Hotel Villa Diodoro

One of the worst hotels I stayed at. The carpets are filthy. The staff are not friendly. The breakfast was not good at all. We had ants in our room. Our door lock was broken. And our shower head would not stay in one spot so water would be everywhere after showering. The pool is dated but the view and location was great. Spend your money elsewhere. This hotel needs to close and have a big renovation!

Nice view, clean room, friendly staffs. Breakfast is good but not great.

Great property with beautiful grounds. Slightly dated but still holds on to that timeless vibe.

Beautiful view but downhill fast after that. We had a terrace but other guests are allowed to SMOKE there! So we had to keep the door closed but that at least cut the noise from loud tour groups yelling back and forth from their terraces. The WiFi is spotty in the rooms and you cannot adjust the AC so the room is stuffy. No night light and the bathroom lighting is harshly bright. We were told we couldn't have an additional luggage rack and the TV didn't work for 2 days and when finally repaired had bad reception. Shower head either hand held or straight in your face. We heard the hotel has been sold and will undergo a big renovation. It needs it!!!

The parking is NOT FREE this is not a 4 stars hotel looks like a 2 stars hotel.The breakfast is very weak.
The Door is very bad not the easiest Way to open, close.
The room,pool is dirty too.The recepcion people is not frendly.
The room is so loud.The internet is not the best.

So the rugs are worn but EVERYWHERE was spotless. So the WiFi is very poor but each team member we came across did everything they could to make our stay comfortable. The location is absolutely spot on and the views from the dining room were immense. Beds and pillows very comfortable and a fairly powerful hairdryer with good amenities in the bedroom. Breakfast, although the same every day, was of a high standard and enjoyable. Room 405 though was dark with a tiny balcony not like the rooms beside it - we complained as there was no desk for laptop work and when we were told it would be addressed the following morning - I didn’t believe it - but it was and without any reminder. We were offered another room with a communal really large balcony but we stayed in 405 and did not hear a sound at any time. If the local low-down of the hotel closing for a year for a total refurbishment is true - this hotel is absolutely worth checking out.

1st of all I don't know what some people expect from a hotel,on arrival front entrance looked great,staff were very attentive,room was lovely and the few amazing, nearly swapped hotels with all the negative comments on here but I have no complaints whatsoever,yes the rugs are abit worn and the room looks a bit tired but didn't it affect my holiday mmmmmmmmm no,all in all a good hotel!

A nice, charming facility with a spectacular view of Mt. Etna and the bay. Zero interest in customers. They just don't pay attention to the little things.
They will not change any size bill. Not a ten Euro note, not a twenty, not a fifty
They will spend no more than 60 seconds on directions, then they turn and leave
When we asked if they had conditioner for the shower, response was "you don't need conditioner"
When the A/C wasn't working, they said someone would be over, no one ever came in three days
Their restaurant is okay, except I got food poisoning from the swordfish. Service is perfunctory, at best
When we asked at front desk for a Pepto Bismol or something, we were told to go into town
The pool is lovely and clean, lots of steps to and fro (manageable)

Overall the hotel was wonderful for our purposes. The view from the corner room is stunning! The pool is spectacular with a nice bar. The grounds are neatly kept and very pretty. And the access to the town is perfect. However, as some other reviews said, I don’t think the hotel lives up to its claim as a superb luxury stay. There’s definitely some updating that needs doing. For the most part that’s part of the classic charm, but age is apparent in the wrong ways in many cases. The services often feel well below the price point. Rooms are pretty bare, extra pool towels cost 5euro, parking is not readily available as described and is instead valet for a cost, the showers are a little weak, and finally— the breakfast is not at all worth the price. At the very least I would expect to have someone making espresso, not a half broken automatic cappuccino machine that makes a pretty bad cup. My free breakfast in budget hotels across Italy were better than this luxury one. All and all I wouldn’t write the hotel off my list for the next time I visit and would return if it worked right, but I will certainly be checking around for other options too.

Taormina is changing so much. Not for the good .once upon a time the stores were special clothing and items that were the handy work of locals and particular to Italy. Now it is upper end commercial things you can purchase everywhere!
The hotel restaurant food was horrible! With all the delicious food in Italy I ask myself where did this food come from? The young woman at the front desk was a rude and snotty. My room had no shower only a tub was not the best.

