Don't be put off by the location of this hotel to the south of the main city area. There are plenty of people around at night, including old men chatting on corners, so it felt quite safe. Rooms are large with a good bathroom and a kitchenette. Our third floor room had a fabulous view of Etna from the balcony. Breakfast in the morning is a buffet with plenty of choices. The main tourist areas around the Duomo and the fish market are only 5-10 minutes walk. Internet is available by cable. The staff at the desk were very helpful. The only disadvantage is finding the hotel, tucked away in a narrow one way street. Look for signs to the hotel, Hard Rock Cafe (a few minutes walk away) or Castello Ursino (at the end of via Grimaldi). Following the signs can be confusing because of the one way streets, but it is well sign-posted once you get close. Driving and parking in Catania is quite a challenge, so be prepared for some stress!

My wife and I booked this hotel online, judging it only by the "blurb" on the ITWG websie.

However, I have to say that I have never stayed in a hotel with more helpful and friendly staff.

We encountered three main people during our stay and they were all superb. They organised a tour guide to take us to Etna late one evening when our original choice let us down at short notice. Recommendations on where to eat and drink were also spot on.

The hotel itself is a quiet, sedate affair in the old part of the town, literally 30 seconds walk from Castello Ursino. Rooms are spacious, clean, comfortable and well appointed. Oddly, the rooms are congregated around a communal dining area and kitchen on each floor. Whilst we were there we didn't see anyone using these extraneous facilities (although conveniently, I nicked a bottle opener from our kitchen one night! I put it back afterwards though... ahem.)

Rooms have Sky and a very reasonably priced mini bar, which was re-stocked daily.

Our room had a nice bathroom with a small, but efficient shower, bidet, WHB and loo. No bath, but this was only missed on one day after 6 hours on Mount Etna; when a long soak would have been beneficial!

We benefited from a good sized balcony that overlooked the old city and beyond to Etna. Spectacular indeed. Just don't be put off by the run down appearance of the buildings close by.

The hotel does not have it's own bar, which wasn't really a drawback as we mainly used it as a base for exploring the rest of the city etc. Most of the main points of interest are within easy walking distance. The railway station for Palermo, Messina, Taormina etc is about 20 mins walk away. Piazza del Duomo, the fish market and Via Etnea are about 5 mins walk.

We went B & B and found the brekkie typically Italian (pastries, fruit, bread, cake, coffee) and quite adequate although not awe inspiring. There are no other meals offered at the hotel, but frankly the restaurants in Catania are plentiful and of good quality in any case.

We paid about 110 euro's a night for a really nice double room. Having looked at other places prior to booking this seems to be in the mid price range for Catania during October.

I'm suprised that this hotel doesn't feature more prominently in guide books as I think it's a little gem!