Raciti Palace

Very friendly and welcoming hosts. Beautiful rooftop terrace. The hotel is a converted palace full of charm. Spacious and comfortable rooms.

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We stayed at Raciti Palace for 7 nights as a base to explore eastern Sicily from Taormina to Noto and Etna, and Acireale is conveniently placed to do this by car. We also enjoyed a couple of days relaxing on our terrace with a view to the sea. Like other reviews have said, hosts Marisa and Peter are exceptionally welcoming and helpful. They will suggest good restaurants, though we enjoyed shopping in Acireale and preparing our meals, which we ate on our terrace. They provide bottled water from their own well. Good shower, comfortable bed, well equipped kitchen and quiet AC - the building was beautifully restored only a few years ago - and we woke up every morning looking up at the amazing painted ceiling and chandelier of our bedroom. Great views of Etna from the communal roof terrace - also lovely. We didn't use the spa as that's not our thing. Racit Palace is all apartments but they will change towels and bedding when you ask. Acireale makes a comfortable town to come back to from the very touristy destinations and sights. Acireale has its own charm and lovely squares to have a drink or gelato and watch the world go by. It feels totally safe and nice to walk around. Raciti Palace is only a couple of blocks from Piazza Duomo, Deco supermarket and other shops and cafés. There is a good bakers right opposite Raciti, from where we got our breakfast pastries every morning to enjoy on our terrace. We found free street parking just 50 or so metres away in front of the Cinema Spadaro so set the sat nav for the cinema when returning by car.

Be a bit careful when leaving the building as the main door opens into a narrow one-way street, though we found motorists did stop or slow down for us to cross. To drop off your luggage on arrival, you can mount the pavement (sidewalk) on the opposite side and put your hazard lights on in true Sicilian style.

I have no words to describe Raciti Palace. It’s a beautiful restored palazzo in the very centre of the lovely and historic Acireale with the kindest and most pleasant hosts, Marisa and Peter that made our stay even better. It looks even better than the photos with all the facilities you need, and even much more than that. I wish we had more time to spend there. Hopefully will be back one day.

An original old building in the heart of the old town of Acireale with everything you could possibly need in your apartment. A bakery across the street and several nice restaurants and cafés nearby. We walked down to the sea down from the place - a nice walk, a small beach and seafood restaurants. The location is perfect for exploring the east of Sicily - Catania, Etna, Syracuse - all within an hour's drive. We parked our rental car within a 5 min walk from the apartment, no parking fees. The hosts were very friendly, always nearby when we needed them, but otherwise you are left to be in peace and quiet.