LOCATION & FACILITIES:
3/5: I’m afraid we didn’t think much of the location – it wasn’t far to drive from Catania airport (sat. nav. is very useful in finding it though!) but it was just off a fairly busy road, with nothing of interest or anywhere to walk to (eg village centre) in the immediate vicinity. On the plus side, our bedroom had a good view of Etna, and the grounds were nice, with a good sized swimming pool. Small/ medium hotel with 34 rooms.

SERVICE:
4/5: Reception, bar and restaurant staff were all pleasant and helpful.

ROOMS:
3/5: Traditionally decorated, spacious and clean, with (very noisy) AC, mini bar, TV. We felt it was a little outdated - but it was clean and functional.

RESTAURANT:
3/5: Breakfast was a standard Italian selection of fresh fruits, cereals, rolls, yoghurts, croissants, cheese, cold meats. It was served in a lovely breakfast room with great views of Etna and even a few tables outside on the terrace.

We had two nights in the hotel, and the first night there was a buffet in the hotel grounds. The second night, we ate in the restaurant, but there weren’t many other residents and it lacked atmosphere. Food quality was good, but nothing fantastic.

On our first night, (the Sunday), it seemed to be the official start of their season and the whole fabulous outdoor area was transformed into a very cool “night club” of sorts with excellent live music and then a DJ – what a great atmosphere – we hardly recognised it as being the same place!

THINGS TO DO IN THE LOCALE:
We had a hire car but were also on a walking holiday with Inntravel so we did a couple of lovely walks on the lower slopes of Etna. I’m sure it would’ve been really nice to spend some time by the pool in the hotel, but unfortunately the weather wasn’t great when we were there. Nearest city is Catania (20 min drive), but our guide book didn’t really rave about it so we decided against going to look round.

SUMMARY:
Lovely building, beautiful grounds, rooms could do with a spruce up. Lack of atmosphere, apart from at their outdoor party. Perhaps that was down to it being early in the season… but it was late June, so I’m not sure I really believe that. This was the first of 5 hotels we stayed in on our 2 week holiday and others were much busier (& better!). Would I go back? Probably not.

Lovely hotel with bags of history, well run and friendly too!

Nice pool and small gardens.

Only downside is the distance away from town and other sights (apart from Mt Etna).

Decent restaurant too.

I first went to Villa Paradiso Del Etna about 10 years ago and loved the charm, cleanliness, excellent service, really lovely food and the size of the hotel meant that there was a relaxed environment away from the maddening crowd. I loved it so much that when deciding where to spent my special birthday I of course chose the Villa Paradiso.
I was not disappointed - even down to the same charming restaurant manager. The Sicilian wines we tried were superb. A delight to be repeated I hope.

We stayed 4 nights at Villa Paradiso while vacationing in Sicily.

The hotel is located in a rather insignificant and not very attractive town and on a main street, I would not advise to venture out side of the hotel’s gate with out a car. This hotel was a great base for our trips to the baroque city of Catania, Mt. Etna and the picturesque town of Taormina.

From what I understand the hotel is a renovated 1920’s villa and what a great restoration. The hotel is extremely charming with it’s pink stucco exterior that evokes an Old World feel. The gardens are enchanting with beautiful potted flowers and the small pool was a welcome sight for the hot days of Augusts.

Our room was rather small but elegantly furnished with period antiques and bright colored walls, all room have small balconies, ours had a view of the pool. The bathroom was ample size with sufficient amenities. My only complaint is that the rough bed linens and towels should be of a better quality for a 4 star hotel.

The buffet breakfast on the roof top terrace was satisfying with plenty of choices of juices, fruits, pastries and cereals. We also decided to have dinner at the villa one evening and the meal proved to be excellent but a bit pricey as expected with hotel dining. The dining room is elegant and romantic but dimmed lights would make the ambiance that much better.

I should add that the staff was very friendly and helpful even with the language barrier.

All in all I recommend this hotel to any one travelling to the area.


This review is the