Th Luxury Central

The thin, poorly built walls meant we could hear the people in the next room doing something very loudly. There was no privacy, and after the problems with the doors I had no trust in the place and felt paranoid. This was the worst hotel experience I’ve ever had, after visiting many countries and hotels. We got stuck outside because the door lock failed. The hotel is inside a hybrid building, and I understand the problem affected the whole building, not just our key. With no staff there at night, it took ages for anyone to come unlock the entrance. We got in thanks to another guest who lived there, and told staff by phone that we were inside. But our key still wouldn’t open the hotel door, and repeated calls went unanswered for a while. When they finally picked up, they kept saying staff were coming, without understanding that we were already in the building. I had to explain several times. Then they got angry and yelled at us, blaming us for not saying we’d made it inside, even though I had tried to tell them repeatedly and they hadn’t listened. Eventually they unlocked our door remotely. A staff member came later to check the card and found it wasn’t sensitive enough to open the door. He gave us a PIN, which worked, and promised to replace the card the next morning. The receptionist didn’t know what had happened, so the card was never changed. It worked only sometimes, which was unsettling. Issues can happen, but the way they handled this was awful and completely unprofessional. It was the worst customer service I’ve encountered. Don’t stay here if you want a nice trip.

This place was filthy and felt completely unsafe. Don’t book it, they’ll scam you. It isn’t worth even one star.

The rooms were clean and fine for a usual three-star place, with a new, spacious toilet. But the entrance felt like some cheap random hotel, and the strong chemical air freshener gave me a headache. Calling it “Luxury” is a big claim. I’m not a fan of places that sit between a hotel and an Airbnb, and this one shows why. You don’t get the benefits of either. It’s unclear who the host or responsible person is, and there’s no reception. They ask for checkout at 10, though check-in is at 3, and there’s no flexibility, not even 15 minutes. A hotel charging 100€ a night wouldn’t do that, and these rooms aren’t worth that price anyway.

We loved the easy self check-in, and the location is excellent. The rooms were super clean, but the bathroom smell was almost unbearable. The little balcony was really cool, with an amazing view of Mount Etna.