The apartment hotel Tartarughe in Letojanni, Sicily, Italy…read more"20m to the closest market, 40m to the sea, big apartments, 45-50 m2 with separate bedroom, kitchen and living room". Oh yes, I expected much of our stay. Reception open only in the morning, cleaning once a week - yes, that's ok. But it wasn't. We arrived very late in the evening. A totally unhelpful and irritated looking young guy showed us our room but did not help with the luggage. When I asked about the air conditioning he answered that there is none, but I found the remote control myself and got it to work. There were seldom anyone at the reception, not in the morning nor any other time. An older nice lady (don't know if she was cleaning staff or what) told us in good English that the reception lady is having coffee and will be back in an hour or so.. Cleaning once a week - well... that's a big joke! After the 4th day I asked about the cleaning and got the answer that the room was clean when you arrived right? Yes, of course, no one comes to a dirty hotel room, right? But cleaning once a week means in this hotel that if you stay for "only" one week, no one will ever clean anything or bring you new towels or linen. They clean after you have left, there you go, once a week! I have always thought that once a week means during your stay. Of course the room must be clean when you arrive, that is common sense. But not at this hotel. Well, now I was happy I met the reception staff only twice, since we were the only ones that did not pay the horrible 100 euro deposit - because no one told us to. But that was not only a good thing, because when we wanted to check out, the cleaning lady (not the nice old lady but another) told us to come with her back to the apartment and forced us to take the garbage out. We had left the last garbage - not much, because we had no more plastic bags to use and I thought well, they can make the final cleaning when they haven't done anything during the whole week. It was quite embarrassing to carry out the garbage bin in front of all people (tourists) at the reception. Fortunately we had kept the apartment otherwise tidy, so the garbage was the only problem for them - we had taken garbage out many times earlier that week. I have stayed at lots of apartments in many different countries, but never ever have I experienced this kind of "cleaning". I have always been provided with linen and towels at least once a week and the cleaning lady has visited 1-3 times/week providing toilet paper and taking the garbage out, sometimes even washed the dishes even if that is not agreed! So do I recommend this apartment hotel? If you don't mind the total lack of cleaning and the totally unfriendly staff (except the old lady, let's call her grandma), sure, why not. The apartment was big, the terrace was big with a washing machine (you can wash your towels and linen yourself, ehe), the air conditioning worked just fine. But don't expect anything of the staff. It is a pity really, that the staff ruins everything, because with friendly staff and a little cleaning I really could recommend this hotel.

My husband and I came to Taormina on a Friday for a quick staycation to celebrate our anniversary…read more We enjoyed it so much we decide to bring our family back after fulfilling work duties Saturday afternoon. Since it was very last minute we knew we probably wouldn't be able to find a nice hotel. We were wrong! This hotel popped and we went with it. We got here and were completely amazed. We chose the suite. The room is separated by a wall with the bedroom on one side and a "living room" on the other. The bedroom was my favorite. It had a huge bed with adjustable varying ceiling light colors. It also had tiny lights in the ceiling that resembled stars. It was beautiful. The room also included a jacuzzi style tub and shower with jets, over head ceiling sprayer, and hand held sprayer. Even though it was the last minute, not only did they have a room to accommodate my husband and I, but our family too. Breakfast is he typical Italian breakfast fair. It is enough to get you up and going for an eventful day. Great place! Check it out for yourself!

