Appartamento Darsena con Terrazza

The terrace was too dirty to sit on, and the restaurant fans behind the building made it smell. Inside, the place was filthy throughout: stained beds, sofas and bedding, plus blisters on several walls that looked damp, with possible mold painted over. Furniture felt cheap and was coming apart, and the lamps were too dim to read by. Some shutters wouldn't close, so light and noise got into the living room at night. We were there for our third night in Sicily and had other places to compare it with. We weren't judging the noise outside or the pub smells downstairs, just the basics. There was no hot water for three days, so we had cold showers. Water poured from the ceiling light for two days, as shown in our video, and the slippery floor made us fall. Staff brought the key over an hour late. The listing on Booking.com said there was parking, but there wasn't, and street parking cost almost 20 euros a day. We had checked in online, yet staff spent an hour checking our IDs, taking photos and sending them to someone on WhatsApp. The operator gave us no support. We reported all this by phone or WhatsApp, and it felt like a tactic to get rid of us.

The location was the only bright spot. We were without electricity for two of our three nights, and the building's electrical system seemed very questionable, judging by the meters in the entry. There's no direct local contact if something goes wrong, just a call center. Cleanliness was poor and the veranda was damaged. We arrived Monday and found the main switch off at check-in. Turning it back on seemed to fix things, but after I dried my daughter's hair that afternoon, she jumped again. Later, when we came back from going out, the apartment was dark and the switch wouldn't come on. I spent half an hour arguing with the call center operator, who said no one could come until after 9 the next morning. My 11-month-old was crying and hungry, and I couldn't make her milk without power. After more than an hour, at 11 PM, they sent us to another apartment in Syracuse, 10 minutes away, to sleep while they looked into the problem. We returned for lunch the next day. A technician said a light bulb was faulty and promised to come back to replace it, but never did. Things seemed fine until the third and final night, when the power cut out again while we were sitting there. They said there was no solution. We spent the night in the heat without electricity, then had to go downstairs in the morning to find a café to warm the baby's milk. We settled in and left. An absurd experience, unlike anything we've had before. Bad experience, one star only because I had to give one.

You can get around on foot from this lovely apartment, and there's a bus straight to Catania airport. It has what you need, including a coffee machine, fridge and TV. Highly recommend it.

You get a lot of space in a fantastic location, though the apartment needs maintenance. The building is historic but feels abandoned, especially the lobby. Parking was another issue: you can't pay €1.50 per hour for a full 24 hours.