Il Mare Di Ortigia

The views are stunning, but the apartments are in terrible shape. Such a pity.

The welcome was kind and helpful, which made the rest of this feel even more misleading. I booked through Booking.com, tempted by the €50 a night price for an apartment in Ortigia with a sea-view balcony. The cheapest option had no photos, so I assumed I was booking the one shown in pictures of the other available apartments. Instead, it was on Via Vittorio Veneto, in a completely different area, and in a state of disrepair unlike anything I've seen. This is the first negative review I've written, but the experience felt like a joke. The balcony did have a view, which was nice, but its railing was so rusty it seemed to carry a tetanus risk. The bathroom was narrow, with a shower in terrible condition, like something better suited to a service station. There was a bedside table with a light bulb but no electrical outlet. I urge future guests to check carefully what they're booking. The other rooms are certainly nice, but the way this option is presented feels unclear and misleading. I'm attaching photos of a few details. One odd thing: while we were downstairs with our luggage, two people, perhaps residents, asked if we were staying in that room. When we said yes, they exchanged a look as if they wanted to tell us something.

We didn't sleep there. We went home, and the place later even paid to have our Booking review deleted. Ridiculous. The building was rundown, and there was no breakfast, TV, hairdryer, or mattress protector. The double bed had two cot sheets laid straight over a worn old mattress. Its all-iron bed base looked decades out of date and was extremely uncomfortable. The kitchen had no stove, and the tiny bathroom meant walking sideways to reach the bidet or toilet. The small balcony looked out to sea, but its railing was covered in so much rust it brought the Titanic to mind. Inside, the shower tray was loose enough to risk falling, door frames were coming away, and the bedside lamp had no socket. Light cords dangled from junction boxes with makeshift slippers. The building was in terrible condition.

The reception staff were very kind, but the apartment was dirty and smelled bad. The listing promised a sea view, yet at the entrance we were met by smelly garbage dumps. It was spacious, but falling apart, and filthy on top of that. The bathroom stank and the shower was dirty. One room had no air conditioning, just a penguin-like unit that made an unsettling noise without cooling the air, plus a dusty fan. With COVID-19 around, I was really disappointed.