Hotel Villa Bianca Resort

This hotel is at Taormina Mare - by the sea - and seems very 19th centuryish. The holiday blurb did not say that to get to Taormina requires a cable car journey at 10 Euros return each time, or that it is 88 steps down to the beach and then back again - for an 84 year old. The room, although kept clean with a very good view from a balcony over the sea, was about the smallest and most basic room I have ever holidayed in. Breakfast, the poorest I have ever been offered. The only cooked offering was scrambled egg or hard-boiled eggs and not even any toast - every day. Evening meal - terrible. For example, sea bream came as a whole fish including head and tail and opened up flat with the bones, and it was cold. Meagre vegetables were served with all meals and they were also always quite cold. Only ever only one dessert - a creamy type cake slice. First time the rep appeared was on Wednesday evening. As I arrived on Sunday evening how was I supposed to book trips for the Monday and tuesday when he was not contactable?

I find some of these reviews very puzzling.. I wonder if our cold reception and the generally unhelpful attitude at reception may be related to a dislike of the company we travelled with, because the disparity in the reviews is odd. The room was adequate, with a fridge, aircon and very small bathroom, tiny shower. The small balcony hung over a very busy, and continuously noisy main road, and we soon started noticing the fumes. Breakfast was very underwhelming, mainly bread processed cheese and salami, with scrambled or hard boiled eggs ( but not a tomato in sight) small apples or pears, generic cereal, nice croissants , and one day it ran out at 9 a m….though by 9.. 15 a few bits and pieces began to trickle in. The coffee was terrible…a Nescafé machine which presumably uses powdered everything….in Italy!? I would have complained had I been in UK. Beach and courtesy bus not available because this shuts 30/09 …..other beaches around but charging from 10 to 30 Euros per cramped sunbed m with very little space left as “for the public” .However, the sea was beautifully clear and it is a very pretty coastline. We were offered a change of room eventually when one became available, and finally we were overcharged for the local tourist tax.

Can’t fault the view from our room, but the room itself was small and very tired. The bathroom was tiny and needed refurbishing also. Breakfast was basic with only pineapple as a juice. The only hot food was scrambled eggs. Three cereals to chose from, apples, processed cheese and cooked meat. Not the best! The outside bar was ok. There is no Swimming pool or sun loungers even on the terrace. There is a hotel down the road if you want to use a pool but once again, the hotel pool is dated with a cracked tile in the middle of it. There are only 8 sun loungers around it. You could not fit any more there. Thete is also a beach club pool you can use costs €12 each. This is in need of some care. Beware that there is a train track the runs between the pool and private beach with trains going by. The day we went the beach was closed. The hotel classes themselves as 4*. Therefore you have to pay 4* tourist tax when you leave (cash only!). I wouldn’t class it 4*.

I arrived at the hotel late and was directed to my room. 5 minutes later the bedroom phone rang. I answered and it was Antonio from reception saying that although the restaurant had closed, they had prepared a plate of food for me! Off I went to be presented with a gorgeous plate of various foods including pizza, chicken brest, fish, sald, eggs. Delicious and excellent service. Throught my week long stay, the staff were very courteous and supplied great service. The food was delicious and varied. At breakfast, there was a great deal of choice from cereals and yoghurts to eggs, cheese, ham and breads. Fruit juice and water was available along with coffees and tea. The hotel itself is Sicilian in style, clean and confortable (especially the bed). It sits adjacent to the cable car which takes you up into Taormina. I was a bit dubious about going on it at first because I was very nervous but I actually enjoyed the journey (I went on it three times to see the quaint town of Taormina). This preetty town has loads of history and I highly recommend the gardens and the ancient theatre. As a female solo traveller, there were no issues - Sicilians are the friendliest of people - and I was totally comfortable sitting in a bar sampling one of the local wines and dining by myself. Villa hotel Bianca is the ideal place from which to explore. Isola Bella is a few hundred metres up the road. I did it early in the morning but be aware that there are 140 steps down, which means 140 steps back up! Luckilly, there is a bar opposite where you can grab something to quench the inevitable thirst! A bit further down the bay, you can hire a boat - Davide was the skipper when I went. It was amazing and he anchors the boat so you can jump in for a swim. A beautiful part of the world.#I also ventured to Siracusa and Ortigia where you can see both Apollo's Temple and Athena's Temple (now a cathedral). I had lunch in Ortigia, which was fantastic. All in all, this hotel was perfect. Antonio on reception was fabulous, along with the whole staff and it is a great location, whether you want to lounge around on the beaches or whether you want to go further afield to explore the surrounding areas. Also, you can easuily get to Messina from here to get the ferry across to Calabria. I would definitely go back to this hotel. Thank you Hotel Billa Bianca.