Etna Hotel

We really enjoyed our stay at Etna hotel. The whole place has got so much character and authentic style. The staff was so friendly and keen to help. We felt really relaxed there. And also the food in the restaurant was to die for!!! Have the Sicilian grill plate, we have enjoyed the food so much! It’s also really close to the beach and the beach there is lovely!

We were so disappointed with the location of the hotel which was rundown, dirty and on a busy, unsafe road, that we actually moved to another location Giardini Naxos (which was lovely and what we were looking for with a clean beach, restaurants and bars). The Etna Hotel is a nice quaint hotel with lovely staff and a nice restaurant but that’s about it. If you go there you need a car. We were offered bikes to cycle to the beach (the worst I’ve ever seen in my life) or into the town but you would be taking your life in your our hands- far too dangerous! Our room was on the roadside so woken every morning with constant ,busy traffic. Wish we’d researched the area more before going and avoided the expense of having to move but worth it! We also met several couples who were also disappointed and moved hotel.

The Hotel was such a let down. There was nothing around it, only one Restaurant which opened at 7.30pm The restaurant in the Hotel opened at 7. There was no tea making facilities in the room. The area around the hotel was really dirty. Don't stay if you don't have a car. Rooms could certainly do with a lick of paint. Has the potential to be a lovely hotel. Staff were nice but that's about it. The beach which was 1k away was filthy, dirty nappies, needles, plastics etc etc. We got the bus or train out of it most days

I have just returned from a lovely week here and I have to say that it exceeded my expectations. The staff are great, friendly and very helpful, quite a bit of English is spoken so it's fairly easy to get help with arranging things such as taxis, trains etc. It really helps when it comes to my general incompetence with the Italian language. My room was very clean and perfectly comfortable with air con which I imagine you will be very thankful of in the summer months! The pool area is also clean, tidy and well equipped with loungers and chairs, there's even a small bar where you can get what you need at a reasonable price. I chose to eat at the restaurant in the evenings and the food was excellent, a good selection and fairly priced in my opinion, portion sizes are also generous. There is a beach fairly nearby, say 1-2 km which you can walk to or there are bicycles available at the hotel if you are feeling confident, the roads are a bit "exciting", however this is not unusual in Sicily/Italy, there are always taxis and these are not expensive and probably safer. It is advantageous to have your own transport as it is a fair walk to the centre of Giarre and of course you will want to visit the many stunning sites on and around Etna itself, there is ample off-road parking at the hotel. In summary this is a fabulous place to use as a base to explore Etna and the many tourist hotspots up and down the coast, it's a very calm and relaxing place with a nice atmosphere, a good mix of nationalities and excellent food at a very reasonable price. It is the staff that made my stay so enjoyable, they are all lovely people and genuinely friendly, this to me makes a trip special and makes me want to return. Have a mentioned the lemon grove behind the hotel? You will have to go find out about that for yourself... Grazie mille Etna Hotel, see you next time!

Stayed for 5 nights here with my husband. Rooms are lovely and we had one overlooking Mount Etna. Comfortable bed, decent en-suite, fridge, safe and wifi. The staff are very friendly and incredibly helpful. They arranged an Etna tour (great guide and really interesting) and a boat trip for us. They also gave us suggestions of things to do. They were very helpful with bus times and can organise taxis for you if needed . The owner even gave us a lift to Giardini Naxos for our boat trip when the bus didn’t turn up. So kind! Irena was delightful and went above and beyond to make sure we had a great trip. There are plenty of sun beds and chairs around the pool area and the pool is nice. Very chilly this time of year but had a quick dip. We ate in the restaurant next to the hotel and the staff are lovely and the food tasty. There isn’t a lot to do in Giarre so would definitely recommend a car or use public transport. We took the bus to Taormina which was about 50 minutes- return fare was about €10 for two of us. Giardini Naxos is also on the same bus route and is a nice port and town. You can get a train to Syracuse but we didn’t have time to do this. We thoroughly enjoyed our trip and managed to do a fair amount of outings and plenty of relaxing too.

Much needed week away. Lovely settling, superb restaurant. Ideal for a quiet break. If you need to see somewhere busier, then Catania or Taormina are a short train ride away. Only criticism is the beds are bit on the firm side, apart from that, Lovely.