Amenano Apartments

So we are currently staying here (our final night) and I am surprised by some of the negative reviews as we have really really loved it here and for what we paid I really do believe this place is excellent value! Due to a fire at Catania airport we arrived really late with 2 young children. The family who own this don’t speak English (but I don’t speak Italian so why should they?) but when I called to explain how late we would be (just before midnight) the man said email. When I emailed he replied quickly and just said keep him updated but it was okay. When we arrived he kept check in short and sweet and said he wanted cash payment but it was fine to do it later. The air con in our room has been a total dream (it’s 43 degrees out you need it). We had a shared bathroom but for the first 3 nights had it to ourselves and I think each floor shares so you aren’t sharing with many people at all. You have your own balcony with chairs. The rooms, kitchen and bathroom in this place are spotless! They are constantly cleaning. It is first place abroad at this time of year I have travelled (we go away a lot and do travelling trips so not staying in one hotel) and not seen a single insect inside at all. The Wi-Fi is good. I know some people have mentioned location not feeling safe but we were two women, two kids and I would say generally Catania is a little sketchy but this area isn’t any worse than the rest of it. My toddler son was sick one night and we ended up having to strip his bed completely. I explained this to the cleaner with some actions. She brought him a new bed, helped me put it on, changed our bin…. Couldn’t have asked for more. The breakfast is basic but is out all day as all non-perishables so they have; French toast, cereal, UHT milk, fruit filled croissants, breakfast biscuits and a coffee machine that makes the best coffee ever. The roof garden is amazing! Views of Etna and the castle. We got take away pizza to eat up there. Was a trampoline for kids plus despite being rooftop had high sides so kids were not unsafe although did ban them from going up to ultra high bit by themselves. Got some great pictures up there with Etna in background. The boys also loved the hotel cats who we nicknamed good kitty and bad kitty that live in roof garden. As for the key confusion that has been mentioned by some…. We had it too but owner walked us through (as couldn’t talk us through with language barrier) our mistake. Basically, hotel original entrance is around back where you go to check in. Your keys then open a side door nearer front of hotel and the door to your floor but not the door you checked in at. We stood there for like 20 minutes on first day thinking our keys didn’t work on door before he explained. I think there is a sign on door that explains it but it’s in Italian so we didn’t get the memo. Overall, we loved it! Would totally recommend!

Una stanza a prezzi accessibili. Avrei dato 3 stelle non fosse che sono stato fortunato! Mi hanno dato una camera al terzo piano che dà direttamente sulla piazza del Castello Ursino. Splendida la visuale dal balcone (sia di notte che di giorno)!!! Il bagno è in comune, c'è un angolo cottura in comune per la colazione (inclusa nel prezzo), manca l'ascensore, mancava la TV nella mia stanza. Posizione centralissima, a pochi passi dalla cattedrale di Sant'Agata! Se mi danno la stessa camera, torno di nuovo!!!

Raramente dopo un pernottamento dedico del tempo allo scrivere una recensione, poiché rare sono le volte in cui un B&B o albergo mi colpisce così tanto, sia nel bene che nel male, da dedicargli ulteriore tempo libero. Tuttavia, per questo B&B, ho deciso di fare un'eccezione. Sono rimasto assolutamente stupefatto dalla camera in cui io ed i miei amici abbiamo pernottato: una camera incredibilmente pulita, sita in un palazzo stupendo nel cuore del centro di Catania, ad un costo estremamente contenuto. Non c'era veramente nulla di cui lamentarsi! E poi, permettetemi di parlare del proprietario: il signor Carmelo è indubbiamente una persona eccezionale, colta e cordiale! Non solo si è dimostrato paziente quando, a causa dell'aereo in ritardo, mi sono trovato costretto ad effettuare il check-in con diverse ore di ritardo, ma si è mostrato assolutamente disponibile sia ad indicarci dei ristoranti in cui mangiare prodotti tipici, sia a darci consigli sui luoghi da visitare, e sui mezzi da prendere. Insomma, concludo questa recensione con una sua stessa frase: "Adesso ho un amico a Catania!"