On returning home from what I consider to be one of the most relaxing and reviltalising weeks my family has ever had (spent at La Rosa Sul Mare Hotel), I felt it would only be fair to share this marvellous experience with the rest of the world.
I entered Trip Advisor inorder to help me do so and
I must say that I was completely baffled by a couple of very scathing reviews that I have found referring to this hotel. My own very different experiences at this establishment oblige me to put the books straight and urge anybody that is looking for a wonderful hotel that can offer that something extra, then they should look no further.
On arriving at the Rosa Sul Mare we were greeted by a very helpful and friendly staff and shown to what can only be described as a superb two double bedroom suite, tastefully decorated and with all the necessary amenities in excellent condition.
When we opened the double doors that led to an enormous terrace, we gasped at the stunning panoramic view that lay before us. Contemplating the vast expanse of blue sea that occupied our vision as far as the eye could see , our gasps were replaced by huge sighs of contentment.
We had full access to a fabulous sundeck situated at the bottom of some steps leading down from the hotel that jutted out over the rocky shore and a very beautiful pool which allowed you to cool off while contemplating the privileged view.
Every morning we had breakfast on the terrace mesmerised by the sun sparkling off a multi – blue sea and every evening we were offered a spectacular sunset to signal the end of another beautiful day in paradise.
The hotel grounds full colourful and exotic flowers and trees were immaculately kept only added to the sensation of well being.
Some very good restaurants and other services were just a short drive away in Syracuse.
We booked our stay through a company that specialises in offering rented Villas and hotel accommodation in Sicily that was recommended by a friend and thus we incurred not one inconvenience as far as financial terms and conditions were concerned.
All in all we had a fantastic holiday thanks to an attentive owner and his efficient and helpful staff and the amazing and privileged location of the fantastic Rosa Sul Mare Hotel.

Unfortunately we did not read the poster's comment from Jan because it could have saved us the flights to Sicily and a lot more... read on.

I am not complaining (and I was not really surprised - in fact quite resigned to ignoring it beforehand) because of the garbage dump feeling of the area - environmental protection is unknown in Southeastern Sicily and the heaps of uncollected garbage everywhere will surprise no one. And there IS a nature park 40 minues south if you want to escape most of the dirt and the litter for a day. Another positive note: the grounds of Rosa sul Mare itself are kept clean, and it looks nice from the outside.

However, here almost all positive notions about the hotel stop. First surprise immediately upon arrival: we had booked an air conditioned appartment but are asked to pay up 140 Euros (10 Euros a day) for air condition by a very polite assistant kindly pointing out some fineprint in the contract: air condition is only included for a few hours and we really should pay up because otherwise we northerners would not only sweat to death but also the moskito plague would be unbearable. Enjoy the welcoming feeling of feeling cheated.

Well we did fork out the Euros only to realise in the days to come that a/c is more or less a joke because some clever switch turns off the b....y thing constantly anyway without a possibility for the guest to restart. When occasionally asked to repair the a/c from hell, sure enough the owner will come along, tell you that you are too (--) stupid to press the on-button ... yeah, right. And of course, when that nice joke ran out after the third time or so (one can tell ones clients only so often about their sudden mental or digital incapacity), its just shoulder-shrugging ... the poor innocent of course has not the slightest idea what could be wrong with the two naugthy naugthy air conditioning units.

We'll but we are going ahead of our story, lets go back to the "welcome". Through some fuzzy remark we become aware that there maybe something dodgy about using the pool (why is there nobody else???). So again, I check the fine-print and RIGHT! the 5 x 3 m (otherwise nice, wooden deck and all) pool is in fact a "Health Club". Aha, lets look up "Health Club". Right, there is a "Club Pass" for 400 Euros extra (50 Euros per week for 2 adults, 2 kids, 2 weeks). This trifle will do the job to allow us the use of the "pool area" during our stay (unsure if that includes touching the water).

Alert! What else is there "extra"? Better check. Turns out, everything! Want to park your car? 140 Euros extra (10 Euros per day)! Want to actually USE the kitchen which your rented? Pay another 140 Euros extra, dumbo! (Now can that be right ... probably they bought the kitchen for that amount, see photo attached.) And so on, and so on.

From then on, holiday was over. Only when mentioning a burning desire to sue the hell out of the owner he did cave in and generously announced we would be spared from the standard guest fleecing - in consideration that we should relax on our holiday. How nice of him! Unfortunately this generous move could not much improve our relaxative capacity. The nagging doubts remained ever present... Do you pay for the use of your bed? Heck, maybe only sleeping on the floor is included. How much for putting clothes in the cupboards? For opening the Windows? How much is breathing?

Needless to say, that also other important promised features were not delivered. The "terrace" you could climb up to through a tiny window a man's hight above the bedroom floor (see foto attached), then you are on a 5 x 1 m funnel with two sun chairs. Once you are up - on a positive note - you do in fact enjoy the promised sea view. (Not sure how much it costs to look, so we only climbed out there very quietly in the dark.)

The second bedroom (explicitly confirmed when booking ... again hustling back to the rental agreement... do we have it in writing.... yes thank goodness) turns out to be a sofabed in the combined kitchen/living/dining room ... some solid thinking there: remember the kitchen is not meant to be used anyway... .

