Arathena Rocks Hotel

Cleanliness and Decor: Guests also commend the cleanliness of the rooms and common areas, as well as the traditional Sicilian decor, which adds charm and character to the hotel ambiance.(based on 1 review)

There’s quite a mixture of reviews here and having spent 6 nights in the hotel here’s my pros and cons and in balance I would go back and really enjoyed Giardini Naxos Pros * exceptionally clean *mostly friendly staff ( older dark hair woman was very helpful as was the waiter at breakfast) * magic location for direct access into sea and this made up for the extra walking distance to the town * 15/20 mins walk to main restaurant ***** and loads of great ones to choose from including La Cambusa ( white lotus scene shot here) * very comfortable beds * always sun loungers in shade or sun * good location to visit Taormina which we did one early morning To go to isola Bella by bus ( €1.90 each way but a good 25 mins walk to get to bus stop) and another later evening for a meal, bus a short journey and you buy a ticket before you get in the bus - not with the driver. We didn’t use a taxi but the sign at Taormina bus station said €30 to Naxos so not sure if there is a cheaper option * transfer from Catania airport was 45 mins and I used Transfeero and cost €92 , I also used them to back to Catania city for a night there and it was also €92 * the main bus terminal is really just another bus stop and similar distance to walk to as the one in the town but a nicer walk and we also found Bar Oasis which had a fantastic lunch menu option and granita to try here- it was so good we went twice Cons *our room was at the back and the last 2 mornings we were woken at 5am with a delivery, if you can book a sea view room * tired in places for the outside areas * you need to be able to walk to get into the town/restaurant area but that’s the trade off for having direct sea access