Hotel Etnea 316

Wifi is only available around the reception. Location is good. I won’t recommend the hotel due to the one rude staff who blamed me for putting a key on the wrong door(there were two doors before the reception). At that time I was super tired after walking all day but he ordered me to wait until he finished talking on the phone with angry face. He called me off that I almost damaged the door by clicking the key too much and the other customers could haven’t use it then I have to pay for the damage. He even mentioned the price for it. Then I had to show him that I can use the keys in the right place and turn them properly. The worst customer service I’ve ever had and my trip was damaged..

We stay 4 nights in the hotel. It's an historical building typical for Catania. If you search for new, modern furniture, appliances and lightning, your place is not here but IKEA. Instead , if you want warm people and enjoy the magnificent Sicily, this is your place!

We spent a few days in this hotel, although we shouldn't have. Upon our arrival, the receptionist already greeted us in the stairwell that we do not have a room reservation here, let's leave. We said that we have already paid for the accommodation, look into it. He asked for our name and the room voucher several times, but only claimed that we did not have a paid room reservation. We said fine, we'll call the travel agency, but by the time I called the agency, I still had the paid reservation. One room was acceptable, but the other was a noisy, cold room, where we covered ourselves with 3 blankets to avoid freezing, when we opened the window to let the sun in, someone always closed it by the time we got back from the trip. The bathroom constantly smelled of sewage, and the space was so small that you couldn't sit on the toilet. Wifi is not available either in the room or in the lobby. Breakfast was also included in the price, but we preferred to buy food for ourselves, because the quantity and quality of the food on display was below criticism. After that, we gave the hotel another chance and paid for the Etna tour, but before we left, the plan changed and after the tour we didn't come back to the hotel, but they took us to Taormina, they just forgot to tell us that they wouldn't bring us back from there, only then did we realize, when he asked us to take a photo of the bus schedule. Based on our experience, we do not recommend this accommodation, but everyone should decide for themselves.

The owner, Mario was abrasive. He resorted to making fun of my name in jest, maybe. He operated in the dark and when I continously asked for light, he choose to further deride my comments. I tripped on a double set of steps several times to get to my room # 7 because they were protrusions from a flat floor and impossible to make out in the dark. Somebody is going to injure themselves really badly one day. Large room was average in decor. Missing plugs and floor mats in the bathrom - another hazard. Breakfast was carb heavy - not a sight of a piece of protein.

When I came to Etnea 316, I was asked to pay for the stay, even though I thought I had paid in advance. I assumed that I must have remembered wrong, and paid. However, upon speaking to my travel agent, it turned out that I had now paid twice. My travel agent contacted Etnea several times for them to refund what I had paid too much (almost 300 euros). They responded a few times saying "WE ARE CHECKING AND LET YOU KNOW", "EVERYTHING IT'S OK", etc., and then they stopped replying. Now I haven't heard from them for over a year, and of course, I haven't gotten my money back either. Transparency note: I visited Etnea in 2022, not 2023, but that's apparently not an option on tripadvisor.

The gentleman at reception was of the utmost kindness, very kind and helpful. Thank you