The nicest thing about the survival holiday? Not the stone-hard matrasses but managing to purchase earlier flights out of there (the best "Extra" cost ever spent) with the distinguished feeling of having actually survived the hardest fee/extra spotting training on the planet. (Don't tell the owner: I vaguely remember an "Extra" of 10 Euros a day for each surviving person.)

To sum it up: If you want to have a holiday squatting in a kitchen, where you live, sleep, cook, eat, and study rental contract fine-print for admirably immaginative "Extra" fees ... go to Rosa Sul Mare. ...

Ah, the Hotel Rosa sul Mare in Siracusa, Sicily… Advertised as having “charming apartments, situated on the most beautiful hillside of the Plemmirio nature park and sea reserve, with cliffs of white rock and flowered terraces gently sloping down to the Ionian Sea”, the Rosa sul Mare offers “…an oasis of scents and colours from the typical Mediterranean vegetation, with panoramic views on a sea where dolphins usually pass through and a coastline maintaining the ecosystem.” Whatever that means!

What a lovely description – although it fails to mention that the hillside backs on to a particularly shoddy warren of residential roads and dirt tracks, surrounded not by a lush nature reserve but by acres of graffitied derelict buildings and wasteland, most of which are covered in litter and swarming with flies.

As for the apartments themselves, they’re charming enough in a bog-standard Euro-condominium kind of way… but not for the reception staff on site. On arrival at 8pm, in the dark, exhausted after a three hour drive from the airport, our first greeting from the surly owner was an instruction that if we wanted to park on-site, we would have to pay €10 per day for the privilege.

On reaching our apartment, before any introduction to the room amenities, we were grilled on the subject of breakfast, on offer at €10 per person per day. On reviewing the breakfast which had clearly been laid out much earlier in the day (a couple of dismal looking nectarines, a 1-serving box of cornflakes and a yoghurt pot) we declined. We were then told that, in that case, we could not use the kitchen or its facilities.The only item we were allowed to use was the fridge, but we were not to touch any cutlery or crockery. And we were warned that if we dared to disobey, a €35 penalty would be added to our bill.

By this time, we’d been at the hotel about ten minutes and had received nothing but grief. But there was more to come…

The next morning, fancying a swim and a spot of relaxation in the sun, we located the pool and sundeck. However, before we could use the facilities, we were warned that we would have to pay €100 for the privilege during our week’s stay. This explained why, despite the hotel being full, both pool and deck were deserted… and set to stay that way for the whole of our stay.

It became quickly apparent that there was absolutely no atmosphere, no feeling of community, no vibe at this supposedly ‘hip’ hotel. With so many restrictions, boundaries and hidden charges, most guests did what we did – escape every morning to private beaches in more salubrious areas, returning only to kill the flies in the room and go to sleep.

Unless visitors are keen long-distance walkers with a penchant for trekking across landfill municipal dumps and arid insect-infested wastelands, a sealed car is a must for this area. But beware, book your car in the UK before you leave, as the nearest rental operation is at Catania airport, an hour or more’s drive away from the Rosa Sul Council Tip…

Saddled with temperamental air conditioning that failed on a daily basis, the absence of new towels or bed linen (despite promises to the contrary) and a toilet system that proved incapable of dealing with the not-unreasonable challenge of toilet paper (!), we sat in the darkness of our terrace (thankfully included in the price of accommodation), waiting an eternity for the sun to come round to our benighted side of the hotel. Robbed of the will to live and risking life and limb on the rusted ‘death-trap’ sun loungers, we considered our options. Behind our improvised sight barrier of towels (draped across the open balcony front to prevent the staff and various family members wandering by and staring as they stood around chatting at the tops of their voices), we took the decision after 4 interminable days to move on to a proper 4-star hotel, notwithstanding the fact that we had paid for 7 days of this dismal accommodation in advance. And strangely, when we left, the staff seemed unsurprised… I suspect we were not the first to jump ship.

In summary, this hotel is predicated on a series of half-truths, untruths and frankly misleading omissions. It appears to exist solely as a means for the owner to extort additional rent from his punters and I would urge any self-respecting traveller with taste, discernment and any expectation of a welcoming relaxing break to avoid it at all costs.

After a disastrous stay at Hotel Roma in Ortygia town, we moved on to the La Rosa Sur Mare by the Arenella area. We were slightly worried about finding our way from Syracuse to the hotel but it turned out easier than expected. Head down the S115 toward Arenella, turn left after the Q8 service station, go straight on past the first roundabout. Hotel is about 4km down on the right.

It is well-worth the 20 mins trip there. Our junior suite booked through hotelclub had splendid views of the cliffy beach. Whilst the furnishings felt slightly dated, the sheer spaciousness and gorgeous views more than made up for it. The design of the hotel meant that all rooms had either a terrace or balcony overlooking the waterfront. We spent the afternoon wandering around the cliffs and lazing by the poolside. All v. romantic & rejuvenating.

A money-saving tip is to decline both breakfast (10 euros/person) and garage parking. There are numerous places to eat (cheaply) by the coast and ample parking along Via dei Diamanti. A true gem on the Sicilian coast.