Calabria: Southern Italy’s Heartland Day 10
Calabria: Southern Italy’s Heartland
Sicily's Ancient Landscapes & Timeless Traditions
Calabria: Southern Italy’s Heartland
Hotel Evaluations
Hotel Plaza Opera - Palermo, Italy
http://www.hotelplazaopera.com/en/
“VERY WELL SITUATED”
Well situated and close to everything in the center of Palermo
Easy walk, close to many restaurants.
All of front desk were so helpful - Francesco was superb
Slow Elevators
A/C worked great and quickly cooled the room.
Beds and pillows were comfortable
Shower was good and bathroom was spacious.
Breakfast was basic
People were not friendly - overworked, understaffed
No eggs or hot items
Good pastry, cold meats, cheese and bread
Great coffee, one could ask for European coffees and they would quickly provide.
Limited seating
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Giardino De Costanza - Mazara Del Vallo, Italy
http://www.giardinodicostanza.it/en/
“BEAUTIFUL FACILY BUT AWAY FROM CITY”
Front desk was super nice and helpful.
Whole complex is very elegant but in the middle of nowhere.
Gardens were lovely and picturesque.
WI-FI internet is very bad - only few routers in a very large complex.
Internet on and off - long time
Had no internet for three days - had to use at front desk - reception to send material to the States.
Broadband connection works great when they had internet.
Blamed the problems on the company providing service.
Spacious room
Many chairs and tables in the room - we placed and well appointed
Great shower - but comes directly down from ceiling so control of temperature was problem
2 sinks in bathroom
A/C turns off in the night so room goes to high temp (mid 70s) - They never fixed the problem.
No hot water on Day 2 morning - most rooms had this problem on our wing.
Nice patio
Breakfast had great variety and good - hot and cold.
Breakfast people were not friendly - overworked, understaffed
Lots of seating to accommodate guests
Great coffee, one could ask for European coffees and they would quickly provide
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Agriturismo Gigliotto - Piazza Armerina, Italy
http://www.gigliotto.com/
“ONE NIGHT WAS ENOUGH”
Dark rooms
Difficult ventilation as the room had only one set of outside doors.
but no screen on doors and no windows
Tiny shower, Toilet bowl brown, No bathroom shelves - could not take dop kits to bathroom
No single beds - only had small double beds
Sporadic Internet if any - had to go to lobby for good signal.
Room not ready by 5:30 PM - REALLY!
Sheets on bed too small, did not tuck in
Nice patio to outside
Breakfast -
No loaf of bread to individually slice - this is Italy - staple!
Sliced bread dry and old.
Issue with Italy/Sicily is that breakfast is usually VERY sweet - pastries.
Coffee excellent
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De Stefano Palace - Ragusa, Italy
http://www.destefanopalacehotel.com/inglese/
“Rooms are Questionable - Breakfast Great”
Hallways are convoluted - joined several buildings together.
Front desk is very helpful
Helped program safe and A/C - needs to have it keyed in at the front desk.
Elevator is very slow for a machine that covers 3 floors.
Room floor was very dirty
Floor in rooms are slippery
Limited shelves in bathroom.
Internet was spotty. At times great and then goes out and stays out for some time.
AC lowest temp is 70 degrees - usually higher in room.
Breakfast has great variety - lots of sweet breads & cookies,
First hot coffee we have had here in Sicily in 10 days.
Very attentive breakfast staff.
Laundry is very expensive - 4 slacks and 2 shirts was 30 Euros.
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Katane Palace Hotel - Catania, Italy
http://www.katanepalace.it/en/home
“3 STARS - MAX!”
Front Desk staff was less than responsive.
Porters and othe hotel staff were discourteous
Rooms:
Nice balcony
A/C worked well
Room by street with constant traffic
Other room noise, furniture scraping above and to the side of our room
We went to reception to ask for luggage stand, chair and blanket.
Took awhile to get staff to bring us a chair, blanket - three trips to the front desk.
