Stayed here for 5 nights at the end of our italy tour. The hotel seems quite geared towards business functions and wedding receptions, not really to foreign travellers. Reception seemed constantly put out by us asking small things...where to get the bus, and we were disappointed that when we asked for a map, it was just handed over without them pointing out the are, right in the city centre that is a NO GO at night! We accidently walked into it on our first night and it was full of prstitires, pimps and men with knives in hands. and a burning car! It is just things like that which would of made a big difference to our stay here. also, in the summer the inside bar isnt open, just the pool bar is but every single night there is a wedding/function/party by the pool so didnt really feel like we could gate crash for a drink! The rooms and bathrooms to me were not 4* and not too sure what we paid extra for when we booked as there was nothing special about it. So, dont want to be all negative...pool was nice, area (once you get used to it) has a few good places to eat which are cheap and very friendly (and our italian is very basic!) but make sure you reaslise it is not touristy, so no english translations! Restaurant staff were nice in the morning and the breakfast was good.

So, I would stay here again, now I know the area, the city, etc but do realise, that this seemed to be more of a 3* hotel (in english terms anyway), and it is about 2-3km from Piazza Dunno which was about 15 euros. there are buses outside but you never know how long it will take to arrive...we waited an hour!

i spent 3 days at this hotel in july and really enjoyed it.the location is superb,right on the sea front with private access to the lava/rocky sea shore.the taxi ride into catania is only 10 euro.our room was good with a sea view,the pool was excellent and the staff at the poolside bar were really friendly and helpful ,and surprisingly the prices were very reasonable.however the front of house staff were not really friendly .however a real revelation was the restaurant - very good-though it is a pity that not many guests used it as the food was way better than anything we had in catania.a problem though was complete lack of internet access-which was a real pain.

We stayed at the Hotel Nettuno for 7 days in mid-September. We wanted somewhere in/close to Catania with a beach/pool. Overall we had a good stay and the staff do put in a lot of effort. There was a sense that this could be a really good hotel if they would just sort out a few things.

I'll start with the good points. The hotel was clean, it has a decent sized pool, and it has access to a private 'beach'. The 'beach' is actually just decking on top of the rocks with steps going down into the sea. Sun loungers and towels are provided and there is a life guard. It is nice, although quite small and could probably only hold 20-25 people at any one time. The staff on the front desk were good and very helpful. The majority of them spoke decent English. The restaurant was good with views of Etna. Our room was an okay size with a balcony overlooking the sea. The decor was slightly dated, as was the TV but there was a Sky box and it had a good range of channels. The standard of cleaning was high, to the point of cleaning the hair out of hairbrushes!

The area around the hotel has a small fairground (although it doesn't open until later at night), there were a few restaurants around it, a late night market selling all sorts of stuff, and a supermarket next door.

Now the bad points - in no particular order.

Firstly, there were a number of instances where attention to detail was poor. When we arrived the TV/Sky box in the room wasn't connected and there cables where all over the place. Once it was connected we had to get the remote control from reception - except they forgot to put batteries in it. We used the plastic cups in the room and the cleaners forgot to replace them. Nothing major but enough to be annoying and give you that sinking feeling when you need to speak to reception for the 3rd time in a day (although as noted above nothing was ever a problem to resolve).

Secondly, the breakfast was pretty basic. The breakfast cereals were substitutes rather than brands and served in little tiny bowls. There was a very limited range of food, and once it was gone it was gone so you arrived late at your peril. It was surprising given that the restaurant was so good.

Thirdly, if you want to use Catania as a base and travel around this is not the hotel for you. I've read in a couple of places it's 600m from the historic centre. I think they've missed out a zero. The train station is a good 30 minute walk away (10-15 Euro by taxi dependent on whether you have luggage), and the main centre of Catania is another 15-20 minute walk beyond that. You can reach one of the main shopping streets in about 15 minutes but it's nowhere near any of the sites. There is bus stop beside the hotel and one bus that runs all day until after 11pm (No. 534). The bus takes between 10 and 25 minutes depending on the traffic. It supposed to come every 20-25 minutes but we waited as long as 40 minues for it. In a typically relaxed Sicilian way you'll betold that the bus comes 'when it comes'.

One other thing to mention is that it does promote itself as a business and conference hotel. While we stayed there were 3-4 weddings and several conferences. The main issue here is that the pool area and the reception area for weddings are connected so the wedding guests use the pool area. On one day we had to go through the wedding party (in our swimming costumes) to get to the pool.

Very nice room ambiance. Our room had dark wooden headpanel... which gave us a 'homey' feeling. Location (in-town) was alright... a grocery store just beside it. Might need to take a bus or drive to town (Catania). Mount Etna is close by (drive). Our room half-faced the sea, not much to see at night, but very pleasant in the morning hours. Price-wise - it was higher than we expected being in the winter. Breakfast was included, very hearty (as they usually are in Italian hotels).