San Max Hotel in Catania

Stay Details. I visited Catania during the last days of September with my husband, and spent two nights in the hotel. I understand that during this time, it is not a high season, but I must say that I saw several turists in the city and the weather was quite good (sunny, but not so hot).

Location. The hotel is located in Via Etnea, a wide street, full of shops and tourists. It is not exactly in the center, but just after walking a couple of blocks in this main street, there is already the Bellini Garden and tons of restaurants. After few blocks more, there are many other shops and even squares and touristic sites. The street is well illuminated, specially appreciated in the evening, and since there is always people walking there, I would say that you feel secure walking there.

Room. I was positively surprised with the size of the bedroom. It was quite big, the bed was also big, and in comparison to other hotels I have been, the toilette was quite wide. There was a good ventilation and for me everything was quite comfortable. Perhaps the only observation would be about the isolation of noise from the hall or from other rooms (that is also part of some other previous reviews). However, in the evening, besides some noise in the hall when someone was talking or probably arriving in their bedroom, everything was quiet. I slept well. And in comparison to other hotels, with even more stars, where I have been in Italy, it is quite difficult to find room with a proper noise isolation. It is good to remember that Italy has several old buildings, so the expectation must be realistic in line with that. My room was facing the inner yard, so I didn't listen any street noise. It is also expected some mosquitoes, but in the room I found the device to keep them away.

Service. The staff was very kind and attentive. When we arrived, there was a perpendicular street closed, and Google was not recognizing properly how to arrive to the entry of the parking. So we were helped by phone with the direction.

Facilities. The hotel has a parking and a swimming pool. It is advisable to call in advance in case a parking place is required. They also offer water, coffee and tee for free in the reception. I don't know if this is the standard, but our price includes breakfast, and I must say that it was good. The dining room is in a neighbor building, and the breakfast included sweet and salty options, orange juice and coffee. For me it was enough to start the day.

In conclusion, I think that this was a good option during my days in Catania, and I would probably choose it again if I visit again the city.

The hotel is very clean. The breakfast is good and the bed was comfortable. The staff is very friendly and they get out of their way to help you out and make you feel at home.

Excellent location few minutes walk from central. If you come from airport the bus stop is near. Room are enormous. Breakfast is ok.
Loved to stay here

After 9 nights in a villa in Palermo, we booked one night here before our morning flight home. The rooms were a little larger than you might expect with all the standard provisions. Thge reception staff were very nice and welcoming. The location is good - turn righ out of the hotel and you soon hit the main drag in Catania with all the shops, bars, restaurants and little off-shots you need. Overall I was pleasantly suprised by the hotel and in terms of value for money, would give it 5 stars.

The San Max Hotel was a perfect place to stay for our last night in Sicily before flying home. Staff were great in getting us a taxi booked for early in the morning and letting us know about the hotel. The room was fine and even a lot bigger than we needed. The requested second bed was set-up and waiting. It is not high luxury but it was clean and in a very central location.

Amazing !! The right Word To describe this hotel the personal awere great very kind Always availbe To help you in case typiclly Sicilian caracters special thanks To Gabriele Salvo and Roberto for the great moments together, if you want To spend special holidays i highly recommand you to go there !! GRAZIEEEE

Yacine and Rostane

Rarely do you enjoy a place so much from the moment you step in.
When I first got out from the bus on Via Etnea and dragged my trolley after me I had no idea that on a few meters I will be welcomed in one of the friendliest places I ever been to.
The San Max Hotel sits on via Etnea 229 and is easily reachable by bus straight from Catania airport. It is not a new building, which I must say from the start, but rather an old, elegant structure that now houses this place.
After checking in, I moved the bags to the first floor, where the room was situated, and was lucky enough to get a room facing a inner court/back street so my stay at this place was very, very quiet and peaceful.
As usual I will use bullet points with my review so here it goes:
• Location- Great location. Not only is the place so easy to reach from the airport but Via Etnea is the main street of Catania. A beautiful street, on both sides full with old houses and little stores/shops that lead to the Duomo. That’s right, the hotel is 1.3 kilometers away from the Duomo and Piazza del Duomo. As a bonus right here you will see the Fontana Dell’ Elefante which you will surely enjoy. Also close to the hotel is the Giardino Bellini and Piazza Stesicoro so you can rest assured you are close to the action.

• Staff- Nothing but good words. I enjoyed my time spent at the hotel, they were very helpful with information and very polite and it was my pleasure at the end of the stay to leave a nice message in the hotel’s guest book.

• Room- Now, I don’t know if I was lucky but my room was big. Really big. And the bathroom was just as big. Very clean, daily service, from what I remember they kept leaving us 2 bottles of water each day, free of charge and I really think that was a nice gesture. The room had a small terrace where I enjoyed a glass of wine in the evenings or just stood there contemplating how quiet that part was in contrast to the crowds that filled Via Etnea

• Breakfast- Italian. Yes, I love this country, yes I love the people here but the breakfast…not so much. As usual, the selection was very limited to some cheeses, one or two types of salami and something sweet. While I don’t usually eat breakfast and don’t care much for it, many of the people I been with on my trips consider this an important aspect so that’s why I’m pointing to it.

For me this hotel was a great place. My whole trip to Sicily was amazing and after days filled with walking in sunshine for kilometers I was glad I had a good room to return to.
Each night after travelling to Taormina, Palermo, Siracusa, Ragusa, etc I took my time and walked on the streets, watching people enjoy a cup of ice-cream, a canolli or an arancini.
While walking on Via Etnea I found beautiful Palazzo’s, ancient ruins, a Duomo that after all these years I consider to be one of the most beautiful churches I have ever seen, and a great place for arancini and a wonderful restaurant, both which I will review in later articles.
While the hotel is fairly close to Catania Central Station I would strongly advise that for your trips exploring this amazing island you use the buses and not the train.
For all my travels in Sicily I took buses from Bus Station Autolinee Giamporcaro which is situated on Via D'Amico, 205, 95129.
In my opinion the buses are faster which is really important if you plan a day trip in Palermo for example where you have to cover about 210-220 kilometers each way in a single day.
As a conclusion if you ever in doubt about accommodation in Catania give this place a try. I enjoyed my time here and maybe you will also.

Really nice hotel, not the most fashionable, but clean and quite. The owner Max is quite deliberated to meet all Covid-19 requirements for customer protection. Great location close to the city center. Pool and parking is charged extra, but negotiable.

Everything was great! The staff was nice, the cleaning guy was very polite and did an exceptional, great job. Idk wth are u thinking writing these comments, the reception was very helpful and the girl was pretty hot, they speak english, the rooms are clean & tidy, they helped us to rent a car aaand to get home to Hungary. (We're not retarded, just COVID made it more difficult). The room was spacious, sunny. It was a bit cold, but it turned out that you can heat it with the AC. For this price, in the centre of Catania it is more than extraordinary in my opinion.