We stayed here for the first three nights of our first visit to Sicily, and were charmed by Hotel Federico and its location. The hotel is modern, spacious and comfortable inside a very old building, in a fascinating old village. Having decided to eat in the restaurant on our first night as an easy option after a longish and tiring journey, we actually ate there every night because the food was excellent. There was a power cut throughout the town one evening, but the staff were well organised and dinner in the restaurant proceeded by candlelight, which only added to the atmosphere.

Castiglione itself is lovely, but do not try to drive anything wider than a Renault Clio through the narrow streets or you could come unstuck!

We stayed at Hotel Federico II from 6 till 8 July. It is a lovey hotel in a beautiful medieval setting and a perfect base to visit the Etna and the Alcantara river. Our room was large, spotlessly clean, had airconditioning and a nice small balcony with a breathtaking view over the city and the valley. Breakfast was super with fruit, breadrolls, crackers, different spreads, cakes, coffee, tea, juices and even the possibility to make a grilled ham & cheese sandwich.
The hotel is runned by a lovely couple who are always willingly to help or advise you in any way that's possible. Be sure to visit the hotel's restaurant Sine Tempore as well. To us it absolutely was the best restaurant during our holidaytour in Sicily!
Parkingspace can be found on a square that is a one minute walk from the hotel: Piazza Lauria. Just ignore the 'only 1 hour parking' sign. Simply not true.

I appreciated the well cleaned room and the large bathroom with windows. Good the light system and the furniture. I enjoyed so much the wonderful terrace . Every one of the staff was kind and ready to the customer satisfaction. But what I enjoyed more was typical Sicilian food of the restaurant: it was excellent!

The surprise highlight of our trip to four parts of Sicily, Castiglione is an ancient village that hangs on the sides of steep hills. We planned to use the hotel as a base for exploring Etna, Taormina, and Naxos, but were sucked into the charm of this half-abandoned town filled with picturesque vistas, pretty window boxes, old churches, and fascinating ruins. I spent hours walking its narrow streets and taking photos from its amazing views.

In comparison, the coastal towns -- especially Taormina -- were disappointing.

Although the hotel is in an old building, the interior is modern, uncluttered, and shiny. The family who runs it are friendly and helpful.

Surprisingly, we found two outstanding restaurants in Castiglione -- the hotel's Ristorante Sine Tempore, and La Dispensa Dell'Etna, a wine shop / trattoria about two minutes away. Both had similar menus focused on meat and local farm ingredients. La Dispensa was my slight favorite because of its remarkable selection of wines from the Etna region.

Although the hotel is in the middle of the old town, which is higher up the hill, it is a little hard to find, even with our GPS, which instructed us to drive down alleys that were too narrow even for a smart car. My suggestion is to first park in the lower part of town and find your way on foot. Then it is easy to map the best car route up to the square in front of the hotel, which has free parking.

This is a charming place to spend two or three days -- slowly -- and let yourself fall back through centuries of time.