Hotel Villa Greta

The hotel has a very nice location with views over the sea and Mount Etna (that was the reason for booking it), however I had a very bad experience with their staff, including the owner. First of all, the room I was offered was different from what I booked and didn't have central heating. The air conditioning system was providing only cold air and I was freezing during the night. However, I am allergic to air conditioning and could not have used it anyway. The hotel should mention that they only use air conditioning for heating. It was cold in the bathroom too, as the room/bathroom have only a wooden roof. The shower cabin was tiny! When I checked out the owner was not available to talk to me about my complain and one member of the staff came with ridiculous excuses as they only use air conditioning in Italy and if I can't stand it I should not return to the country! One good point for them: the room and bathroom were very clean! But the surroundings were quite in a mess because they were doing some refurbishment! I could not enjoy my stay there!

Having stayed in Taormina previously we knew where we were going to be in relation to the town centre so on reading other reviews that put location as a negative its misleading as this is part of the whole beauty of Taormina, a picturesque town set on a mountain side. Staff at the hotel were helpful and courteous. We had a few small issues, but they were dealt with immediately. The room no.33 was spacious, with two basins in the bathroom and a very warm powerful shower. The double bed was two singles together but that made for a good nights sleep. We had a private balcony with the stunning view of Etna and the bay. Breakfast was plenty, a bowl of cereal, fresh fruit to help yourself. On the table a croissant and two rolls each, meat or cheese fillings and coffee or tea. For the money paid this was definately value for money and would recommend this for a 2* stay.

Needs some reforms great price

Normally we skip these "polls" from the webpages, but this hotel was so uplifting that we had to write a recommendation... A great family-owned Hotel located on the mountainside! Amazing view overlooking Toarmina, the sea and Etna. Friendly and kind staff. We had a pleasant stay and would certainly recommend it - as you won't be dissapointed (if you don't mind climbing stairs:)

For a low budget stop over,fine! Staff friendly and helpful. We only stayed one night, room and toilet were clean, air-conditioning worked very well

Lovely little hotel. Clean and staff are very friendly. Much better than I expected from a 2 star hotel. Only a few minutes walk down a lot of steps to main part of town. Views from balconies are amazing. Very reasonably priced...would definitely recommend it.

Well after being greeted in a nice way we was taken to are room, which was in a nice location but i did notice a smell of damp in the entrance hallway. the view was very nice, & on a clear day you can see mount etna.. me and a friend stayed here for 2 nights out of 8 days in italy:) we had a comfortable quite night in the room which was good after our long journey.. The only thing that really could of been better with the room was if the shower could of been bigger i'm not a fatty but i found it hard to move which was i bit frustrating... morning breakfast was rubbish!! & there only seemed to be one guy, who was trying to do everything like.. help other guests at reception answer the phone attend to the dinning room, of which there was 8 guests at the time, waiting for there breakfast service and he seemed very stressed which i CAN understand, poor guy:( Anyway if i remember we had, a croissant, a bread roll with no choice of jam "I hate cherry". a coffee that was nasty, just tasted of coal dust!!! was i really in italy? I then noticed that every one else was ordering a cappuccinos, at extra cost no doubt, i guess they didn't think too much of the house coffee either we did get some cornflakes...yippee but only after having to wait ten minutes for them to refill the milk jug and at one point, i did ask the waiter, receptionist, maybe even the cleaner if i could have a boiled egg as i had seen a finished one on another table. and he abruptly answered NO! omg sorry for asking!!!! we noticed the drying room for the towels in the afternoon, it seemed to be in a very damp area, and all the towels were hanging there, and it was raining now so it couldnt of helped much when we got back to our room after a long day exploring beautiful taormina all i was looking forward to was a nice "tight" shower.. lol unfortunately when i went to dry myself, the towel was damp, in fact all of them were!! did they change the towels i wondered, i think they did. it was just that the new ones hadn't dried properly from being outside!!! Anyway the last bit is the best.. I left my coat in the wardrobe the day i left for catania so when we got to our next hotel the receptionist offered to call them, how nice:) they told her that they would go and look, but we would have to call back again as they was busy right now REALLY... Or is it that you have a staffing problem? So we did call back, twice, & no answer. The following day we hired a car and before we left early to go up etna, the receptionist kindly tried to call again for me this time they answered it was somebody different this time, and they told us that it had been checked and that there was no jacket there. how strange is that, the cleaners had not been in there yet!!! maybe the place was haunted!! well after our day up the mountain we came back past taormina in the evening & so i decided to go and check with them, maybe even get to look for myself sort of guest apperance i suppose.. haha.. as to be honest i really didn't think that they had looked themselves, and i just wanted some reaction.. Well i certainly got that when the manager saw me arrive, he new exactly who i was.. I told him that i was passing and just wanted to take a look for my jacket he said that i should of called first!! so i told him that we did...twice last night, but no answer he then said, that's impossible as they always answer, what number did i use?????? "the same bl--dy one that we first used" so I first asked him if the cleaners had found it? and replied that the cleaners had not been in there yet, cool! can i go and check please? at first he seemed hesitant, but then realised just how far i had come so we went up to look sure enough, there was no jacket, but then i think we all new that didnt we? when we walked back to reception, he then unbelievable said to me that he would call the cleaners to ask them??????? ASK THEM WHAT? you just told me 10 minutes ago that they had not been in the room!!! well at this point i new that i just wanted to leave this place as i was getting really angry. so i said. no problem, thanks & goodbye. the manager then said that i should leave my email just in case in case of what i thought? lol, talk about being kicked when down! but i did leave it & my telephone no too but have not heard from them yet good! don't wanna...

I arrived in Taormina in the evening without a reservation anywhere. I found an internet cafe and booked this room. When I arrived, they had not yet received the email regarding my reservation, however they accepted my reservation printouts and were very accommodating and polite. This hotel has a nice restaurant and bar, with a nice breakfast and a great view of the coast. Other than the shower not working, it was an excellent experience.

we spent two nights there. everything is just perfect except for the location and a lady working in the daytime.

We are budget travellers so our priorities are maybe different from couples who are looking for a resort holiday, with this in mind Villa Greta would score 10/10 easily. Taormina is a spectacular place to spend a few days, longer if you enjoy days down at the beach below the town. This hotel would not be suitable for anyone with mobility concerns, buggy with young children etc. It is accessed from the town up a well lit path, mostly steps climbing for approx 10min so when you arrive with bags it is essential to take transport, the Castelmola bus (at least every 30min) or the town bus, both are used to tourists and know where to let you off for your hotel. Great spot for sight seeing as you are halfway up to Castelmola, and near to Madonna della rocca, you can use the paths or jump on the town bus if you are not so keen on a walk. Breakfast was a simple enough affair, pastries, jam, meat, cheese, rolls and cereal - my only criticism would be that it would benefit from not being quite so formal, be nicer and more relaxed - if it was help yourself. We didn't eat in the restaurant. We never had the need for much interaction with the staff but they seamed pleasant and helpful. The room itself was very dated and mismatched but that really didn't matter as it was clean and secure. Bathroom was practical. Telly and aircon both worked fine. We spent all our time either out or on the balcony, 2 chairs, a table and the best view possible, town below, Etna to the right - constantly changing with the clouds and light. We had some pretty bad weather but the lightening just added to the view again. After 4 nights the walk home did start to tire, but a change into comfy shoes and 10 minutes later you lost your envy of the town hotels. Would go back in a second, and highly recommend to all like-minded tourists.