After booking into a Taoramina hotel which appeared to be quite nice on its website, all of a sudden I am reading scathing reviews about the the check-in, the rooms, and especially the food. One person said he would not recommend it to his worst enemy!

The name is Terralcantara Parco Gole Dell' Alcantara. Any experiences with this place before it is too late to cancel?

Thanks for whatever the news,

Sidley

Don't you think it would help to put the name of the place in your title? Otherwise the chance that someone who has stayed they seeing your post are fairly slim . . . . .

"<i>Is the food really that bad?</i>" could be asking about any hotel or restaurant in the country -- or about in Italy in general. (When one has a specific question about a specific place, the more detailed info in the title the better)

I don't know the hotel, but if the reviews are overwhelmingly scathing, then I would find somewhere else. By the way, the hotel is not in Taormina, but in the countryside outside of it. Big difference, so know what you're getting into. Also, I couldn't find it on tripadvisor which is the review site I use. That makes me a little nervous.

Generally it is not recommended that you eat at hotels - unless high end with a renowned restaurant - except for breakfast. You will get much better food at lower prices in regular restaurants patronized by the locals.

Also - it sounds like you ned to do a lot more work on this if you don't even know where the hotel is located.

I totally agree with the above. Local osterias and trattorias give you a much better experience for food than hotels for the most part. As far as accommodations go, one of my sort of "rules" is if you are hesitant about it don't do it.

Cimbrone pointed out the hotel is outside of town. That could make a difference as far as transportation goes so I would definitely look into that as well.