Hotiday Ortigia Opera

I had to leave because there was no water at the property at night. The host told me it was a problem throughout Siracusa, but guests should be told in advance if that's the case so they can decide whether to pay for a room without water. The city itself had perfectly good water.

The rooms are nice and the location is excellent, but getting inside was an absolute nightmare. Expedia said the front desk was open daily from 3.00 PM till 10.00 PM. I arrived at 9 pm after taking the ferry from Malta, but everything was locked and nobody answered the bell. The contact number on my Expedia confirmation led to a central Hotiday office in Milan. The office was closed, and the phone menu's option to speak to an operator connected me to a chatbot. The emergency option sent a WhatsApp message. After about five attempts with the chatbot, I got through to a site listing local numbers for their properties worldwide, but the formatting cut off the last digit. On my third try through that list I found this property at the very end, with two numbers. Neither number was answered when I called. I texted both numbers, then, about 45 minutes after arriving, the door suddenly opened. Someone called me and directed me upstairs to the key safes. Everything, absolutely everything, was handled through WhatsApp messages, and nobody had told me. I use WhatsApp with a different phone number from the one I was carrying, so I didn't get their messages until I switched back to my other, much more expensive number. The person on the other end was very helpful, but by then I'd spent over an hour on all this. Hotiday's customer service is totally inadequate. Put real contact numbers on booking confirmations instead of a central office chatbot, and make it clear that the so-called front desk is staffed remotely. Tell guests that communication will be through WhatsApp instead of assuming everyone has it on the same number you have. It would also be nice to be able to contact you by email. I'll be giving Hotiday a very wide berth for the foreseeable future. I don't care how good the properties are if I can't arrive and get in. I don't want to sit on the street with my luggage, making endless calls and talking to chatbots.

The staff were very friendly, and the bed was comfortable. The location was perfect, just a minute from Piazza Duomo. If you communicate with the host, you can check in whenever you want. We'd gladly stay here again.

For a B&B, this is a perfect place, with a top location and a comfortable bed. The staff are friendly, very helpful, and speak excellent English.