The worst hotel I have ever stayed at. Avoid it at all costs. Scheduled a lovely 2 1/2 week vacation to Italy with my family. While making all my arrangements, I asked my travel agent to book me two rooms at 4 1/2 star hotels. Unfortunately, as soon as we entered the property, it became clear to us that this was anything but a 4 1/2 star hotel. It was in COMPLETE disrepair. It was dark, smelly and dirty. The furniture was incredibly old and dirty as well. The rugs throughout the entire hotel were dirty and severely water damaged. The staff was scarce and those present were not friendly or accommodating.

Upon entering our rooms we were horrified to find how dirty, old and broken all our furnishings were. There was severe water damage and mold on the ceilings and walls. I’ve included pictures.

We spent our first night there only to find in the morning that ants had infested our sons’ room and their beds.

We left immediately and did not receive any apologies. Thank goodness we were able to salvage the end of our trip by finding another hotel that truly was 4 1/2 stars.

Over the last thirty years of traveling to various destinations this is one of only a handful of poor reviews I have written.

I purchased this 14 night holiday from TUI who advertise this hotel as a four star ‘plus’ establishment. The holiday was a joint celebration of my wife and I wedding anniversary and my 50th birthday.

This is NOT a four start ‘plus’ hotel even when considering it against geographic variations in standards. I summarize the good and bad points with the caveat that my main complaint about my holiday is with TUI - who have misrepresented this hotel and then failed to act on my complaint.

Good
The hotel is in an excellent location to access Taormina, the beautiful public park next door and the bus terminal, where many of the excursions start from (albeit a slight uphill walk).
The views from most of the rooms, the swimming pool and the bar are breathtaking, they look out over Naxo bay and Mount Etna.
The shuttle bus to the ‘sister’ hotel called Caperena is reliable. The bus is a small people carrier with air con, Caperena has a nice beach and bar area where you can easily spend a day relaxing (Not sure why they feel they need to charge 5 Euros return - although it is worth it if it keeps the service going).

Bad

Room
Our first room was appalling. It was poorly decorated, the air conditioning unit was filthy and made a grating noise when on. There was no sign of any cleaning under the bed area. I have attached pictures - the room number was 428, it was cramped and had no real facilities. No kettle, no tea coffee, the water in the fridge had to be paid for and the fridge hardly worked. Whilst Wifi was accessible in the room it was running at such a slow speed nothing meaningful could be done with it. There was no Iron - and no ironing facilities in the hotel at all (I ended up purchasing an Iron for 30 Euros).

Communal Areas
The carpets in the hotel are disgusting, they are stained, shabby and worn. The hotel smells musty as a result and everytime we returned to the hotel after an evening out, the general atmosphere was depressing. This was not helped by staff who were ‘approachable’ at best, nonchalant and rude at worst, particularly at the reception desk. The lifts were small and very slow, this may seem like a minor thing but for some reason it became really frustrating - perhaps it was the cherry on the cake! We were on the third floor and for most of our stay one of the lifts wasn;t working - On the top floor we discovered a dirty nappy on the veranda of the hotel - this remained in situ for nearly a week before being removed (this forms part of my unresolved complaint with TUI)

Restaurant
The food was hit and miss, we had a couple of nice meals however for the most part the best I can say was they were edible - they reminded me of school dinners with an Italian twist. On several occasions the fish was accompanied with tinned vegetables (peas and small carrots) - comical. The service in the restaurant was poor, the staff were over stretched especially where there was a function on, I got the feeling they wanted to provide a good service but knew that they just didn’t have the numbers to make it work. For these reasons we ate out most evenings - incurring costs I had not expected (another complaint with TUI). On one evening we sat waiting to be served for over 30 mins, we ended up walking out - (TUI did subsequently provide us with a £100 TUI voucher as a gesture of good will, but we won’t be using them again).

The bar
The service is rubbish. On several occasions I had to find the barman who was hiding in the back room even when we were the only customers. The most frustrating thing about the bar was the cheap and in most cases broken chairs and tables of very poor quality - I actually sat on one seat and the back fell off - when I raised it with the waiter he actually shrugged and laughed. It did make my wife chuckle so it wasn’t all bad. We stopped using the bar after a couple of visits, it was far better finding a bar in the city.

