Alla Giudecca

A good central location but the rooms were in poor condition. Dated decor , Leaky showers, aircon not working, toilet seat broken , bed hard as a rock. Ourselves and our friends both had to change rooms. Reception was only open for certain hours and there was a very high turnover of staff. One day we had a really helpful person on reception (girl with long dark hair) but the next day a very unhelpful person ( girl with short hair) . Their card machine was not working and tried to tell us that the problem was our card. Checked trip advisor to find many people had this problem . Next person on reception and the same card worked !!

We stayed two nights here coming from Cantania , we were driving and when we got to Ortigia the medieval district driving became impossible to reach the hotel by car , the streets were to narrow . We had to park near the waterfront take our luggage to the hotel , then park the car in a overnight car park and walk back to out hotel a half mile away . This building was not originally a hotel but was a home in the 1500’s during the Spanish Inquisition. When the Spanish came the original building housed Jewish baths underground that were built in the 5-6 th century . They sealed off the baths and built above them . The Jews left for Northern Africa and Northern Europe and abandoned Siracusa. The building became abandoned as well until 1986 , when someone bought the building to convert it into a hotel. That is when they found the underground Jewish Baths , unsealed them and now gives tours . Imagine from the 1500’s until 1986 these ancient Jewish Baths were just sitting there under water . They now have a system to drain the water that comes from underground springs so that it doesn’t flood. The place is charming , the rooms are nice size luckily we had a room on the 1st floor. The room floor is uneven and has a small ledge which can really cause injury if you are not careful. The hotel is centrally located in the Medieval section of Siracusa near sights , the water , churches ( the Huge Duomo ) shopping , and many very good restaurants . The front desk closes in the middle of the day for a few hours and so does the underground tour. Friendly staff , when we needed more towels they were very accommodating. Everything is within walking distance even the Archeological sites . The breakfast room is okk the usual continental breakfast but will make omelets and cappuccino. It was satisfying and kept us full until lunch . . The ambience is really nice , we enjoyed our stay here . BUT remember there is NO parking . Street parking which is around on the water side is reserved for residences only . You have no choice but to use the parking garage $15 per 24 hours , which I thought was very reasonable. I would recommend this hotel if you really want to immerse yourself in medieval culture .

We stayed in a “superior room” which is on the 2nd floor(American speaking) which is also the top floor(No elevator) so we had a terrace with table & chairs in front of our door, shared with one other room with their own table & chairs. We also had a private balcony/terrace with table & chairs off of the living room & bedroom which had a small sea view. The room did not have a mirror other than the 1 in the bathroom. The air con unit (individually controlled) was in the living room, so you must leave the door to the bedroom open..it worked ok; I would have preferred it to get colder. My husband actually slept on the sofa bc it was cooler. The kitchenette had a sink, frig with small freezer section, silverware, plates, corkscrew, 2 burner cooktop with a frying pan to heat things. There was kettle to heat water for tea or coffee but NO coffee mugs or supplies); only wine glasses. The bathroom was very clean..the rest was ok. It worked for us for a 2 nt stay(could have stayed 3: great town!!) unique property! No lobby really: just reception when you enter to the left & through there, breakfast. When we checked out, I asked Jessie about the pics I saw of the courtyard with tables, hanging lamps, etc that I saw on TA, as I never saw them! This is how you find that wonderful area: exit hotel to the right & take your 1st right onto Gia vanella porta parva, go straight until you see the closed medieval style brown door (hotel plaque is left of the door) & there it is! (Attached pics) Taxi from train/bus area is 15€ or 25-30 min walk. They held our luggage after check out but be aware that FD closes midday!

TV-no reception; no phone in room and reception unattended from noon onward; bathroom: no holder for shower head & half of light fixture burned out; kitchenette a joke, no kettle, coffee maker, toaster or microwave; many days with no hot H2O; poorly maintained: courtyard dirty & unkempt, dangerous screws sticking out of drawer fronts & shelves, closet door unhinged. Interesting building, but....

This hotel could be so much better than it is. Great location in the old Jewish quarter of beautiful Ortigia and in a lovely old building. However, the management clearly hasn't worked out what hospitality means and we should have taken more notice of some of the previous negative reviews. Staff made us feel unwelcome - in fact, it appeared that guests were something of an inconvenience. Service at breakfast was a particular low point - rude and unhelpful. As far as housekeeping goes, our room clearly hadn't been properly cleaned for some time - dust on all the surfaces. I have given two rather than one because of the excellent location.

The hotel is beautifully appointed, but other than the fellow who checked us in the staff were completely indifferent to our presence. It made our stay not very pleasant. They were rude even to our Italian driver. This is not how you treat guests!