were deeply drawn to the lovely images associated with this property. The backdrop of both the sea and Mount Etna make a lovely view indeed. Upon arrival we found our room had a balcony with a stunningly beautiful view of the Taormina skyline. And I think stunning may be an understatement: Mount Etna, charming seaside villages, and the sea all just outside the door.
This hotel has some positives going for it aside from the views, like free parking, cleanliness, and free breakfast. Additionally, if you get a competitive price from the right booking website, the value can be good.
The parking area is adequate but a pain to get into since it's built into a hill and very tight space wise. But it's nice to have the option of parking so close for no fee. The level of cleanliness throughout was impeccable, the rooms, public areas and even our balcony were spotless. Regarding the free breakfast, it's a pretty good assortment of breads, cheeses, spreads and so on. But, the coffee is instant only (a crime in a place like Sicily) and the service is slow (15 minutes to bring out food when there was no one else in the dining room). Regardless, it was a great way to start the day when it actually was served, in particular because you can eat and drink on a terrace overlooking the most charming garden and the sea. Excellent hotel feature.
So, it's safe to say that all the basics were covered fairly competently; we had a wonderful view, good breakfast, and had a clean environment. But truth be told, there were a few issues.
Here are the downsides as we saw them:
The rooms are tiny and in need of some upgrading. Judging by the outdated amenities and poor design, it looks like they last got an overhaul about 10-15 years ago. The rooms are a great place to sit on the balcony and look outside, but the room itself doesn't have much living space or practical extras. For example, the air conditioner was useless for heat even after being on for hours, and the TV's were tiny with most channels filled with static.
The beds were really worn out and on the poor side. We asked for a double and got 2 twins pushed together (standard in many places in Europe, that's true) but the mattresses were terrible and uneven in quality. Both were thin and old and one was higher than the other, so it made for an uncomfortable sleeping experience for 2 people.
Also, the bathrooms are very small. In this small space they crammed a stand up shower, sink, toilet, stool, and yes, bidet. If they lost the bidet they probably could have put an actual comfortable tub in there, but they cut corners on thoughtful design and everything on the bathroom suffered to the point of near unusability. If you are over 6 feet tall, good luck squeezing into the showers tiny doors.
Regarding the internet service, it was a mixed bag. The wifi did not work, but they did have a hard wired public computer.
When I tried the wireless, there was a constant "limited or no connectivity" error, so we couldn't do any surfing. I believe it's basically a problem with the router but the owner was unable to rectify it in my stay here, he just kept asking me if it was OK which it wasn't. Also, the signal doesn't extend to the rooms, it just reaches the dining room. So if you have a laptop you have to use it there.
Additionally, while there is a workable PC there, it can potentially be hard to get to it, especially if the hotel is crowded - i.e. be prepared to wait in line. Also, just a minor point, the Windows OS is set up is in Italian, so for a non Italian speaker, it adds extra effort and time spent doing simple things like searches and so on since copy, paste, search and all Windows commands are in Italian.
In the end, I'd recommend the hotel based largely on it's wonderful views and grounds. As for everything else, you will have to deal with the basics and keep your expectations on the ground.
