Hotel Villa Diodoro

Historic hotel in a stunning location, like all of Taormina, but with some unexpected flaws. All the carpets are dirty; in my room the desk was very uncomfortable and there were no nearby sockets for my phone and PC; poor WiFi; the monumental breakfast room only provides drinks from the machine, where you have to queue because there is no table service; the reception staff is formal but not so polite; there are very few parking spaces. Then a final surprise: when it was time to pay the bill, the discount agreed for our group was not applied to me because I had booked on the hotel's website (?). They told me that I had to call and that they do not have control of their website (??). Meh... Treatment far below what I expected from a hotel with these prices. Next time I will choose another hotel.

Book elsewhere. We booked a different hotel and was put here because they are remodeling. The front staff was very rude and did not want to answer any of our questions, like what time is breakfast. When we arrived at our room there was a buzzing noise with a rattle (402). When we reported it to the front desk, they said it should stop at 9:30. They couldn't move us since they were full (which many rooms were not being used since rolling shutters were down all day and evening). The noise did not stop. Needless to say, we had a hard time sleeping. We finally talked to the front desk manager the next day, and he moved us to a different room. There was no compensation for the lack of sleep, not even an apology. The room floors are very dirty and need a good cleaning, the carpet in the hall needs to be replaced. The linens were torn. I am sure the hotel was nice in the 80's but has not been updated since. The breakfast was all processed food, from the meats to the pastries. They had an instant machine for coffee and juice like a cafeteria. The pool area was not open, the front desk told us it was dangerous. They had no shuttle to the bottom. The driveway was broken and unsafe to walk up. Basically, it needs a good overhaul. The view was spectacular. But many other choices for the price that we paid for supposedly a 4 start hotel that had a Michelin star 5 years ago. Very disappointed.