We stayed here in the last week of the season and unfortunately had bad weather all week, which magnified the hotel's flaws. The decor is very tired and 70s, the food is quite disappointing (as one previous comment mentioned, the pasta is basic supermarket quality) and in general the atmosphere is quite gloomy - on the rainy days it felt a bit like being in the hotel in The Shining.

The nearby town of Letojanni is a non-event, a stretch of stony beach with a few restaurants. You really need to jump on the bus to Taormina (10 minute ride but only every 2-3 hours) to get that holiday feeling.

On the plus side, the view is indeed stunning, the staff are overall quite friendly, and the spa is decent. The place has loads of potential but the owners really need to invest in an upgrade if they want to compete with more attractive locations nearby.

We spent 2 weeks at the Antares in September and had a great holiday. It was our first holiday in Sicily and would definitely like to return in the future. The hotel is unusual due to the way it is positioned in the hill side and being twinned with the Olimpo, but this provides more choice on where to eat, drink and swim etc and made for a more enjoyable stay. The staff in the Antares were always friendly and helpful and made a big difference to the enjoyment of our stay. In particular Antonio made us feel very welcome and we enjoyed making friends with him and the other staff during our stay.
We found the food to be generally very good but we preferred to eat at the Antares as the food was better and staff more friendly.
The rooms and the hotel could do with some redecoration and refitting if it is to retain its 4 star rating, it has to be said that it’s looking a little tired. The rooms we had were adequate, but the view over towards Taormina made up for the stiff door and lack of extract fan in the bath room. However the rooms were always kept beautifully clean by the maids.
During our stay both hotels had music and dance on the patio each evening.
Both outdoor pools were good but we preferred to use the Olimpo as this is much bigger but nether was crowded.
The hotel is ideally placed to enjoy much of the best Sicily has to offer, in particular we enjoyed visiting Etna and Taomina. If you don’t have a car the local beach at Letojanni is an easy walk away and sun beds are provided as part of the hotel facilities.
Overall we had a fabulous time and would recommend the hotel and the area in general.

first impression of hotel is very shabby, decor and furniture have seen better days. Rooms need decoration, showers and general appearance very shabby. Sheets on beds had holes, towels were not very clean. Staff are not very friendly, waiter service was very hard to obtain but the envelope requesting a tip arrived very promptly on the last evening, tip for what I ask? certainly not the service you did not provide! I would not recommend this hotel or book another stay, they really do need to pull their socks up even if it is nearly the end of the season.

Not a great experience...

My friend and I booked this hotel and asked for an upgrade as she has been seriously ill and it was her birthday whilst we were on hol and I wanted to make sure it was special. When we arrived, the room we were given was shocking. Small and faced the cable cars that went between the Antares (lower level) and the sister hotel, the Olimpo. We asked to move but were told there were no rooms until the next day. We booked a twin room - we were given a double bed and the reception tried to justify the mix up by telling us that the booking agent (Travel republic) didn't highlight this to them (oh - thats my fault then is it??!).

The next day we turned up at Reception to be told there was no room and this ignorant man on reception just shook his head and said no way could we move and suggested that we had made the whole thing up and that nobody had ever told us we could! Even though a different person had promised. I was not happy and started to get angry with the sheer incompetence of the staff communication. A different woman came over to say she didnt like my tone and what was my problem. Eventually we were moved to a bigger room with three twin beds. Initially it was fine. They sent champagne on the day of my friends birthday which was a nice touch and we kind of forgave the mix up as they made the effort to recognise her birthday.

However we noticed many things in the room during our stay and simply could not be bothered to say anything because the location, hotel, food and the majority of the staffs attitude all left a lot to be desired and a holiday is to relaxed not get stressed out and start carrying on about how rubbish things are. We were even told that Italians dont really like us English as we are stuck up!!! In addition they blantantly charge us more for taxis because 'we just pay'.

