Lonely Planet gave this hotel a good rap so we made aservation via internert which was confirmed subject to an immediate card charge of 50% of the booking -unusual but one assumes honesty. A short while after making the reservation, and taking the hit on the credit card, the hotel informed us that due to excepional ciicumstances the hotel would be closed on the dates of our reservations but the deposit had been transferred to their 'sister hotel' , some other place without appeal. We declined ands requested a refund of our deposit. Despite their [eventual ] promise to refund, they never did.

We were meant to stay here for a week but on the day of our arrival the hotel had to close for a technical reason (never fully explained) and we were moved to another hotel 500 metres away. The hotel had e-mailed me to inform me of the change but this was after I had e-mailed them to advise them that we were travelling prior to my arrival and so not to phone not e-mail us. My only satisfaction was to produce a copy of my e-mail (not that it did me much good). As we'd paid a 50% deposit we were not really in a position to argue.

Although the Del Duomo had arranged for us to stay at another hotel we were very disappointed that the one they had chosen was half a kilometre away on a very busy road. We had chosen the Del Duomo largely because of its location (near the cathedral and on a quietish, mainly pedestrianised square).

In their favour the Del Duomo did pay for the taxi to transfer us to the other hotel.

NB the hotel did not appear to have a lift so if you have heavy luggage be warned.

We spent 3 nights at the start of our visit and 1 night at the end. The second room we had was nicer in that it overlooked the Piazza Universita rather than an internal courtyard, but both were spacious and comfortable. The plumbing in room 102 had a hilarious 'jet-engine' effect whenever you flushed the toilet, but only for a few seconds!
Breakfasts were fine, though a bit limited in choice.
Staff very helpful, and most spoke English.
Best of all, was the location which was right in the centre of the old part of Catania, also about 200 m or so from Piazza Borsellino, where all the buses go from- these are a greta cheap and reliable way of getting around Sicily.

We booked four nights here in room 106 with that great view of the piazza and the duomo in the distance. The hotel is on a beautiful piazza one block from the Duomo and a short walk to the fish market and all the sites. We really enjoyed walking around Catania and found the location of this hotel to be very convenient.

The hotel is entered through the building's courtyard and up two flights of stairs...no lift. All of the staff were very friendly and helpful. The a la carte breakfast was typical with toasts, cakes, yogurt and fruit served in a small nicely appointed room. The room was a nice size and clean with the typical conveniences.

Parking is a bit of a problem. We were able to leave a car on the street near the fish market overnight however it is a bit confusing as you park perpendicular to the curb on the sidewalk in the evening and then parallel to the curb once the market starts at 6:30 in the morning. We used Catania as a base location for two day trips to Taormina and Siracusa and it worked out perfectly.

Once we landed in Catania we caught the bus to Piazza Borselino/Alcala and it was a five minute walk. We did the trip in reverse after two days to pick up the rental car at the airport. Very easy.