Central Rooms Il Re

The location was the reason I chose this place: it was close to the piazzas and Catania's lively area. The room and restroom were spacious enough, and the cleaning lady was nice to us. But the service was almost nonexistent. The owner wasn't there, so we had to check in by phone. We spoke Italian, which helped, but I saw other guests struggling to get around and even to reach him. It was more like a basement room, with a single window at the entrance that didn't really do its job. The room smelled of mold, understandable given the low level and old house, but it gave me a headache and sore throat. We both woke up with headaches. The first night there was also a steady, quiet machine noise, probably from the restaurant kitchen, and I got fixated on it. I haven't attached photos because it wasn't worth photographing 😅.

The room's location was the only good thing. Humidity was so high we could hardly breathe, and they gave us a different room from the one we had booked. The bathroom wasn't clean at all. I definitely don't recommend it.

The room photos didn't reflect what we actually got. I'd arranged things over the phone with the owner, whom I never saw, but still had to leave my money in an outside box with no receipt. There was no breakfast, despite it being a B&B, and no parking included even though the website listed it. I ended up paying €10 for just six hours. Highly discouraged.

The location next to Ursino Castle is excellent, which may explain why the price seems low. The rest of the stay is what brings it down. The mattress is very hard and the pillows are so flat they're almost nonexistent. There was no disposable soap or shower gel, only large containers that everyone touches. Cleanliness was lacking too, since they hadn't noticed a bunch of extensions someone had left in the bathroom. The owner doesn't register guests and offers extras like airport transfers at low prices, then charges double or triple that amount.