Castello di San Marco Charming Hotel & Spa

What a treat to be able to spend a few nights in this beautiful oasis. The minute we arrived. Marco greeted us and The lovely ladies at the desk were welcoming friendly, helpful, professional. Every inch of the property was beautifully maintained and gave us a great sense of being in historic Sicily feeling like royalty . The restaurant which we ate at two nights was a surprise ,Michelin star food, cleverly and tastefully each course was delicious. Wine list was full of beautiful Sicilian wines and a showstopper was having a very special cocktail made right at our table. I have had the good fortune from working so hard my life to stay at many four and five star hotels around the world and this will not disappoint . Our room was so comfortable, tastefully decorated & beautiful I didn’t want to leave the room . The beach was just steps away, and we swam in the beautiful Ionian Sea , the hotel is a destination, (we did go winetasting during the day at Benanti an excellent tour and tasting) hotel definitely worth a stay if you need to relax and want to be pampered -oh, and the swimming pool was magnificent along with serving cocktails and food poolside.

We spend four days of relaxations..massage great dinner at the garden restaurant but the highlight was Rosario bar tender he makes his own drinks and spray ! He has made this stay unforgettable..:) would recommend anyone coming to Sicily to come here its like 20 minutes from Taormina and less crowded and very peaceful:)

This was our last stop for 5 nights in Sicily. Without doubt the most beautiful luxurious property we have ever stayed in . We stayed in one of the largest Villas on site .The rooms were so big with a king size bed and a bath room that could fit 10 people . We woke up every morning with views to Mt Etna before sitting down to a full buffet breakfast which was simply out standing. Staff here were incredible from reception where you were greeted by Flavia, Cinzia or Alexandria . The property is located in walking distance to San Marco beach. If you want to experience something special here, have dinner under the stars in the out door garden restaurant. This property offers lots of activities for families and couples. Truly amazing.

My family and i just returned from a fabulous 10 day break. This small boutique hotel was charming, picturesque and enchanting, as the property is steeped with history. The service was fantastic, the staff were attentive and really made our stay even more extraordinary. Flavia, at reception made sure we were very looked after and ensured all our reservations outside the hotel were booked. The pool area was wonderful as was the private beach. The level; of service by the pool staff , CLaudio and Carlo made the experience even more memorable. I highly recommend a stay here, and one that you will thoroughly enjoy.

Great rustic hotel, with a real family run feel. We stayed for about 5 days at the end of July 24 and really liked this hotel. Felt authentic Sicily and a very beautiful setting. The real hidden gem is the restaurant, which is Michelin star quality. Just amazing food. The pros: Beautiful hotel and grounds. Good location for Taormina and East coast towns. Friendly staff and management. Amazing restaurant. Pool area is fantastic and pictures don’t do it justice. Good private beach area. Good parking. Possible improvements: A casual dining option in the evening would be useful. It’s fine dining or off site eating. Wouldn’t suit all kids. The rooms we booked were garden suites and whilst nice enough and spacious, it could do with some updating. Specifically, the bed wasn’t huge and the shower a bit dated (other rooms might be different). Overall, 5 out of 5 seems fair. Better than the 4 star rating suggests.

A beautiful historic hotel between Catania and Palermo, situated within a few minutes walk to the sea and private beach club. We were concerned about previous reviews of noise from weddings etc. there was just one event and our garden view rooms were well away from any disturbance. The room was well equipped with a nice lounge area and tea making facilities. The only thing missing was a daily bottle of fresh drinking water - only payable on request. Very unusual for this standard of hotel. Breakfast was excellent, staff were amazing and very helpful. A good cold buffet and hot food to order, with special orders readily available. All of the staff were extremely friendly, a special mention for the pool attendant who always helped with sunbeds and the receptionist who helped with local advice. The restaurant was of a very high standard and food amazing, they would also adapt to dietary needs if required. We did feel there should be another restaurant available more suited to families and casual dining in the evening. There was a restaurant nearby, but it would have been nice to have an alternative in the hotel.

This is one of the best hotels I have ever stayed in. We loved every minute of our stay. The welcome at reception is so warm and kind. Our suite was just perfect in every way. The grounds are elegant and the pool is tranquil. Breakfast was very tasty and the three dinners were first class. The indoor and outdoor bars are both well stocked and great places to relax.

We have just returned from a week in this Hotel. Having read the recent reviews just before our departure I had some reservations about the Hotel. On the day we turned up there was a wedding and the beautiful courtyard, which is used for dinner, was not open. I immediately spoke to the front desk to express my concern about the weddings impacting on the guests and also our disappointment about the courtyard. I was assured the the weddings would have minimal impact but unfortunately the courtyard could not be opened due to delayed works. To be fair the weddings didn’t really have a great impact on our stay and the courtyard was miraculously opened two days later. The hotel is very beautiful and the lighting at night spectacular. The rooms are well maintained and ours was quite large (131). The pool area is spacious for the number of people using it and the sun beds are very comfortable. The pool bar is good, if a little slow. The wine bar area is beautiful and the staff attentive and knowledgeable. We had dinner in the dining room once which was ok, but nothing compared to eating in the courtyard area, which we did on the last night and is beautiful. The food and wine is good, and service fine, but not quite up to the fine dining that I believe they are trying to achieve. Breakfast, while a buffet style, is excellent and the scrabbled eggs are the best I have had in any hotel! Where could the hotel improve? The pool area closes at 6pm, due to weddings, this is really too early with the warm summer evenings. The pool area needs more staff to maintain the area and ensure the service is not so slow. The Beach Club is ok, but only ok. Beds on the beach are not very comfortable and could do with an update. (It maybe it was early in the season so it was just getting going.) The wedding do have minimal impact on the hotel, but have some, I believe the hotel has sufficient grounds to reduce this impact further and should reconsider some of the areas they hand over to the wedding activity. In balance a beautiful hotel and we enjoyed our stay but they could do better and need to be careful not to forget the Hotel Guests. You need a car in our opinion.

Firstly this is a wedding venue and private customers are well at the bottom of the list. Weddings 4/7 days and they take over the gardens and pool area in the afternoon and evening. Noise until early hours of the morning. Bar service is slow, it took 25 mins on each occasion to get a drink. This was even if the bar was quiet. hey set tables, chatted and then forgot what drinks we had ordered! This also was the case in the evening in either bar. We stayed up chatting one night and he packed up and cleared away around us, and put the lights off. This while the wedding party was still going on in the gardens! The pool needed a good clean inside and all the rubbish sitting on the outside drain. The staff sat round chatting, smoking/vaping or on their phones, they didn't clean the pool, collect glasses or towels ( we observed the glasses still be there from 11am in the late afternoon). Fresh towels should have been laid out on the beds daily! The pool closed at 6pm even in the summer, what a waste of the lovely weather there. The pool toilets were not kept clean, very dissapointing. The hotel itself was stunning and decorated beautifully. Our room was modern and very comfy. Missing some small touches like handles on one door, and had to pay for water if you wanted that daily. The grounds were lovely and well kept, obv for the weddings. There was always a smell of gas at the side of the hotel by the path onto the marquee. We had breakfast and this was a buffet, for this standard of hotel I would have presumed there would be an a la carte menu. The main dinner was fine although very rich and limited for a vegetarian. Service was good but you would expect it at the prices charged. The beach area wasnt anything special just some poor quality sun lounges. The beach itself was ok but nothing special for Sicily. The spa was lovely and the staff really nice. We enjoyed a massage and it was priced in line with what the hotel rating should be.