Taormina and Siracusa Hotel Advice
 

We will be staying for four nights in Taormina and four in Sircusa in April. Is anybody familiar with these hotels in Taormina?

Mazzaro Sea Palace
Villa Fabbiano
Villa Ducale

In Siracusa
Grand Hotel on Ortygia

Catania
Baia Verde

Can anyone recommend another hotel on Ortygia that they particularly liked.
All comments and advice is appreciated. Thank you. Barb

I haven't been into the Mazzaro Sea Palace but I've walked past it & it looks quite nice & is in a nice location. You are, I'm sure, aware that it is not actually right in Taormina but on the beach down below ? I think the funicular (or cable car ? I forget) runs quite frequently but I don't know what time it finishes. I don't know the other 2 you mention : I've stayed in the Hotels Villa Ritz, Monte Tauro, San Domenico Palace (on honeymoon !) & Belvedere - more details of any of these available on request.

The Grand Hotel in Ortygia is lovely - the rooms are quite large and beautifully decorated in a sort of art deco style. I seem to remember there are Roman ruins in the bar ! I've stayed in Siracusa twice and I didn't notice any other nice looking hotels.

We have stayed at the Grand Hotel and were VERY happy with it. Our room was of good size, clean, lovely bathrooms (you could certainly swing a cat in there!) its a lovely area, perfect location - sorry its not beach weather (although you just might get lucky!) because the hotel offers a boat trip across the harbor (for a few euro) to a private section of beach where you can use their facilities for free. The staff were very helpful and all you have to do is ask. The parking area is directly across the street from the hotel (just let them know as sometimes there is a chain up) which is very handy. Have a lovely time.

Thanks, mousireid and caroline.
Caroline: I really would like more info on the other hotels you've stayed at. I know the San Domenico is very expensive. Is it worth it? How do the others compare. How are the rooms, service, location etc.?
Thanks again. Barb

I stayed at the Hotel Villa Ritz was about 1996 I think. It is in a converted old villa on several descending levels, very close to the gate at the western end of the Corso - the most central location I've stayed in. It was slightly run down but cheap & I thought it was fine for the price. Our room was on a lower level, not large & didn't have a balcony, but there seemed to be larger refurbished rooms with large balconies on the top level, & I would have asked for one of those if we'd gone back. The pool area has a fantastic view. Not posh at all - you need to bring your own pool towels.

We did actually go back to Taormina later in the same holiday, after finding we didn't much like Cefalu. The HVR was full however, & we ended up in the Monte Tauro. This is a very large modern concrete building - pretty hideous from outside but the room was large, nicely furnished & had a large balcony. I think the rooms were all much the same. It has the advantage of parking. Lovely pool area with great view again, very efficient pool attendant & towels. I liked their system whereby if you left your sunbed for more than half an hour, it got repossessed if needed : this meant that there were always sunbeds free when you wanted them.

We were at the San Domenico Palace in 2000. The rooms vary a lot in size, I believe : I think we got some of the nicest ones because we were on honeymoon (2 different rooms, as we stayed there at the beginning & again the end of the holiday). They were both large with very high ceilings. The first was one floor up & had a balcony and the second had a large terrace on the same level as the restaurant (ground floor on the sea side of the building), both directly facing the sea. The rooms at the side, facing the pool, gardens & Etna, looked much smaller (the old monks' cells ? :-) ) & didn't have balconies. The gardens are lovely & the pool area nice with views of the sea & Etna, & a cafe-bar. We only ate in the restaurant one night & it was quite good, though not the best in town & the service was very formal. The public rooms are very grand & there was a pianist in the bar at night. The staff are too grand to be friendly but there was nothing actually to complain about. It is one of the more central hotels, being just a 5 minute walk uphill to the Corso.

On our last trip, in 2002, we stayed at the Belvedere. This is out past the public gardens so a slightly longer walk from the Corso - about 10 minutes maybe, but mainly level. It is also a converted villa so the rooms are all different. It was fairly cheap & probably good value. Our room was average-ish size (i.e. not large), & very plainly furnished but pleasant enough. We were supposed to have reserved a room with a large balcony but it was only just big enough to get 2 folding chairs on - we saw larger ones. It evidently used to have a great view from most rooms & the pool, but the Hotel Diodora has been built half-obscuring it. The pool is an irregular shape so not good for swimming, but apart from that & the Diodora blocking some of the view it is a nice enough area. No pool towels I think.

The SDP is the only hotel with a restaurant at which we've stayed in Taormina, but you don't need it - there are lots of nice restaurants.

One caveat : note how long ago I stayed at each of these : they may have changed since.

Hope this helps.

Here are some other very good hotels on Ortygia Island (Siracusa):

Hotel Des Etrangers (recently reopened after being closed over 40 years). Comparable to the Grand Hotel.

Hotel Roma

Hotel Domus Mariae (not in same class as the others previously mentioned, but very charming and extremely clean, on the Ionian Side of the Island)

One more note, we did stay at Grand Miramare in Taormina which we enjoyed - it was a fluke that we were given the junior suite which was good but the balcony of colums was great! We originally booked at another hotel and the 'man' there made a phone call so we think he really hooked us up for the same price! There is a pool down quite a lot of steps but the view is AMAZING. It was very close to the main area, basically 2 mins walk to the Corso Umberto.
Another hotel we stayed at was the Villa Ducale which was LOVELY, rooms and bathroom small but pretty and the view from the hotel at night was great - Mount Etna (the opposite side of Taormina). The steps were a bit much for us with our wee one and unless its one trip each way each day it could be a lot. There are buses running but not regular enough. The staff were BRILLIANT and the breakfast very good with fantastic views again. I just preferred the other side of the town. :) Have you checked Trip Advisor? They have LOADS of write ups on hotels.

I tried to reserve with Domus Mariae with two different emails on their website and never heard anything. Are they possibly closed during the winter?Barb-are you doing a rental car or using public transportation between the cities? I am doing this trip next month with my daughter and still don't know whether to rent a car or not. Are the hotels that you are asking about in Taormina the same price league as the Grand Hotel? I am looking for something decent there but without the high price tag......... any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Dutyfree: We are renting a car, although I haven't done so yet. My husband and I usually drive in Europe. This enables us to stop whenever we see something interesting, or pick up and leave when we don't. He does all the driving and I do the navigating. Seems to work for us.

I was able to contact the Domus Mariae through their website (By filling out the form for info.) I have found that some hotels that don't answer your email will respond to the forms. Anyway, the Domus Mariae was booked for the dates I needed. I think it is a bit less expensive than the Grand Hotel. Hope this helps. Barb

If you are only going to Taormina & Siracusa I'd say don't bother with a car. While the Grand Hotel does have a car park as another poster noted, driving in & out of Taormina through the one way system of narrow twisty little lanes is no fun, and most hotels there don't have parking. If you do want a car for day trips, you'd probably be better off at the Mazzaro Sea Palace since it is outside the town.

We've stayed in Taormina twice, once with car and once without (DON'T do a car unless you really need to). We stayed at Villa Belvedere and loved it both times, second time requesting and getting a large balcony.

We stayed at the Grand Hotel in Siracusa and liked it very much also. I think it's a great choice, but I have nothing to compare it with.