Hotel Nettuno - Catania, Italy     

Stayed at the Hotel Nettuno in Catania on the final leg of my Italian Oddysey. This place was definitely the best value for money hotel I stayed at in the whole of Italy, possibly because Sicily ‘s cheaper than the mainland generally. This is a luxury 4 star with all of the classic things you need for a great relaxing time – it’s right on the beach, which is a lovely stretch of coastline by the way, they have an outdoor swimming pool, though I didn’t go in (it was January), and the restaurant was top class too. The only downside is that the coast is a bit of a trek from the city centre – you really have to taxi it as public transport doesn’t really exist! Taxis for tourists in Catania cost 10 euros wherever you go – incredible isn’t it!?? So you have to choose whether you want a beach hotel or a city break, or pay for the best of both worlds.

We stayed at the Hotel Nettuno for 7 days in mid-September. We wanted somewhere in/close to Catania with a beach/pool. Overall we had a good stay and the staff do put in a lot of effort. There was a sense that this could be a really good hotel if they would just sort out a few things. I'll start with the good points. The hotel was clean, it has a decent sized pool, and it has access to a private 'beach'. The 'beach' is actually just decking on top of the rocks with steps going down into the sea. Sun loungers and towels are provided and there is a life guard. It is nice, although quite small and could probably only hold 20-25 people at any one time. The staff on the front desk were good and very helpful. The majority of them spoke decent English. The restaurant was good with views of Etna. Our room was an okay size with a balcony overlooking the sea. The decor was slightly dated, as was the TV but there was a Sky box and it had a good range of channels. The standard of cleaning was high, to the point of cleaning the hair out of hairbrushes! The area around the hotel has a small fairground (although it doesn't open until later at night), there were a few restaurants around it, a late night market selling all sorts of stuff, and a supermarket next door. Now the bad points - in no particular order. Firstly, there were a number of instances where attention to detail was poor. When we arrived the TV/Sky box in the room wasn't connected and there cables where all over the place. Once it was connected we had to get the remote control from reception - except they forgot to put batteries in it. We used the plastic cups in the room and the cleaners forgot to replace them. Nothing major but enough to be annoying and give you that sinking feeling when you need to speak to reception for the 3rd time in a day (although as noted above nothing was ever a problem to resolve). Secondly, the breakfast was pretty basic. The breakfast cereals were substitutes rather than brands and served in little tiny bowls. There was a very limited range of food, and once it was gone it was gone so you arrived late at your peril. It was surprising given that the restaurant was so good. Thirdly, if you want to use Catania as a base and travel around this is not the hotel for you. I've read in a couple of places it's 600m from the historic centre. I think they've missed out a zero. The train station is a good 30 minute walk away (10-15 Euro by taxi dependent on whether you have luggage), and the main centre of Catania is another 15-20 minute walk beyond that. You can reach one of the main shopping streets in about 15 minutes but it's nowhere near any of the sites. There is bus stop beside the hotel and one bus that runs all day until after 11pm (No. 534). The bus takes between 10 and 25 minutes depending on the traffic. It supposed to come every 20-25 minutes but we waited as long as 40 minues for it. In a typically relaxed Sicilian way you'll betold that the bus comes 'when it comes'. One other thing to mention is that it does promote itself as a business and conference hotel. While we stayed there were 3-4 weddings and several conferences. The main issue here is that the pool area and the reception area for weddings are connected so the wedding guests use the pool area. On one day we had to go through the wedding party (in our swimming costumes) to get to the pool.