Seaside & City

The location was the only good thing, especially for what we paid. The place was very low standard, even for a guesthouse. There was mold in the shower and enough hot water for maybe 90 seconds. The room had no real security since all the rooms used the same basic key, and you could hear everything from the hallway. The corridor smelled, too. The tassa del sggiorno had to be paid in cash on arrival, with no receipt. The person who greeted us took pictures of our IDs and sent them to some WhatsApp chat. For this price, you could get an actual hotel.

Alfio, our home guest, was really kind and gave us all sorts of information about sicily. The room was clean, the bed was comfy, and the price was cheap for a place right in the city center. I'd recommend it to any traveller looking for good value and friendly staff. :)

A great host and good value for the money.

What a disgrace. During my shower the hot water ran out, so I had to finish washing, even my hair, in cold water. We'd booked another property, Dimora dei Vespri 1, which had several appealing features, including its location. Four days before we were due to leave, they told me it couldn't open because it didn't have the necessary permits. They said they'd waited to tell us in case things changed, then offered Seaside and City and promised it would be just as good. With our departure to Catania so close and no way to get a refund, I agreed. The building we arrived at was very old, worn, and not very clean. We were greeted kindly, but were asked for the tourist tax straight away. They quickly showed us the room, emphasized its size since it was a quadruple, gave us very little information, and left. Then the cleanliness problems became clear: dusty bedside lamps, yellow stains on the sheets, visible rust in the refrigerator, and a shower with limescale on the glass and a large rusty section. The room had no soundproofing, so we could hear noises from other rooms and they could hear us, especially at night and early morning. The small balcony went unused because another room overlooked it, and we kept the shutter closed for both our privacy and theirs. The room was next to the kitchen, and the smell of fried food came in and made it unpleasant to sleep. There was no hairdryer, so we couldn't shower completely the first night and had to buy one from the shop downstairs the next day. The location wasn't bad, but public transport was a problem. The showers were sporadic, the metro wasn't running, and it took at least 30 minutes to walk to the center of Catania each day. We stayed two nights. Since our flight was on Sunday evening, we asked to leave our luggage in the common area, but they immediately refused, saying nobody was available to collect it.