Palazzo Vecchio Taormina — Hotel in Taormina

I must say we came here and booked the suite and not the famous four season that was in the same price because we truly wanted a five stars hotel without “gimics”.

The service was mostly good and I also wants to mention that I met the owner of the place who gave us a 1 night compensation, here are the problems:

you have to climb 35-40 steps (!) each time you come or leave the hotel (there is no elevator and no other way to step inside the hotel. We didn’t know it and came with two old ladies , and for one of them it was super difficult to do it. I didn’t find it mention in any place. This is a shame,

the bathroom in our room has many problems from leak to the unbelievable 4 nights and days without fixing the bath that couldn’t take water down after filling it,

we went one time to the spa (you need to book) and the jacuzzi was freezing and the sauna was not working. They apologize for that.

they have valet service for parking the car, on the day of my birthday someone parked my car and forgot where it is. I had to late to my own birthday in 20 minutes

the normal room that we booked for my friends was very small and not worth 500€/ night. Our suite was big but no working desk or any table to sit and not worth 1100€/ night.

the basic location is great but what’s make it not perfect are the 35-40 stairs you have to climb each time you come or leave the hotel.

the breakfast and the food was great.

no espresso machine in the rooms - I ordered once capuchino to my room they charged 10€ for that. So basicly it’s a business decision they made to milk more money from the guests.

there is no lobby, no common areas in the hotel. They told us there is a rooftop that is closed and can’t be used because it’s April… don’t expect hotel it’s more like an old house with old facilities. No smart tv in the suite. There were some other small things like not changing the towels every day (besides those we used to the floor because of the leak).

Bottom line we felt like we got robbed, I am sorry, we came to celebrate my 50s birthday and I was very...

A TRULY EXCELLENT HOTEL Taormina is a town where you see over-heated day trippers walking side-by-side with the super-rich. One might be 'on a budget' and the other might sport a handbag that cost more than a year's wages for a local worker, as they peruse the top-end designer shops which dot the main street. But what about those of us rooted somewhere in the middle? We are looking forward to a holiday that is special, of which we will have fond memories, but we don't want to stay in a hotel that is starchy and 'grand' and the preserve of multi-millionaires. This is where Palazzo Vecchio comes into its own. It is a recently converted palazzo in a perfect location in the centre of the old town but just far enough away from the hubbub to be quiet. The refurb was clearly expensive and high-end but has kept a sense of fun with Moorish/Arabesque flourishes throughout. The rooftop bar is a must, with stunning views of Mount Etna at sunset, an imaginative cocktail list, very helpful knowledgeable staff, and an excellent DJ who knew to play toe-tapping classic pop songs along with up-the-minute contemporary music. The other guests were 'normal' people from all walks of life who were clearly not 'hard up' but neither were they the designer super-rich (I am not against people being rich, but you know what I mean - they are not necessarily fun, are they?). Every guest at the Palazzo Vecchio was definitely enjoying themselves as much as we were. Our room was stylish, spacious and constantly kept clean and tidy. The staff were friendly and informative, and yes, of course that is their job, but is it their job to walk you to the taxi rank, carry your bags, and make sure you are setting off safely? Apparently it is. In a nutshell, this hotel is special enough to be a delight, but small enough to not be impersonal. Fun, but classy decor, and did I mention the DJ and...

I'll start with the good things, the service was good, attentive, courteous and very professional, they helped or at least tried to help with any problem we had. But at the same time, unfortunately I can't call it a five-star hotel, especially not given the crazy price we paid per night. It's a large house with 4-5 rooms on each floor, almost no common areas to sit in, no pool, no active bar. The room had many maintenance issues that were not resolved during our stay, the bathrooms were not maintained properly for a hotel of this price. At the same time, the bed was very comfortable and the room was very quiet. Breakfast was also delicious and served in a very pleasant room. The hotel's location is in the center of town and accessible to all places, but you can't get to the hotel without climbing about 30 steps at the entrance and descending 30 steps at the exit. Parking, which costs an additional 30 euros to the hotel and is managed as a service, also ends at 8 p.m., and after this time you must park your car in a public parking lot and you cannot use the hotel's service. Overall this hotel is overpriced big time. You pay for a luxury 5 stars hotel, and you...