liked the situation of the Hotel although it was a bit hard to find at first. The breakfast was good. Parking area was excellent and the staff was amazing! Most of them knew how to speak in english! Stayed for a 4 nights and it was amazing! The staff where extremely helpful!

It would have been amazing if the hotel had a pool. Also the breakfst time should be a bit longer.

We arrived at Hotel Idea expecting to be near the beach and close to amenities. The truth is we were next to a main service road to a new autostrada with constant chaotic traffic far from amenities. The room we were given was meant to be air conditioned, the outside temp 32 degrees, in the room slightly less. The room itself smelt as you entered and soon we found that the carpet at the door was wet, hence the smell. The hotel did not have internet access at all. Shower was ridiculously small even by Italian standards, towels were old and thin, bedspread had a cigarette burn, sheet had a small hole, toilet seat was unhinged. square and paint worn off.
However they did offer us another room when we complained but this was not much better as it too had some of the problems previously mentioned. It was too late for us to transfer, we had to contact our travel agent in Australia by phone so that she could find us better accommodation at our own expense.
The hotel displayed a Trip Advisor certificate of merit for 2011 and we are flabbergasted as to how it could have such a rating!

This hotel is a good standard. Reception staff are warm and friendly, and speak excellent English. Free patisseries in reception!

Location is good – a 2km harbour-side walk to Catania town centre (cutting through the town feels a little dangerous), or a 10 EUR taxi. You’re outside the madness of Catania town centre, but close enough to go in and out of the town centre during the day.

Hotel rooms are great – dated/ 1980s décor, but all done to a high standard, and looks new. Flat screens TVs, large rooms, air con etc. Bathrooms are TINY, but clean and functional.

A note that it is best to park the car at the hotel and taxi into Catania town centre – roads are not clearly marked and it is easy to get lost.

Just returned from a short vacation in Catania - stayed at the Idea Ognina hotel. It is a nice place, very conveniently located just behind a gas station (Agip), for those that rent a car (as I had), with free parking (also very important). Be ware, though, that the hotel is branded "Ognina" - written on the facade. No mentioning of the "Idea", so do not look for this name. Everybody in the neighborhood knows it as either "Ognina" or "Jolly" hotel, which, I understood, was an older name. Otherwise the room was very clean, the service absolutely OK, generous breakfast, large LCD in the room with free access to the SKY satellite network (except, of course, for the pay-per-view movies). Overall it was a pleasant experience staying there and I would definitely recommend it for travelers that do not want to be in the crowded center of Catania, have a car and will not mind making the trip of about 6-7 km from the hotel to the center of the city. Not to forget - there is no supermarket nearby (or at least I did not find it), but there is a McDonald's restaurant fairly close.