Hotel Armonia Noto Marina e Spa

The rooms were fine and everything worked, and breakfast was excellent. The restaurant next door would get three stars from me as well. It was low season, but some things still being unavailable was disappointing: the masseur never turned up, the spa was out of order, the sauna took two hours to fix, and the rental bike had flat tyres, though riding it was free. When I was heading to Noto, the public bus was cancelled, so I called the hotel. The manager offered to send a taxi and I accepted without thinking about the cost. The fare was 120 Euro for the journey both to and from the hotel. I told the manager that if he’d had the courtesy to tell me beforehand, I’d have taken another taxi but given a better review. In general, the staff apart from the manager don’t speak English, but Google Translate goes a long way. They’re still very helpful. A good three-star hotel, with details that are lacking.

We arrived in the late afternoon for a one day stay. The reception was very friendly, and the hotel is relatively new. A road runs between the hotel and the beach. For a moderate price, you get a stylish, new interior and good, fast Wi-Fi in the room. Free camping chairs and an umbrella are available to borrow for the beach. The shower was a bit flimsy and took considerable adjustment before it worked, and the roof terrace wasn’t accessible, at least at that time. All in all, I can recommend the hotel.

Avoid this place. The pictures make it look nice, but inside it was a nightmare. Our superior room had no hot water, wood instead of glass in the windows, paint coming off the ceiling, and mold everywhere. There were no sheets on the blanket, and a nice 1 cm gap under the door meant we could hear everything from the lobby.

In the colder months, Marina di noto gets very quiet. The shops shut, so there isn't much to do besides walk by the sea and enjoy the calm. Summer is a different story, with locals and tourists filling the place. You can swim, sunbathe, grab an ice cream or a beer at one of the bars, including some right on the beach. It's a nice little spot near Noto, with hotels, bars, and a few B&Bs.