Four Points by Sheraton Catania Hotel

I stayed 4 nights in total, after the airport closed due to Etna ash restricting in and outbound flights for 2 days. I, like everyone else at the airport was scrambling to find a hotel. I found Four Points and quickly had to book, so glad I did. When I arrived at 7pm after I was greeted with a friendly smile and great service. The staff were so kind in checking me in quickly. My room was modern, a comfortable bed, AC and a lovely balcony / terrance. Sound proof walls stop noise from other rooms or hallways which is perfect to get sleep. The pool and sun-lounger area is opposite the sea and you really feel relaxed at this hotel. The quietness and calm was one thing I appreciated. The hotel location is close to Catania city centre, a 25 minute walk to Aci Castello to see the castle and a 1hr 15 minute drive to Taormina. The hotel can arrange a local taxi. You can park at the hotel but there is a lot of blue parking spaces outside the hotel too. You can also get the train from Cannizzaro to different areas - it’s about a 25 minute walk, if you don’t mind - there is a hill but it’s the cheapest option!

The room service and bar food menu. It could do with a lot more choice and Italian pasta dishes - I think there was only 1 - Norma’s Macaroni. The restaurant menu is the opposite and feels too formal.

Lovely hotel and room. Pool was good

Bar at pool side and access to food at the poolside shuts too early. Not ideal. Beach side area is not great. Brochure of area seems a little misleading. You are really just on a roadside with not much in the way of facilities other than paid beach bars which all seem a little exclusive or run down or were shut.

The staff very helpful and friendly . The hotel clean , comfy beds , good air-conditioning and powerful shower. The pool was really good and the private beach decking even better.

Leaving

There was a great selection of pastries, ham, and cheese at breakfast. The cafeteria served excellent coffee of all kinds. The hotel is beautifully designed and has a swimming pool, a jetty providing access to the sea, and a spa.

The mattresses on the beds were old and worn out, with a deep indentation in the middle, which caused severe back pain. The breakfast staff often just stood around, and sometimes it took up to 30 minutes for food to be replenished. Until 9:00 a.m., they did not clear the used plates from the tables; they only started clearing them after 9:00. There was a huge selection of sweet pastries and cakes, but the choice of fruit was very limited — only three types were available. Some of the melon slices were already dried out when breakfast started in the morning. The swimming pool and the jetty only opened at 9:30 a.m. Since we had training at the hotel starting at 9:00 a.m., we did not have any opportunity to use the pool, even though at least 10 people from our group would have liked to do so.