Borgo Pantano

We visited in October half term as a family of four with 2 boys. The hotel itself is very clean and all the staff are welcoming. However, we did not hire a car and without a car you are quite isolated and you need to rely on the Hotel and the paid shuttle service. It only goes a few times per day, I think 10am and 4.30 pm to go to Syracuse town, cost €10, and going back at 7pm. This does tie you down a bit in terms of what you can do. For us it would have been helpful if we had been told by the Hotel to go for lunch in Syracuse before sightseeing. We made the mistake of doing sightseeing once we arrived and by the time we had finished at 3pm we wanted to find somewhere to eat but everywhere was closed until 7pm!! Food in the Hotel is okay but quite pricey and not mind blowing at all - very hit and miss. Lunch by the pool was nearly £200 when we arrived and dinner was around the same price. Its better value and the choice is obviously better in town. we asked to boom a restaurant and were told they have no bookings until 9pm but we decided to go anyway for 7pm when it opened. When we mentioned this at the restaurant we were told they don't take bookings!! Its all part of the plan to get you to eat in their own restaurant. As for breakfast - if you like pastries and sweet foods for breakfast then you may enjoy it but its not what we were expecting. I did not bother waking up for it the next day. It would be nice if they had e.g. an omelette station. Room itself was very nice with a large balcony but beware the extremely steep staircase to the top room with the main bed. The room goes directly onto the staircase so if you go to the bathroom in the night you could end up going down a flight of stairs - fortunately there is a safety door to close but there is also another step between the bathroom and bedroom which I tripped on a few times. In terms of activities - nice pools but they were ice cold, probably given the time of year and there is a table tennis table. Otherwise not a huge amount to do, but I think this hotel is a good hub for people to travel to nearby towns. Again, not the hotels fault but ours as we did not hire a car.

Fabulous place, fabulous people - staff were so lovely and helpful, even encouraging me in learning to speak Italian! The hotel was in the most beautiful and peaceful surroundings. Taxi shuttle twice daily into town where this is lots to see and lots to do. One of my best holidays ever. Thank you.