Eco Art Home

The apartment was in a good location, just over the road from a lovely church. Easy assess to the main tourist attractions. It was clean and tidy.

Awkward steps, both getting into the apartment, and to the top bedroom and bathroom. If you have mobility issues, this place is not for you. There was a lack of storage, especially in the upstairs bedroom. My sister didn't even bother to unpack her case, as there wasn't anywhere to put our clothes. Not enough mugs for cups of tea or coffee (there were espresso cups, but these aren't any use for us Brits needing a proper cuppa). Take a mosquito plug with you, I got eaten alive in the upper bedroom.

The upstairs bedroom and bathroom were nice and warm for a December stay, but even that bathroom had no hot water after the first night

Contrary to the listing, the apartment is neither on the ground floor or accessible by elevator. It is on the first floor after a steep set of stairs. The heating on the main level stopped working on the first night itself, leaving us to sleep in a cold main bedroom. The host arrived the next morning, cleaned some filters, and left a small electric heater. The heater stopped working again after a few hours, as did the water heater, leaving us no option for hot showers. The host didn't even respond to that message. The washing machine never worked properly and we ended up taking the wet, partially soapy clothes to a laundromat in town. The heaters had error codes even when we arrived and the host tried to claim it was normal. This place seems to be very poorly maintained and the host is basically unresponsive. Attached are pictures of the stairs, the water heater showing a problem, and the heater showing the error code.

Our host was very accommodating and gave us loads of recommendations for where to eat and places to visit and was on hand for any help and advice. The location is very near the city centre with lots to see and tonnes of restaurants as soon as you step out the door. Our first impressions on arriving was that the neighbourhood felt quite run down which was a bit concerning but the apartment is really nice, it has been decorated in an eclectic and fun way with a lot of personality. The facilities are functional and it feels very much like you are staying in someone’s home. Catania itself is a very busy working city and from our brief experience has a feeling of neglect but the people are full of character and everyone we met was very friendly and easy going.

The neighbourhood feels run down but don’t be put off.