One bed instead of two that we reserved
Changed bed linens
Table to work
Internet +++
Mini Bar good - free
Plastic Glasses
Closet Space
Two small beds together
Dusty room - not cleaned under the bed.
Floors Dirty
Bathroom:
Two sinks in bathroom
Shower was limited but large bath
Good Breakfast but grouchy staff
Had several tour groups at the hotel.
All wanted breakfast at the same time - people had to share large tables.
Would not allow people to go eat in the patio when all table taken up - simple door connecting.
Some went around and staff went out to tell them to go inside or they would not be served coffee, etc.
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Villa Velia - Monterosso, Italy
http://www.villaveliamonterossocalabro.com/english/index.htm
“GREAT PEOPLE AND SUPER VIEWS”
Owners Antonio and Velia very nice and super helpful - very sincere
Welcoming staff and they were very agreeable and assisted. What SMILES.
2 rooms by dining - others were 150 meters away.
Great views and very quiet
Rooms had two beds - were passable but clean
One table for writing
Wardrobe for hanging.
No A/C but at 1400 feet - cool nights
Bathroom had screen on window.
Door had no screens so bugs would fly in and bite when we tried to get circulation to cool the room
Bathroom was small but usable. Shower very small.
No shelves or storage
Breakfast and dinner family style - great variety at breakfast and made special orders.
Food was very good
Dog barked in the night and early morning
Antonio was a good guide but left us standing a few times in the sun.
Internet only by their home - was sporadic but Antonio knew how to get better connection
Road to Villa was interesting - narrow, winding, pot holes.
Monterosso is very friendly and welcoming
Nice grocery in small town.
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La Sentinella B&B - Civita, Italy
http://www.borghidelpollino.it/
“Check the Rooms for Size”
Beautiful area
Beautiful B&B - great views of the mountains and sports facility
7 minute walk from city center
People in Civita are very friendly and ready to help.
Marianna was a super hostess
No A/C - open windows to cool room - 2000 feet
Two rooms for 2 persons - good size
2 Rooms for 1 person - very small rooms.
Strong Internet
Refridge open to guests
Offered water, tea, coffee, and food anytime we wished
Enormous sweet breakfast - some yogurt, cheese and some sausage, great coffee & tea, no eggs, LOTS OF SWEETS.
Once we got into our correct room, we had room to open suitcases and chairs to work
Separated the bed for us - beds were comfortable.
Good ventilation
Very clean
One cabinet for clothes
One table for writing with many chairs
Bathroom was fine - no shelves to place our dob kits - hot water ran out during shower.
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Raito Hotel - Vietri Sul Mare, Italy
http://www.ragostahotels.com/eng/hotel_raito/home.htm?_ga=1.103503744.1497231203.1440012556
“FOR A SUPPOSED 5 STAR HOTEL, NO BETTER THAN A 3 STAR”
Hotel looked great from outside and in lobby.
Great views from veranda.
Nice breakfast but we did not eat in their restaurant - read the reviews.
Only one elevator - slow
Front desk was quite surly - multiple times and people.
Answer was mostly sorry sir, but we cannot help you on that answer.
Once in room - small, banged up walls, poor ventilation.
Our room faced the rear of the facility - hillside and road and not the view of the even numbered rooms.
We heard the hotel's mechanical and elevators working all hours of the night.
Horrible internet access.
Then none on Saturday - "We are working on it sir."
No broadband connection in rooms even though they had the plugs.
Corner of shower moldy and rusty
Had to ask three times for the shower to be fixed.
Sprayed all over
Shower handle would fly off under water pressure.
Bathroom fan did not work - dust in the cover and gap.
Beds were very good.
No luggage stand.
A/C control only down to 70 degrees - and then poor.
A/C vent was dirty and full of dust.
Had to leave the outside door open to get ventilation
We had an early departure - 3:30 AM - and asked for a wake-up call - None - we have no record of your request.
As I am standing there another person came and same complaint. Then another.
Have your own clock.
This was the worst hotel we had in Italy and Sicily.
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