The pool
Great view - but closed at 1800hrs in the evening - and the staff were not moving from that! They started packing up at 1730 hrs and then administering evil looks to anyone who hadn't started packing up. It was however reopened for private events in the evening - no hotel guests were invited! Great view though….

Breakfast
This deserves special mention - it is rubbish. It is buffet service with the normal croissants, pastries and some cheese and ham - most of it is stale. There is a very poor selection of fruit that didn;t change at all in our two week stay and forget a cooked breakfast the bacon and sausages were fatty and very poor quality cuts - it would be doing a disservice to good old comprehensive school dinners to make that comparison again!.

Would I recommend this hotel? - not in a million years.

Would I recommend buying a holiday form TUI? - not in a million years. The customer service from the app to the contact we have had on our return has been disgusting.

We complained whilst in Sicily - and were offered 300 Euro compensation for the hassle of changing rooms. TUI did offer to move us hotels, ut they were in Naxo and completely different types of holiday (we were a couple and these were clearly family hotels) It appears that by accepting this compensation I cannot follow up on any of the above and the case is closed, that was not explained to us at the time.

Would I go to Sicily again? - Absolutely! It is a beautiful place with lots of history, culture and great people.

This hotel surprised us...and not in a good way. When we booked, its website claimed "FREE PARKING" -- even the AAA agent said it had free parking. Surprise, surprise...they have SEVEN spaces that are first-come, first-serve AND the only way to park is to pay $20 EURO DAILY for valet. When I shared with their manager that this is not how they presented themselves when we booked, their only response was that "now, it is said on our website" -- great, but that doesn't help us. AND on the website, it still is misleading. If we had known there were only 7 spots early in our trip planning, we would have chosen a different hotel. In addition, they also deceived us (and others at the check-out counter who were complaining) by putting a bottle of water on our nightstand daily. No signs, no indication we would be charged for the very same bottle they gave away freely at breakfast...That is wrong. On top of it, the hallway to our room was extremely dirty/stained, and our door key didn't work properly. We told management who sent an engineer who kinda shrugged and said "well, it's an old hotel..." We get it...but...seriously? And we ate there one night for dinner, and the entrees were terrible. I took one bite of mine and couldn't stomach it -- I love fish, but this fish dish was very much expired. I didn't complain...I just didn't eat the dish. I am grateful because the kind wait staff -- without me asking -- saw that I didn't touch the meal and deducted it. Very sad that management -- when I contacted them about the parking -- basically said they could do nothing. I suggested they CLEARLY state the parking situation and be transparent about that and the water. If you book with this hotel, just be aware.

Wifi was unacceptable. 1 - 2 mbps tops. Had to rely on phone as a hotspot. Not a viable working situation at all.
For the price they should provide a wait staff at breakfast to prepare something other than the substandard buffet. Coffee came out of a machine!?!
Stains all over the rugs. Just dirty.

We stayed in this hotel on half board basis in a sea view room in September 2024 and had a lovely stay. Transfer from the airport is 60 minutes and the location of the hotel is fantastic being only an 8 minute walk into the centre of Taormina with its lovely bars, restaurants and shops.
The swimming pool is large and overlooks the beautiful bay with Mount Etna in the background. Sunbeds are plentiful and you don’t need to get up early to reserve one. There are 58 steps down to the pool from the hotel so be aware if you are less mobile. Lovely bar/ cafe by the pool selling drinks and lunch.
The hotel is old fashioned with high ceilings and paintings on the walls but this adds to its charm. The carpets in the lobby are dated but this didn’t put us off and all the staff are very friendly we found including the waiters and cleaning maids.
Our sea view room had fantastic views of the bay and Etna in the background and was clean. There was a safe and fridge but no tea making facilities. Air con was excellent in the room and the WiFi was okay in all areas apart from the pool. Our room was nice but seemed quite small and if you can afford it I would go for a larger deluxe sea view which has arm chairs and much more room. Breakfast was nice with choice of scrambled eggs and bacon as well as cereals, croissants , fruit etc.
The 3 course evening meal was delicious and the menu changed each night and you could choose from 4 courses.
The bar in the evening was very quiet as everyone I think walks into Taormina and enjoys the vibrant bars here. We visited the beautiful garden next door to the hotel which had music playing one night in the evening. We also visited the amphitheater which is well worth a visit (12 euros entry). We walked to the Fenicular cable car which takes you down to a nice beach and worth a visit too.
I would return to this hotel again.

