Castello San Marco hotel & spa

We recently stayed here as part of out trip to Sicily and were really impressed with this fantastic hotel. We had originally planned to visit in July but due to an illness in the family we had to cancel. Fortunately we managed to rebook and we were so glad we did. We stayed in room 106 with was huge and had the largest shower that I’ve ever seen in a hotel. The reception staff were extremely friendly and very helpful arranging our transfer from our previous hotel. The pool area is gorgeous and the sunbeds are very comfortable. We did not eat at the hotels restaurant as we had done fine dining at our previous place and wanted to try somewhere local but no doubt that would have been a great experience. The breakfast buffet was varied and tasty with the option of choosing from a menu as well. All in all a very pleasurable stay, we only wished we could have stayed longer as we had previously planned. The many great reviews are well deserved. ||Craig and Michelle x

Rosario delivers refined, creative cocktails with precise technique and nice presentation. Flavours are balanced, thoughtful, and service very welcoming … Rosario explains each drink and highlights every cocktail like citrus zest and a vivid violet signature over crystal-clear ice. A nice historic bar, and a big stage for true bartendering craft!

We chose the Castello di San Marco because we wanted a special place to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary. What a splendid oasis of tranquillity and calm it is.|We were warmly welcomed and taken care of by the wonderful Flavia. We had a gorgeous and comfortable suite that came with a view of Mt Etna from its outside deck area. |How lovely it was that on the day of our anniversary we came back to our room to find a celebratory bottle of Etna Spumante in our room.|We ate some delicious dinners in the restaurant accompanied with some fabulous wines. The wine list is quite extensive and must weigh at least a kilogram but Marco was at hand to help with selection every time.|We also utilised Marco’s extensive knowledge for a wine tasting that Davide helped book for us at Barone di Villagrande, a well-established winery on the south east slope of Mt Etna and reputedly the oldest vineyard in Sicily. It seems he even arranged that Mt Etna put on a special show for us that morning! |We relaxed in the spa, enjoyed the splendid gardens that surround the castello, ate relaxed lunches at the swimming pool restaurant and leisurely strolled down to the hotel’s beach. It was all such an incredibly idyllic break.

Nice place but the violent food poising was not fun 🤢 Ordered the beef tartare which I believe is what caused it. (Told the hotel and they said they checked and no other guests reported it. So could have been a coincidence… but my girlfriend had a bit of it and also felt sick that night (not as much) But still kind of ruined my experience here. The food options were quite limited and there’s no gym here either. But lovely grounds and great beach access. Just avoid ordering the beef tartare 😅😅😅

Gorgeous venue and surroundings, absolutely stunning. The main building is so beautiful ||However, the rooms are designed by people who have clearly never stayed in a hotel before ||There was no chair for the desk, the cupboard had no door handles to open them, the hooks in bathrooms were falling off, the thermostat in shower is broken, sofa covered by a dirty bedsheet, the list goes on ||If you are charging close to €450 a night, you better make sure your rooms live up to it

This place has great potential. The property is quite nice. The old castello is charming. However, they are charging $800/night, and coming nowhere close to that level of service, facilities, cuisine, amenities. ||The initial impression is "wow, cool old castello, why is everything so run down?" The next impression was provided by the lady at the reception. Robotic might be the best way to describe her less than welcoming persona. ||Our room? A mildly renovated old room, with musty smell and very little charm. Stark, minimally appointed, and bathroom sink that wouldn't drain. "Do you smell that," I asked my wife. A faint but distinct smell of sewage. We let the reception know, and they moved us to another room. This one was brand new, super clean, and absolutely massive. The shower had enough room for a family of 8. I'm not kidding. ||That said, there were many bugs, both living and technological. Wasps all over the outside of our room, so no way to sit out on our patio. No screens, so no fresh air inside. Hmmm, what's up with the A/C? Doesn't seem to shut off, even when it says "off." Our technician, "it seems that these 4 rooms are all wired to a single room, so whatever that room is set to, all of the rooms are set to. Shrugs his shoulders and mumbles something in Italian. ||Poolside we experience comfortable but weathered facilities. Everything is just worn out and dirty. The pool isn't heated, so prepare for a cold plunge. No one stays in more than 3 minutes.||No poolside food or drink service, despite ample staff who prefer to stand around looking at their phones. ||Overpriced drinks. The swordfish involtini was delicious. Skip their pasta alla'norma. ||All in all, I cannot recommend this place. They must think that they can milk the Tauramina White Lotus effect. That's a mistake. Try offering good value for money with current facilities, or get out the checkbook and drop $10M+ on renovations.

Castello San Marco is the kind of hotel that draws you back again and again. Full of charm, character, and beauty, it sits in a breathtaking spot—nestled by the beach with magnificent views of Mount Etna. The dining is exceptional, the service polished and welcoming, and the rooms are both elegant and thoughtfully appointed. It’s an unforgettable place and returning feels inevitable.

Easily the top highlight of our sicily trip. Besides the magnificent site and beach nearby, big thanks to the hotel and restaurant team for making our stay and couple anniversary extra special! We enjoyed every minute of it. Will definitely come back next time we visit sicily!!

This was the second hotel we stayed at on our trip to Sicily. We started in Taormina, and had planned to stay up there the whole time, but we ended up booking too late and avails were pretty limited, which landed us here. Luckily, we had a car anyways, because you definitely need one to get here. It's about 15 minutes from Taormina proper, and a few miles off one of the main roads. The vast majority of the rooms, if not all of them, are not in the castle itself. That we did not know, but it did make sense once we got on the grounds. We checked in and got a key that weighed about 5 pounds, and walked to the back (well, technically the front?) to get to our little unit. It was a good size, comfortable, just not super bright most of the day. It's a fairly large property for Italian standards, and the grounds themselves are incredibly lush and very well maintained. The included breakfast was delicious, and on top of what was laid out, you could order pretty much anything you wanted. We definitely made the most of that. We only had lunch there once, and it was decent - it was by the pool and the menu was pretty limited. But, the drinks were good and the bar always seemed to be open. Speaking of - the pool is gigantic. I loved having a diving board and didn't find the area crowded at all, though we were here in May, so just on the cusp of high season. The beach is not a beach as you might normally think of one. We had to walk through woods and across a dirt road to get there, and there are no chairs, no towels...nothing. We did briefly dip in the ocean but only spent a grand total of 5 minutes there. So if you want as-expected beach vibes, this is not your spot. We only hit the pool for 2ish hours most days as we had a lot of other things planned, but it was a nice place to relax in between all of the walking. Our only issue was an exploding toilet. I won't go into too much detail, but we got home on our second night and it was very clear what should have remained in the septic system exploded out and all over the suite. Luckily (1) our stuff, save for a pair of my flip flops, was fine and (2) they immediately moved us to an even better room. No harm done, the staff handled it really well. Overall, nice spot. The car is a must, the beach is a no-go, and the breakfast is tops.