The rooms are tired, outdated and the hotel needs a total refurb. It is still stuck in the late 80's - it was built in the 70's and I doubt it has been touched since. We had a leak in the bathroom toilet, staining and mould spores in the bathroom on the ceiling, and the aircon dripped water out behind the wardrobe all night. On the last night it was like a pool under the wardrobe!

The maids bang and clatter from 7am - no regard for anyone sleeping. You dont need to set your alarms to get up for breakfast because the noise they make is as good as a siren.

Food wise - breakfast was terrible. Unless you like yoghurt or Croissants. The bacon was fatty, the eggs were raw (luke warm and not cooked). The milk for the cereal was not cold it was not chilled, therefore luke warm, like the eggs!

The food in the evening was like school dinners. Canteen food at best. It was hit and miss. The saddest part was the pasta was clearly from a packet and the pizza was horrid. I have tasted better frozen pizzas from the supermarket. Authentic Italian food - sadly is better represented at Pizza hut.

The hotel location is on a hill in a village that is approx 15 mins to real civilisation. No shops (as in to browse). A bottle of Nivea sun cream was 16 Euros (It was £6 in Boots but we ran out).

If you want English cigarettes, forget it - I could not get any in the resort, or the bigger Taormina resort. The airport did not have any duty free shops selling tobacco or perfume either (Catania).

If you do want to have a walk out on an evening for a drink or some food, unless you are a couple I didnt feel safe. You have to get a lift to the lower part of the hotel, and walk through a tunnel that is poorly lit, then into the street. We were stopped by young lads in cars, older men propositioning us, really quite unnerving considering we were two ladies on holiday. Therefore we stayed in the hotel nearly every night because we were not comfortable going out at night in the dark through the tunnel and the poorly lit street.

I have to struggle to think of many positives to be honest, but there are some! The weather was awesome. 39 degrees c some days. Antonio in the Antares pool bar was a good guy and he made the effort to look after us.

You can go to either hotel for lunch or dinner - but some of the waiters question you if you do. Jobsworths all over this hotel unfortunately, I tended to just tell them we had already done it the night befrore and sit down!

You pay 50 EUROS for the safe key - but it is free and at the end of your stay, if you hand the key back, you get your 50 back, which was good.

We ate out on the 2nd night (a pizza each and a pina colada each) 47 Euros - so certainly not cheap. We met a couple of Sicilian people in the restaurants (who worked there) and they were much more friendly and at least had smiled.

The shops in Taormina that sold things other than fridge magnets and t shirts were pretentious and the staff looked down their noses at you - unless of course you bought something. We found it hilarious that the perfume, jewellery was at least triple what you would pay in the UK - when you tell them this - you are looked at like an Alien (or a liar).

The residents in the hotel were mainly French, Romanian, German and Italian. Some Americans, hardly any English. The majority of the locals spoke hardly any English at all - so I would invest in a phrase book if you do go to Silcily.

Etna was awesome. It erupted whilst we were there and it was a great sight to see - red sunset and vapour coming from the tip of the mountain.

Overall, ok hol but poor choice of hotel and location and it is not 4* - no way. It is old and run down. The lifts in the hotel hold a max of 3-4 people so if you are on a high floor - you wait a long time for the lifts!!!

I know its a silly thing to notice - but what amazed me was the kindness Sicilians showed to animals. Lots of stray cats and they were feeding them (actually taking food and feeding 5 strays at a time). Also - lots of dogs - all really well groomed and looked after - Im used to seeing people in different countries mistreat animals and make us British cringe - but Sicilians seem to have soft spots for animals too.

Beach was ok - not golden sand - more like Tenerife - pebble and grey beach.

Sicily was somewhere I always wanted to go - but sadly will not return. We did visit a hotel in Taormina that was five star - it was like a country house - really pretty. Called the Timeo - Im sure only the Royal Family could afford to stay there - but it was awesome - made our hotel look like a hostel.