Catania Town Hotel, Catania

Best Western Hotel Mediterraneo, Catania

Advantages: Very comfortable beds
Disadvantages: Location, Poor room service

I wondered where the taxi was taking me on my way from the airport to the hotel. The area seemed to get worse as we went on and I was really surprised when I saw the hotel. The entrance on the website looks very impressive, the reality is very different( see photo). The location of the hotel wasn?t what I expected, and it seemed to be very run down and seedy, definitely not a tourist area. There were large open rubbish bins in the street, sometimes overflowing and surrounded by rubbish. Filthy pavements, when you could walk on them and they weren?t being used for parked cars. There were a few supermarkets, a bakery and a take away pizza place, but hardly any cafes nearby. There was traffic noise during the morning and evening rush hours. There was a 10-15 minute walk to what I would term the normal tourist areas with shops, cafes ...

bindie 09.07.2007 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Best Western Hotel Mediterraneo, Catania

A discovery of Catania.

Advantages: good place
Disadvantages: petty crime

Catania is the second major city in Sicily after Palermo. There is a common say, that it is easier to do business in catania than Palermo. Although in my experience the 2 cities are very similar under this respect, I would not necessarily disagree with this statement. An interesting place to visit is Castello di Ursino, (Ursino castle). Located in Piazza Federico di Svevia, at the end of Via Auteri between Via Plebiscito and Via Garibaldi, it used to be a coastal fortress. Later, vulcanic eruptions expanded the coastline, and if you go there, you can deem by yourself the extent of this expansion! Another place worth visiting is the cathedral (Duomo), which goes back to 1090. A word of caution for tourists, there are not too many restaurants in the centre of the town. If you have the time, try and go to Taormina ...

CICLISTALOCO 19.05.2001 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful
Review of Catania (Italy)

One Scary Sicilian Town

Advantages: See opinion
Disadvantages: See opinion

line of market stalls. Yippee! They were practically deserted. Yippee! I could see loads and loads of books, therefore, a book market. Joy of Joys and Yippee!! The people here looked pleased to see us, then slightly amused when they realised we couldn't communicate or read the books. More people were stopping to watch us but we were getting a bit blase to that by now. It was only when I noticed that a lot of these books appeared to be about the Mafia, and the word "Mafia" either with a big red cross over it or a line struck through it, that I realised this was an Anti-Mafia bookfair in a Pro-Mafia town. (Catania used to average 3 murders a day to Palermo's 5). Having been the only people near them for the last 5 minutes or so, we smiled sympathetically and left. Dear God, only 7 more hours to go. We found one hotel that was open ...

Salgirl 30.04.2001 (28.04.2001) · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Catania (Italy)