Hotel Aurora

I would highly recommend anyone going to Sicily to spend time in Ortigia, lots to see, lots to do, lots of neat restaurants

The hotel is quite old fashioned, but clean and the staff were actually amazing. They even took us out with them to experience the festival of fish. As with most hotels in Sicily the breakfasts aren't up to much.

Lovely building but no maitenance for years means its falling to pieces. The shower didn't work, the toilet seat fell off in my hand, there were no shades on the lamps near the bed. The breakfast was poor and the coffee undrinkable. Very disappointing the building looked great from the outside.

A lovely palace well positioned for exploring the old city. We had a fine room. Understandably there was no lift and we changed rooms to avoid climbing higher. The supply of hot water was erratic, especially in the shower. The hotel has an environmental policy re towels and the use of water which was a plus for us. Quite noisy.

I had specifically booked a double room with sea view but on arrival I got a small room with no view (I suspect they had offered my booked room to other guests). My complaints did not help. The room was very worn down and the shower cabinet dirty and appaling. The shower was falling apart. The reception was not manned at night time and there was no fire escape plan or route. There is no elevator. Although described in the prospect the room did not have a minibar. Siracusa and especially Ortigia is a very nice place but to fully enjoy it I recommend to book another hotel, preferably a 4 star hotel.

The gentleman at reception was very helpful and even was able to upgrade our room upon my request. The booking site advertised this hotel as having a view toward the sea, which it does, but they don't tell you that, besides facing the sea, it is also above a very busy, major thoroughfare of Ortigia. Although Ortigia is quaint and characteristic, it is also very busy with lots of traffic. This hotel is located on the sunrise side of the island, while the nicer side of the island is on the west, toward the sunset (e.g. where the Fontana Artusia is located). The hotel was supposed to serve breakfast, but they told us there was a problem with their kitchen, so they sent us, with vouchers, to "Cafe Centrale" on the Piazza Archimedes, about a 5 min. walk away. We didn't mind the walk, but that Cafe isn't particularly good. The hotel is in a very old building, which with some restoration, could have been quite lovely. Instead it is a little shabby, the art work on the walls is shlocky and cheap looking, and the dining rooms are painted a very garish bright blue which doesn't keep with an "old building" style. They provide wifi, but only in some public areas, such as in the lobby next to the reception desk. We could not get wifi in our room. There was a good supply of hot water in the shower, but the shower stall was sort of falling apart as it had very decrepit sliders on the bottom. The location was very good for the price, and Jonny (the day-time reception person) was very nice and helpful. I would recommend this hotel for short stays in Ortigia at a budget price. But if you absolutely must have internet in your room, you may want to think about investing in a "chiavetta" , that is, a "dongle," a USB device that you can buy from an italian phone store such as TIM or others. It usually comes with about 100 hrs or more (for a limited number of months) of internet access and you can use it anywhere, no wifi needed. But you may want to have your laptop with you when you buy it, as it is tricky inserting the SIM card into the device. We needed extensive internet access, as my husband teaches courses online.

beautiful view if you get the room with the sea view, do not get the parzial view, you won't be able to see the water! the hotel it's old, some of the rooms, the one on the upper floor, are newer, but all the bathrooms don't work too well,it's either the shower or the toilet, or the sink, so be prepared.... ortigia is one of the most beautil place you will ever see and the location of the hotel is great. keep in mind if you get the room with the seaview that it's going to be noisy especially during the week end, this is because the main road is by the sea. breakfast is decent, boiled eggs, limited amount of cold cuts and only chese singles, no espresso or cappuccino, just regular coffee, but the the fresh pastry are GREAT! it's an ok place after all, kind of overpriced for what you get. you can find better deal in Ortigia, but the fact that the hotel is in an old, or antique building, it's nice. remember no elevator and the rooms are on the second and third floor.

This hotel is in an excellent location, on the sea front, in a really lovely unspoiled part of Sicily - Ortigia. You feel as though you are living in the old home of a wealthy person from times gone by - full of character and atmosphere - thankfully, no one has modernised it. The service from the reception staff, who are fluent English speakers, is absolutely 5* and adds to the enjoyment of staying in this hotel. The hotel even provides an interesting tour of Ortigia, with one of the receptionists, for 5 Euros. Highly recommend ths hotel.

I would never recommend this hotel. The bathrooms are a joke, plastic shower bar to hold plastic curtain about to fall down. Water all over floor due to a half inch lip on floor of shower. Very cold in the bathroom and if you get hot water for shower it takes forever (one night I waited over 15 min. never warmed up). The rate was to include a breakfast buffet. Instead we got a coupon to take down the road for one coffee drink and one pastry, if you wanted an extra coffee, you paid for it. The owner seems only concerned with taking your money but not putting any back in to the hotel.

Ortigia hotels are expensive so for the money this was not bad. We had been use to a little more in our previous accommodations in Sicily but it's like going to NY and expecting the Plaza when you pay the price of Holiday Inn. Location was just a fraction off the main route which was fine with us, we could see the sea from our window - if we looked out and to the side. The website is deceiving because there was no hotel parking. We had to drive down 1/2 mile to the Public Car Park and on the weekend it was only 1 Euro a day. Also, the internet did not work in the room, but it did work in the lobby. Breakfast was a little disappointing - I've never seen cheese wrapped in plastic in Italy until now, but the wonderful cornetto (croissant) made up for it. The commode also could not take ANY toilet paper. Not sure if we were the only room like that or not. The hotel was on the 2nd floor of a building that shared the entrance with two apartments - which wasn't a problem. The decor was very Sicilian with Baroque details which was very quaint but could have used a dusting. The daytime desk clerk was very nice and we thoroughly enjoyed talking with him.