Hotel Il Gabbiano

A very good place with good rooms.

The restaurant was good, but the included continental breakfast wasn't anything special. The hotel and room were clean, and there was air conditioning, though the room was around 32 Degree and took a long time to cool down.

Il Gabbiano was a great base for exploring the hills to the south, the beaches along the coast, and downtown. It’s just west of Termini-Imerese, with a lovely sea view, and an easy 15 minute walk from the train station. My first few days there were pleasant enough. The rooms were good, and any small problems were fixed quickly. The staff were professional and helpful, even with my very limited Italian. I was planning to leave Sicily on the 11th and return to the States. I got an official negative COVID test just before American authorities dropped the testing requirement. I’m not sure that made my story ominous enough. I tested positive for COVID on the 10th, though I had no symptoms. That test requirement definitely kept me from exposing dozens or hundreds of people. If there’s one lesson in my sorry tale, it’s that COVID testing saves lives. I was suddenly in a bind. American authorities were no help whatsoever, and I was in a strange country where I spoke only a little of the language. I needed somewhere to complete my mandatory 10+ day isolation. The staff at Il Gabbiano stepped up, and I can’t emphasize enough that they were absolute heroes. They extended my stay, and friends brought me food, so I stayed safe and completed quarantine without exposing anyone else. When I left on the 21st, I felt deeply indebted to the staff and management. Any criticism of the hotel pales beside that. My other takeaway is that Hotel Il Gabbiano is an establishment you can trust when everything else fails. I’d stay there again in a heartbeat, hopefully under less mandatory circumstances.

Handy spot if all you need is somewhere to sleep for the night. The rooms are basic, and the bathroom is across the hall, though rooms with an en-suite bathroom are available. Breakfast was good.