Grand Hotel Villa Politi 1862 In Siracusa

A comfortable and quiet place with many privileges that invite you to experience it 🥰

Positives: This is a beautiful old hotel with interesting history (Winston Churchill was a former guest) with parking on site. The rooms are reasonable. We were upgraded to a superior room which included a terrace, but our son’s room overlooked the restaurant bins or at least that’s what it looked like. The interior of the hotel reflects its history. Lovely historic and grand feel. Breakfast was included and was excellent. A huge selection of pastries and fruit including tuppo (brioche) and granita which is a traditional Sicilian treat. Whisper quiet location. Negatives: We drove to Siracusa so the location was not an issue but it is a good distance from the old town which is the only reason to visit the city. The car park had no charging facility for EVs (we rented an EV so while relevant to me it won’t be an issue for everyone). Other hotels in our Sicily tour with fewer “stars” have had this. You can be a historic hotel while also embracing modern technology. Much of Siracusa including the old town has electric scooters and EV charging. This hotel feels behind the times for a “recently renovated” hotel. The pool area is lovely but sun beds are in short supply. They simply don’t have enough beds for all the guests. How can a hotel claim to be 4 stars but not cater for all guests. Very poor. When I questioned this they said there was no space. However I noted space for at least 10 additional beds. I don’t expect scramble for sunbeds like some sort of sunbed wars (as the media call it). Also there is a charge for pool towels €5 per towel per day. However the room cost is not cheap and I’d expect this to be included in the price. Again very unusual for a 4 star hotel. WiFi was useless. Air con did not work in my son’s room although this was fixed reasonably swiftly. Not a 4 star hotel for me. History and grandeur don’t automatically equate to 4 stars. Facilities and service are more important. Rated three stars as that’s what it should be.

They look beautiful by looking at some of the pictures

Had a wonderful week here in August 2024. Pros and cons below. Pros: Tastefully decorated rooms with excellent air conditioning, comfortable beds and lovely products in the bathroom. Juliette balcony was great for letting towels dry and enjoying the views of the grounds. Good selection on the breakfast buffet (except the machine juice-sorry). I loved the opulence of this hotel, the rocky ravine below and all the details of decor inside and out. Walking up the driveway, past the palm trees and up the lovely staircase with the constant piano jazz playing was so delightful. The pool was a real jewel in the crown- beautiful new patio, plenty of loungers and parasols for everyone. Friendly desk staff who helped us to make reservations and gave us info. Incredibly fast and efficient cleaners who gave us fresh bath towels daily. There is no way a place like this could exist in downtown Ortigia, so lean into the quieter location. Budget for a €15 taxi back up the hill each day- it’s worth it. We took the bus down once but it’s unreliable. The walk down takes 30mins and is ok in the morning or evening (avoid afternoon as no shade) then it’s a quick, air-conditioned taxi back. Recent reviews were helpful and allowed us to dodge extra charges. Most useful items we packed: thermal water bottles (buy, chill & store your own drinks from Deco supermarket nearby if you don’t want to pay for minibar), water shoes for lido zen, our own pool towels. Overall a great place to stay for a chilled holiday week. Worth paying a bit more for a hotel with a pool. Cons: The flip side of a historical building is the need for ongoing maintenance. There is no denying the damp smell in the corridor of Churchill wing (smell in our bedroom was fine). There was a water leak one morning which staff dealt with quickly. We did not love the sporadic dance music hour at the poolside bar, the music was not really in keeping with the vibe and a bit sweary. One day I asked to borrow an iron and was told they don’t lend guests an iron “for safety reasons”. God knows what happened in past ironing incidents but this seemed far-fetched. Most 2 and 3 star hotel rooms have an iron as standard and the external (overpriced) laundry service was no use to me as I wanted to iron an outfit for that night. It would be great if, as with the coffee, they provided one glass per guest of freshly squeezed juice at breakfast. Prices of lunch salads and soft drinks are inflated (€5 a fanta, €20 salad) so we always had lunch over at Drago. I’m sure the hotel would have much more custom for lunch, drinks and snacks were the prices reasonable.

Fabulous experience at this hotel! Do not be put off by the distance from Ortigia, it is more than acceptable given the quality of this establishment, if you refuse to walk there are 2 intra-urban bus lines which do not appear in Maps (SAIS company) or the Elerent scooters and as a last resort a cab. For only €115 per night, breakfast included, giant swimming pool, you are promised a journey through time because this place is full of history, marble and woodwork adorn the place. Extremely sad to have had to leave this magical place. PS, bring your own bath towel for the pool and avoid paying the €5 rental fee.

Truly beautiful hotel up to the stars Perfect breakfast, very kind staff and very nice rooms. Fantastic pool for extra relaxation. Perhaps it remains slightly decentralized from the center with the nightlife

Historic hotel where you can stay once, but the rooms need good maintenance and the services are also 'dated': the breakfast, for example, is certainly not 4 star'

A bit old but historically smoked. Breakfast disappointing, but the pool is a dream

Beautiful historic hotel outside the center of Ortigia. You’ll need a taxi to get back and forth from the center, so keep that in mind. Beautiful pool and clean rooms with air conditioning and working wifi. Friendly staff. Breakfast could have been better. Coffee from the machine is never good. They had cereal but no cold milk offered or yogurt (that I saw). Dinner offerings are the best IMO. I loved the Tagliolini pasta with shrimp!

A security for my stays in Syracuse for fifty years: the management changes but the charm of this hotel remains and indeed grows. A dip in the pool, an aperitif on the Latomie of Syracuse, a break in the room where Winston Churchill stopped to rest after a painting of the Latomie and the magic is renewed: going back is a ritual for me