HOTEL VILLA RIIS Luxe

Staff charming apart from booking the classic room and ended up in a small room with no wifi, tv, fridge, phone. It did however have rustic charm of mould in the bathroom and dangerous plug sockets. Cleaning of rooms non existant during the stay. On mentioning the issue with the room was met with a shrug by the owner, and no apology for the state of the room but said he would look into if there are any other rooms available. When I looked on tripadviser to see if anyone else had had recent problems, said owner flipped and told us to pack our bags and leave - "I am rich man, I do not need your money. Get out know". Not the sort of action you expect although he was Italian. Cue avoidance for the day to see if things would settle down which they did - he kept out of my way and I kept out of his. Staff did not mention a change of room to me or any apology. My advice is if you stay here its a great base for exploring the town of Taormina, nice views and the pool is relaxing. But do check that they have the correct room for you. And my advice to Hotel Villa Riis is to use some of those Euros that being a rich man you must have acquired and spend some on the rooms and up the service a bit. It could be a great hotel.

The staff is very helpful, and the location is great, the rooms are very clean with ample room. We were up graded to a deluxe room without requesting it, which was lovely :) It has a large pool and tennis court. It was good value for money, and I wouldn't have any hesitations in recommending hotel villa Riis :)

Amazing location!! thats the plus! The hotel is a bit old, but some rooms have been rennovated. breakfast is ok but not amazing. The price is a bit expensive for what they give but then location really is amazing and the have private parking which is also a big plus in taormina. From there you walk everywhere! Taormina is incredible by the way!

We stayed here at this lovely traditional hotel for 3 nights before taking a trip to the aeolian Islands. Claudia the manageress was completely amazing. She welcomed us as if we were close friends, and ensured our stay was incredible. All the staff were so friendly. The hotel has views to die for as it overlooks the sea and Mount Etna can be seen so clearly. Thank you for a wonderful stay.

I stayed in this same hotel 12 years ago and liked it so much I wanted to return. The TripAdvisor reviews are very varied from one star to five stars and so here is my honest opinion as a solo traveller starting with all the good points. The staff were without exception friendly and helpful. The pool is beautiful and this area was very clean and tidy. My room was pretty basic but it was clean and the air-con was quiet and worked a treat. I had a nice view from my balcony which again was also kept clean. I inadvertently left my sunglasses at the hotel and they have arranged to have these delivered to me today by DHL. Fresh towels were also provided each day and my room had WiFi. The hotel is in a fantastic location with great views and close to the main street of Taormina. Some of the reviews say that the water in the bathrooms was cold. I thought that I would have a week of cold baths and showers but, when the taps were run for five or ten minutes, the water was beautifully hot. However, my mini bar had very little in it and was not working anyway. I could have done with more coat hangers but this is a minor point. Also there was a longish walk to the pool but each day engineers were working on the lift to get it repaired. Also, 12 years ago the hotel served drinks and snacks at the pool but this was sadly no longer available. Coffee was great at breakfast but a little more variety would have been welcome for the breakfast food. One of my fellow guests said that her room smelt but mine was absolutely fine. I did not book direct with the hotel and got a fantastic rate and, yes, I would definitely return.