Hotel Ipanema

“Very relaxing Holiday ”

The Hotel is located in a very nice place, accessible for all the beaches and very quiet during the evening. Very close to the funicular so in 10 mins you will go to Taormina Centre. Very friendly staff and very helpful too.☺️ If I had to visit Taormina again I would book the same Hotel again.

“Disappointed”

The hotel is definitely not 4 star. It is tired and in need of updating. The bedrooms were clean but drab. The bathroom had been recently updated but not good quality so won't last long. Amazing interesting view from balcony. The breakfast were okay. A fruit salad would have been nice. The even... more

The hotel is definitely not 4 star. It is tired and in need of updating. The bedrooms were clean but drab. The bathroom had been recently updated but not good quality so won't last long. Amazing interesting view from balcony. The breakfast were okay. A fruit salad would have been nice. The evening meals were better than how the menu read but were repetitive, so we had meals outside of the hotel a couple of times. Mainly because you read menu and it was far from exciting. The pool was a total disappointment, up on the roof with no bar, snacks, towel or any facilities whatsoever. The pool had a tide mark around the waters edge which put me right off swimming in it. Needs a good clean and a few pot plates to cheer it up. If you use it you'll need to take everything with you. No bar/food facilities in hotel during day. So we tried the hotel lido booked at reception. The photos make it look brilliant. On arrival it was a beautiful swimming pool, swim up bar, restaurant and plenty of loungers. However it was closed. We were directed onto a shingle beach given a sunbed/umbrella and that was it. No facilities at all. The hotel bar which only opens in the evening is very dated, we sat outside on the patio which could be made really pretty with little effort. I really object to the barman smoking whilst serving or leaving his cigarette in an astray whilst he went into bar area to serve. I found the staff nice & friendly Would I return to this hotel no. However yes I would return to the resort.

less

“Potential to be good with lovely staff but tired hotel which needs some investment and food a little bland”

Having spent a week at this hotel I thought it right to write a balanced review to help you make an informed decision. Firstly hotels in my opinion are or should be giving you an experience after all you are giving them your hard earned cash and they should be working hard for this. At the Ipanem... more

Having spent a week at this hotel I thought it right to write a balanced review to help you make an informed decision. Firstly hotels in my opinion are or should be giving you an experience after all you are giving them your hard earned cash and they should be working hard for this. At the Ipanema we found all the staff to be helpful, friendly and sprinkled with a few characters, a big positive. Our room was cleaned very well first thing every day and towels changed. The maids did an excellent job. So the basics get a big tick. The room we stopped in was very very basic and looked like it was last done back in the 90’s. It had been painted and the bathroom was newer but it felt really tired and a little depressing. Certainly no wow factor for our money spent. The air con worked well and WiFi in the room was good. Small tv mounted way too high. One plug in the room which was supplying the fridge. I took a 5 gang extension for all our stuff. A universal adaptor allowed us to plug back in the fridge. We stayed half board and one of the most important things is a nice morning drink. Three choices of juice but these were diluted concentrates and not the best. The coffee machine broke down every morning to the point they had a sign on standby. This then meant you had to get coffee from the bar and it was not nice at all. Breakfast was cereals, meats, bread croissants, fruits eggs, yoghurts etc and I found this ok and all was fresh. It would have been lovely to take your breakfast on to the small terrace at the side of the hotel but this was not allowed. A big miss in my opinion. The evening meal was a big disappointment. I’m not a food snob but again if you’re stopping in a hotel it should taste better than at home? A choice of starters and mains and desserts were offered but the food was very bland. Meat was tough and chewy and the best way I can describe it was like old fashioned school dinners. I was thinking chicken would be nice and that came on the menu but I can honestly say I have never had such a dry tasteless piece of chicken in my life. I feel a little guilty for being harsh and as previously mentioned the service in the evening is a sight to behold and very efficient and good old fashioned silver service. But food is such a big deal on holiday so it needs to be way better and this was definitely going through the motions. Luckily we ate out a few times in the day and the evening and every meal we had large or small was excellent. If I went again I would have just done breakfast. The rest of the hotel was also a little tired. Sofas in the bar needed respringing or changing and the roof pool needed some tlc and green mould around the water edge. From a positional point of view 3 minutes from the cable car to main town Taormina (absolutely beautiful) and we hired a car from the diving centre for 2 days to allow us to explore which we thought was better value than the paid for trips. Driving was easy and if you select no tolls on google maps you drive through some amazing towns. So I go back to a hotel should be privelaged to have you stay there. It kind of felt the other way round at times and I it definitely needs a little money spent to give it some wow factor

less