Grand Hotel San Pietro

This is a nice hotel but it is NOT deserving of a 5 star status. As with other reviews the hotel is tired and whilst I appreciate that the pandemic will have added financial difficulties for the hotel modernisation is key now. I booked a sea view room well aware that the view was the main driver for the price. On reflection I???m not sure it was worth it. As mentioned the hotel needs to be modernised. The furniture is all dated and the walls need a fresh coat of paint. The bathroom is very tired with a shower head that only offered 50% coverage and looked like it needed to be de-scaled or replaced. The water also took 10 minutes to heat up when running the shower which is ironic as the bathroom has a poster asking you to save water for the environment. The towels are changed regularly but one of the towels I was left with smelt incredibly musty. The balcony furniture is also dated and the chairs are iron and uncomfortable. Cushions should be included as standard. The tv only played Italian channels which is fine but I would expect at least one English speaking channel. The wifi was patchy and dropped in and out. I did not have this problem at other places that I stayed at. The breakfast was poor for a 5 star. The continental offering is standard and fine but the only cooked option is scrambled eggs buffet style and bacon. If you want poached or fried eggs then you need to pay extra. I don???t think this is acceptable for a 5 star hotel. The coffee came from an urn which is also unacceptable for a 5 star hotel and is ironic as Italians take coffee very seriously. Coffee in a 5 star hotel should be freshly made and not sitting in a big pit waiting to be distributed. Whilst the breakfast staff were nice one member spoke limited English and given that, due to covid requirements, they serve you the buffet means that communication is hard to get what you would like. The pool area is nice and the pool is good but I think the pool attendants need to be more helpful and alert to new people arriving and setting up the loungers. Again, this is an expectation of a 5 star hotel. My stay was fine but I would not stay here again. This isn???t because it???s a bad hotel but because it does not merit 5 stars and is therefore not worth the money you pay.

The location fully deserves 5*, while the condition of the room / hotel facilities and the service is significantly below the 5* standard. Based on other hotels in the same price category, we would have expected a much higher customer orientation of the staff (it is worth mentioning that, during our stay, the hotel was far from fully booked). Nevertheless, Taormina is great city and there are plenty of things to do outside the hotel.