Caportigia Boutique Hotel

Valentina was an amazing host, helpful and genuinely caring. Thank you, and boss, give her a raise! The staff were great, the rooms very nice, and the chef made breakfast fresh each day with changes to keep it from getting boring. For my birthday, the chef brought out a little tart with a candle. How sweet. Thanks, chef. There’s easy free parking nearby, and it’s quiet, about 5-7 minutes from the bridge to Ortigia.

The restaurant was the only part of the stay I enjoyed, along with the breakfast waiter. The scrambled eggs were really good. The rest of the experience wasn’t great. Room service changed our towels every time, even when we left them hanging, and replaced the toilet paper when we’d barely used it. Ironically, it was one of those brown, supposedly eco-friendly types. On Christmas Eve, we wanted a drink in the lobby, but there was no place for us, so they directed us to sit by the elevators in front of a huge screen looping a restaurant promo. Dantesque. We also left a phone charger in the room. It apparently disappeared, and they insisted it wasn’t there. I’d recommend finding somewhere else to stay.

We couldn’t get water at night, so we weren’t able to shower and could barely brush our teeth. The heater also stopped working overnight, making it very uncomfortable to sleep and affecting how we felt for the next day’s plans. At checkout, the staff were unfriendly and brought up extra charges straight away instead of apologizing. They said it was “a district problem,” as if that settled it. We weren’t looking for compensation, just a polite apology. When we asked them to call a local shop because we don’t speak Italian, they rudely told us to call ourselves if we didn’t trust them. For a hotel that’s five-star in name, the service fell far short and was rude at times. A very unpleasant stay.

The breakfast was excellent. Danilo’s service stood out most, though. He explained the menu clearly and was professional in a way I’ll remember.