Don’t mind paying $375 per night when the hotel is solid as a rock, but this one is falling appart. The classics: Carpets worn to death, WIFi not available in our room, pool or restaurant. Hot water was hit or miss, no A/C on the lobby or most common areas, the TV control was tied with black tape, etc. This place is begging for a major renovation. With so many options around Taormina, next time I will spend my money somewhere else.

Just returned from our 3rd visit to DioDoro apprehensive after reading some of the reviews but on arrival very happy to see that perhaps a little dated but this added to the charm of the hotel. We had an amazing sea view with an awesome view of Taormina and the bay.
We were half board and I have to say the meals were wonderful and a choice that should suit everyone. Of course the swimming pool is the best ever, with amazing views over the bay and Etna, what more could you want.
The hotel was spotlessly cleaned, ok carpets were old and a few stains, but I think they were the same a few years ago.

All the staff were helpful and always willing to assist.
Special mention to the gardener who was always up early tending the flowers & plants, exceptional.
Lots of steps down through the garden to the pool which is difficult with anyone with mobility issues, but certainly helps with the daily steps.
Local shop just out of the hotel to the right and through the beautiful park.
We would love to return but have heard that the hotel has been sold, closing at the end of the year for a re-furbishment to a 5 star hotel, not sure I will be able to afford the prices but certainly will be keeping a watch for when it opens again as it must have the best view in Taormina

A beautiful hotel with character and style. Magnificent furniture and decor. Views from hotel and rooms are stunning. Staff were friendly, courteous, helpful and efficient. Pool area clean and spacious, adequate sun beds, towels available.

We were in Sicily for a family wedding.
This hotel is absolutely beautiful. Yes the carpets in the hallways are in need of replacement as everyone says, but the building itself is stunning. Marble hallways, high ceilings, oil paintings and sculptures dotted around.

We did 4 nights here half board, with buffet breakfast and 3 course dinner included (drinks not included). The breakfast buffet was ample, the dinner was lovely and quiet with table service and a rotating daily menu.

I noticed people said the staff were rude in other reviews but we couldn't disagree more. The front desk staff were efficient and polite, the maids were diligent and friendly and the restaurant/bar staff were actually lovely.
I think if you treat staff with respect, they will respect you too. Simple really.

We only had one gripe with the place and that related to having to find out various bits of info by asking instead of there being a guide in the room or a handout to read. We had to find out when dinner/breakfast was, what the pool hours were, towel situation, how drinks were charged (room tab), all by asking rather than reading it in a guide.

Shout out to Andrea in the restaurant and Davide in the bar, both lovely gents who couldn't have done more for us if they tried.

We had a garden view room and it was very nice, cleaned daily and was spotless. They really keep the whole place clean, that was very notable as there was no dirt, no stains, no spills, they run a tight ship.

The location is directly next to a lovely garden park and opposite a roman amphitheatre, with a 5 minute walk to the main thoroughfare of the town (uphill). It is very quiet, well staffed and located.

The views from the restaurant and pool were wonderful, with a direct and clear view of the coastline north towards naxos and etna.

The pool was clean, pretty and warm and we didn't once have to fight for a sunbed as despite being fully booked, there was plenty available at any point during the day, staff are at the pool between 9 and 6.

I cannot fault the place, the rustic decor (which I believe is deliberate choice) has a certain charm, there is a historical significance to the place if you take the time to read the plaque outside the front of the hotel, and understand that guided tours of the town stop at the hotel to take in the history and views (not intrusive).

All in all, I would happily return to this hotel and would recommend it to anyone who is able to handle steps, but that can be said of taormina in general, not just this hotel.

Beautiful hotel with the most picturesque setting. Overall decor very traditional and gives an air of faded grandeur- evoking visitors from times gone by. Service from all staff was superb. Poolside setting so relaxing! Food at breakfast and dinner was delicious. Looking forward to a return visit