Last year on this day I was in Taormina, on the eastern side of Sicily, part of a group trip…read morethrough the Italian Heritage Center in Portland, Maine. Taormina is a dramatically and astoundingly beautiful port city. We stayed at the Hotel Villa Esperia; a lovely traditional pink and cream stucco building with a beautiful view of the bay. The staff was very pleasant. The lobby struck me as being a bit Art Deco in style, as if it had been designed in the 1920s. They have a large and beautiful rooftop pool with an ocean view. Our room had a small balcony that faced an interior courtyard. The glassed section facing the courtyard was protected by decorative wrought iron - I think you could open the glass and keep the grillwork in place; it seems to be a very traditional way of allowing airflow while remaining secure. Some parts of the hotel appeared to be in the process of renovation. They have a lovely a restaurant also, but we decided to explore the city and eat there. After arriving at our hotel, we went via shuttle bus to the center of the city where we had a tour by a city resident. After that we were on our own for lunch. We found a restaurant and had lunch in a room that was an open air mezzanine. I had Insalata Angelo - tuna salad - it was delicious. We all had some local wine with our lunch too, adding to the festivity. In the early afternoon our group met up by the Meddina Gate where we shuttled back to Hotel Villa Esperia; thirty-one of us got back in our bus to have a tour of Savoca, a nearby mountain town where The Godfather was filmed. Corleone, the fictional home of Don Vito Corleone, is located on the western side of Sicily. We were told that Savoca was chosen because it had the ambiance the film company was looking for but it was easier to film in. Our driver Salvo (bless him, he calmly kept us safe on the crazy roads of Italy) did yeoman work negotiating the switchback roads to Savoca. When we got off the bus, the wall that we parked next to was full of large, brick-framed, color bas-relief panels depicting local history. Although we saw a lot of outstanding stonework in Italy during our trip, these panels were unique. Our guide to Savoca was the same man who gave us the tour of Taormina in the morning. He said he'd been a young man when The Godfather was filmed. Every day he would bicycle from Taormina to Savoca (he must have been a superbly fit young man considering those switchback roads!), arriving a half hour before filming began at 10AM. He became friends with Al Pacino, Marlon Brando, and Francis Ford Coppola; he said they were all Sicilian [in origin]. I didn't know that. We went to the bar where the scene of Michael meeting his first wife Appollonia was filmed. It's a regular bar (alcohol), but you can buy gelato there too, and that's what we bought. The gelato was very good. The people who work there are very courteous; one of the waitresses smilingly addressed me as "Madama" - it was sweetly formal. After our tour of Savoca, we briefly returned to the Hotel Villa Esperia to freshen up, and then went back out to Taormina's center for an evening of strolling and shopping. We took the cable car from the hotel to the town; it was quick and fun. Taormina has a two mile long (or more - we didn't walk the whole distance) pedestrian-only shopping street in the heart of the city. In the evening, it seemed like everyone in the town was out walking this main drag: some dressed casually; some dressed for going out; couples old and young holding hands; families with very young children; four brides and their grooms, some with their wedding parties, promenading down this beautiful street of old buildings with fine shops on the first level. It appears to be a local tradition - after you get married, you walk this pedestrian street in your wedding finery - what an awesome way to announce your marriage to everyone. We stopped and ate at a streetside café. We stayed until around 8PM, although clearly for the locals the night was just beginning. We took the cable car back to the station, and walked the short distance to Hotel Villa Esperia where happily laid our heads until check out the next morning. The day we spent in Taormina is one of my favorite memories of Italy; if you haven't gone yet, you should go.

We traveled to Messina, Sicily on our Viking tour of the Godfather villages. We stopped in Forza…read mored'Agro and was walking by this wonderful pizzeria and was called in by the owner. It was like going to our family's house for pizza! The atmosphere is welcoming and the pizza is delicious! A definite gem.

This was a great place to eat. If you've decided to come to this town then prepare yourself for the…read moreculture shock. The guy that runs the store made my girlfriend and I feel so welcomed we came back to eat there for the remainder of our trip "4 in a days row". He made us feel like we were a part of his family, he even took a shot with me to celebrate my birthday. This is truly an amazing place to eat and I would recommend it to anyone.

For the money this is the best hotel, close to Porta Catania and beautiful views, pool and gardens.read more

The view of Mt Etna is stunning! There were no AC/fans yet in April. Depending on side of hotel,…read moregreat breeze through windows or doors. Can keep them open all day. No counter space in the bathroom. Tight/small shower. Shampoo, conditioner, soap, lotion and other small amenities like shower cap, nail file, etc. Bed is comfortable. Mini fridge is packed with many beverage options to buy. Close to all shopping. Pool is very far and down many steps. Poor reception/wifi gave us no tv access. Others reported that when they have access, no channels with English. Overall, I would stay here, again.

This was one of the worst experiences I've ever had with a host, his name was Dario.We had a…read moreconfirmed reservation for seven people for a special birthday dinner, and when we arrived, Timeo told us we only had a reservation for two. Instead of trying to help or even showing the slightest concern, he was unbelievably rude and dismissive. He made no effort to accommodate us, separate the group, or offer any kind of solution. He acted like we were the problem -- with a smug, condescending attitude that made the situation even worse. This was supposed to be a celebration, and Timeo's complete lack of professionalism and basic decency ruined it. The way he treated us was disgusting -- cold, disrespectful, and completely careless. If you're looking for a place that values guests or knows how to handle a simple booking, go anywhere else. Timeo should not be in hospitality -- because they have absolutely none.

We had a confirmed dinner reservation for my father's 50th birthday, a milestone we were excited to…read morecelebrate in what we thought would be a world-class setting. But when we arrived, the host stand acted like we didn't exist. They couldn't find our reservation, offered no apology, and treated us as if we were the ones who made the mistake. No ownership. No effort to fix it. Just blank stares, cold responses, and a half-hearted offer to "wait and see if something opens up." We waited over 30 minutes while other parties were seated ahead of us some who clearly walked in without reservations. My father was standing there in a suit, on his birthday, being ignored and disrespected by a hotel that supposedly prides itself on hospitality. By the time we were finally seated (with no birthday acknowledgment, by the way), the energy was completely drained. The night we had planned for months was ruined. It's one thing to mess up it happens. But the complete lack of care or accountability from the staff made it 10x worse. At this level of luxury, basic courtesy shouldn't be optional. Grand Hotel Timeo may have a beautiful view, but if you're hoping for good service or any kind of special occasion to go smoothly look elsewhere. This place failed us.