UNA HOTELS Capotaormina

We had a wonderful stay, and Gabrielle, one of the lifeguards, was especially helpful and friendly, with outstanding service. The buffet breakfast had a decent selection at a reasonable price. Poolside, though, the food was almost inedible. We ate in town instead, since the menu was very limited and outrageously expensive.

The beach and pool were lovely, and I’d go back. The rooms could do with some attention and updating, but the location is fantastic. Dinner in the best of the restaurants was superb, with service to match. I’d rate the buffet breakfast four stars rather than five, though sitting in the sun with a direct view of Mount Etna made its shortcomings easier to overlook.

The views from the hotel were stunning, and both the pool and ocean areas were outstanding. Our room, though, was a disaster. The door frame was chipped, and the shower setup was awful for tall people. Water ended up all over the bathroom every time. We weren’t told the waterfront restaurant was booked for the evening, so we missed the last shuttle into town and had to try the other hotel restaurant. The food was horribly overpriced garbage, almost inedible. I can cook better than that, and it gave me food poisoning. The male front desk staff member was condescending and rude. We also hadn’t expected there to be no shuttle transportation to the hotel.

The hotel exceeded our expectations in almost every way. Our room was beautiful, the views were breathtaking, and we loved the beach and pool. The stay itself was wonderful, but the way checkout was handled spoiled what would otherwise have been nothing but good memories. The day before leaving, I asked the front desk about getting to Catania Airport. A taxi fare of €175 seemed very high, and the hotel offered to arrange one for €100. I accepted and later found a note in the room confirming the booking, although the pickup time was wrong. I went back to have it corrected, then got a call confirming the new time and that the reservation had been updated. I checked the €100 fare again and was told it was right. In the morning, no taxi showed up. Reception called the taxi company and said there had never been a reservation. They offered to call another car, but it would take 20 minutes and cost €175. We were already running late for our flight, so this caused a lot of stress and put us at risk of missing it. Maybe it was a mistake or a miscommunication, but the hotel had confirmed the details several times the day before. The receptionist did very little to sort it out. Rather than look into what had happened or acknowledge a possible mistake, she kept saying my account was “impossible” and that a €100 transfer could never have been arranged. We were told that a real booking would have come with a confirmation and QR code. After all the confirmations the previous day, that felt dismissive and unhelpful. There was trouble with the replacement taxi, too. I told reception specifically that I’d pay by credit card, but the driver insisted on cash and pressured us to leave a tip. The fare had jumped from the €100 quoted and confirmed the previous day to €175, which made the whole situation even more uncomfortable. I was ultimately able to pay by card, but it was needless stress when we were just trying to catch our flight. A hotel of this standard should manage transport bookings more reliably, especially after guests have repeatedly confirmed the details. The lack of accountability when we raised the problem was nearly as disappointing as the mistake itself.