We booked our holiday through Direct Holidays and particularly wanted a Bed and Breakfast basis, since part of the enjoyment of our holidays is going out and about and trying local cuisine.
The Silemi is at the far end of the small town of Letojanni, right on its own beach and appears to be last in a row of semi-derelict “for sale” complexes. That said the hotel itself is well appointed and reached via the Autostrada Messina-Catania and well made local roads.
The reception area is inviting with plenty of seating and local newspapers and lending book library, and reception staff are multi-lingual and professional at all times.

Our first room was rear facing and overlooked the car park, towards the railway and autostrada, this was quite small - yet with a large bathroom with a huge shower. We requested and paid a supplement to upgrade and have a sea view, this room was much bigger yet with a smaller bathroom , and Jacuzzi shower. The balcony was huge. Both rooms however still had the European version of the ‘double bed’ – 2 singles placed together ! (dissapointing!)
Neither room possessed the listed bathrobes, as per the hotels website, but there were plentiful towels and a small fridge, initially the fridge was not working - however on speaking to the receptionist this was remedied promptly the following day. Air conditioning and safe deposit box was free and Satellite TV was available.

The hotel was immaculately clean and all staff were pleasant and courteous.
We used the beach on several occasions finding it pebbly but clean – beach shoes / jellies advised! and there were plenty of sun loungers and umbrellas. The pool was well cared for by the pool attendant and the snack bar was open throughout the day until 2330hrs providing alcohol , coffee and a very limited quite expensive menu : pizza 10 euro / salads 10 euro and toasted sandwiches 6 euro.

The main restaurant served lunches and dinner and we were advised that we could book a table if liked by giving the staff half an hour notice which we felt was reasonable – although we chose to eat out every evening.

Breakfasts were excellent : many varieties of cereals / fruit/ eggs / cold meats / breads and pastries , my only criticism would be that the boiling water to make tea was not boiling and thus attempts to make tea – using Twinings teabags provided and teapots provided, were very unsuccessful.

The walk to Letojanni takes about 15 mins and there is a short-cut through a small alleyway just at the top of the driveway. This takes you past several villas and is quite safe although frequented by local motorbikes and small cars. (most use horns to alert you) At the bottom of this walk is the local sewer which gets quiet smelly depending on what time of day and what direction the wind is blowing in!
Letojanni itself is a charming village which consists of local homes, cafes, bars and some restaurants along the promenade and the Piazza Durante surrounded by several bars is a lovely place to while away the hours and people watch! There is a smattering of supermarkets and local shops, and an Italian food takeaway which serves the most reasonably priced pizza we found anywhere (1.40 euro for a huge piece!).
Meal prices varied from inexpensive: pizza and salad to full on 5-course Italian meals: wine very reasonable good quality upwards of 4euros a carafe (good vino di casa) and beers varied from 2.50 euro a bottle to 4 euro on draught. Gelati and Granita were round about 3-5 euros – all the prices were I think influenced by the euros recent downslide.
The local bus to Taormina stops just outside the hotel on an hourly basis (tickets bought from the driver cost 2.60 euro or 5.20 return.) It stops at Via San Pancratzio in Taormina where it also picks up for the return journey. You can also pick up the local bus to Castelmola for 5 euros return here: ( 40 minute bus journey to a nice local hill village with fabulous views ) saving you a considerable amount on the organised trip there! (Thomas Cook wanted 27 euro per person for that one!!)
All in all we enjoyed our stay and will definitely return to Sicily although we will probably stay in another area to explore further.