This hotel was very clean, comfortable and well run. The rooms were reasonably spacious with large beds, the breakfast buffet was well stocks with standard European fare and the restaurant served good, tasty dishes, including pizzas. This is quite important because there are very few alternatives in Francavilla itself, although, if you have your own transport, there are lovely small restaurants to be found in the surrounding area.
The staff were generally very friendly and helpful and most spoke some English.
The rooftop swimming pool is of a good size, was clean and well supplied with sunbeds and parasols.
The main issue we had was not with the hotel but with public transport. We would certainly recommend anyone using this hotel to have some personal transportation. The public bus service is infrequent and the last bus back from Taormina leaves at 4.45pm, so it is difficult to plan an extended journey, say to Messina or Syracuse by train from Giardini Naxos, because the only way back to the hotel would be by taxi, which costs 50 euros.
However, if you are looking for a hotel away from the tourist hotspots, in beautiful, rugged countryside, and are prepared to hire a car or can put up with limited public transport, then this is an ideal choice.
