Guest reviews Excelsior Palace Hotel

by Resort65171400232 Pinner, United Kingdom

Beautiful Taormina Sicily Highly recommended

Old hotel, opened in 1904 but was a private residence then converted to a hotel. Decor might look a little dated to some but is in keeping with a hotel of this age do fine. Staff friendly and air con in room quietest we’ve ever had in any hotel. Internet isn’t great and you have to continually logon if it drops which is a bit of a pain but not that bad. Pool is good but a fair walk down from the hotel through its gardens. Pool bar, loos, towels all down there though and lovely views over the bay. Taormina is very pretty, friendly people, felt safe and perfect to walk around. Was mid thirties in the day so hot, needed to stay in the shade.

by Sandra H Funchal, Portugal

Lovely Hotel-But Problems!

We arrived at the Hotel at 2.30a.m., very hot and very tired, only to find the air conditioner not working, we immediately told reception, and they informed us that it could be repaired but obviously not until the next day. We remained in the room, and the next day, after having a good look around our room, and the view from the window, we returned to reception and said we weren’t happy with the room. The room and especially its bathroom was extremely old and dated, and the view was of the rear of the hotel overlooking what looked like a cross between a building site and a refuse collection area. The reception staff said they could upgrade our room for an extra €20 per night, but not until after the current guests had checked out, which wasn’t until after 11a.m., and then the room would have to be cleaned. We agreed to this, but didn’t eventually get our new room until 2.30p.m., and we were still not unpacked, and still in our original travelling clothes. The new room was much better, but for €200 for a ten night break, it ought to have been! All was then well until a few days later the hotel hosted an 18th Birthday party, with many, many guests and fireworks right outside our ground floor bedroom window at 12.30a.m. We rang reception and complained, but the party was not moved away, then I personally went to reception, still in my nightware and asked for the party to be moved away again, which eventually, after about an hour or so, it was, but the music continued for some time after that! Not good when you are trying to sleep. Most of the breakfast was continental-as advertised, but the cooked breakfast part only consisted of a small dish of bacon and a small dish of scrambled eggs, which both took turn in running out, being eventually replaced by waiting staff that where more concerned about the pleat in the corner of the tablecloth, than keeping an eye on the amount of bacon and eggs that were constantly needing topping up! Also there were only one salt pot and one pepper pot to be shared by the whole breakfast area, the forks were not at each table setting, but instead all together hidden under a napkin-don’t know what that was all about? and you couldn’t find a teaspoon for love nor money, so had to stir your morning cuppa with a big cereal spoon. Apart from that the place was great! Beautiful gardens, lovely old hotel with bags of character, and plenty of space around the pool, with no one coming down at stupid o’clock in the morning with a towel.

by reallyrosieNashville Nashville

Beautiful, stately property with exceptional views of the sea

This is an over 100 year old property, in the style of grand old hotels. It is the first thing you see when driving into Taormina. Large rooms and large bathrooms, could use a bit of updating, but this is not why you stay there. The pool is fantastically gorgeous, you stroll through a park like atmosphere to get to the pool and the views are nothing short of stunning as the pool sits at the top of the city with incredible views of the sea. Breakfast is good, lots of choices on the buffet. Great location in Taormina, perfect place to stay.

by couple59060 Tel Aviv, Israel

Romanitique and historic hotel with beautiful view and landscape, huge garden and great summer pool.

Romantique and historic hotel with beautiful view and landscape so you can see mount Ethna with its fire anad smoke at night. Huge garden and great summer pool where you can rest and have some beer. Some of the room and other less so . Taoramina is great so its location near the center is recommended.

by anne j

An elegant and exquisite hotel

This is a very beautiful and elegant hotel situated on the hill top of Taormina with stunning views across the bay to Mt Etna. The location is absolutely perfect only minutes away from the delicious restaurants, wine bars and shops. The interior decor of the hotel and rooms is exquisite and very much in keeping with the grandeur of the hotel. The facilities are great with a traditional bar, very reasonably priced and a restaurant serving great quality food. Breakfast has a very good selection of hot and cold food and drinks. The rooms have tea/coffee making facilities and a chargeable well stocked mini bar. The staff are exceptionally helpful with brilliant local knowledge they really do deliver fantastic customer service. The pool is spectacular, very tranquil and has a delightful bar serving drinks and food between 9am - 6pm. There are plenty of sun loungers and towels provided free of charge. A massive thank you to all of the staff for making this a beautiful holiday and we can’t wait to revisit this amazing hotel.