Ipanema Hotel, Taormina, Italy
Hotel Information
Recent Price: £172
Hotel Class:
Hotel Description:
The Ipanema Hotel is located in the Mazzar area just 5 minutes walk from the beach and the cable car to Taormina. The Ipanema Hotel is a modern, nicely furnished Hotel. It is situated just off the main coastal road and helpful staff, efficiently managed by the friendly owner. The Ipanema Hotel facilities include outdoor pool, free sunbeds and umbrellas are available at the beach and at the rooftop swimming pool and terrace overlooking the glorius bay, where towels are also provided. loading...
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Ipanema Hotel Reviews
" My sister-in-law and I went on this... "
Submitted By: Mrs C A Stafford
My sister-in-law and I went on this holiday to simply unwind and generally have a relaxed holiday with good food and weather. We were not disappointed. We had a wonderful view of the cove and at the end of every day watched the sea and world go by from our balcony with a nice cold beer or gin and tonic.
I had spent ages searching for the right hotel and not being able to find too many differences between the hotels I had shortlisted, I eventually opted for the Ipanema based on reviews I had read left by other visitors. We were absolutely delighted with our choice. We had a fantastic holiday and will be returning for sure.
If I was forced to pick fault I'd say that our room was a little small and the bathroom too, however we spent such little time in our room it really didn't matter (other guests said there rooms were quite big so I wouldn't let this sway you from staying at this hotel). Any how, this was completely made up for in the welcome and continued friendliness of 'all' of the hotels staff. Mario get's a special mention, you can't help but smile even before he speaks or dances or sings. He and the rest of his staff are so jolly. In a way they really did make you feel as though you were more than a guest to their hotel.
We went full board, which meant a buffet breakfast, lunch at the sister hotel (Hotel Bianca - 2 mins down the road), and evening meal (choice from set menu). Breakfast was fairly simple which for us was fine. With regards to lunch, we didn't want to keep going back to Hotel Bianca for lunch so Ipanema made us a picnic every day which we took to the beach. Dinner was nice, fairly good choice but be warned starters are huge and main courses are lighter. What ever you do, don't miss the Sicilian buffet on Friday nights. The food is amazing and a huge number of dishes to sample (as many times as you like). With this comes a Sicilian folk band who sang and mingled with everyone all night.
The hotel has a very tiny pool on the roof terrace. However, they also have a Beach Club about 1.5miles away which you get to by taking the shuttle bus service they provide every morning from the bus station just opposite hotel Bianca. The bus runs on the hour every hour. Don't worry if you don't get on the first shuttle as the driver returns to ensure that everyone waiting gets to the Beach Club. It may seem a little undignified first with everyone trying to cram on the bus. After the first day when we realised that he makes return trips we decided we would wait and arrive 5 minutes after everyone else in a much more relaxed fashion. Really was no drama at all.
The Beach Club has a very nice pool and is well worth a visit. The beach is great too and has a lifeguard there all the time. No cost to go to either of these (other than drinks and food of course).
Taormina town reachable by cable car is a breeze to get to, and once there you can choose from so many different restaurants or walk to the piazza and see the lava from Mount Etna glowing orange at night (in the distance I'm happy to say).
I adored this holiday and will be returning. Such a beautiful place and the hotel comes with a high recommendation.
I had spent ages searching for the right hotel and not being able to find too many differences between the hotels I had shortlisted, I eventually opted for the Ipanema based on reviews I had read left by other visitors. We were absolutely delighted with our choice. We had a fantastic holiday and will be returning for sure.
If I was forced to pick fault I'd say that our room was a little small and the bathroom too, however we spent such little time in our room it really didn't matter (other guests said there rooms were quite big so I wouldn't let this sway you from staying at this hotel). Any how, this was completely made up for in the welcome and continued friendliness of 'all' of the hotels staff. Mario get's a special mention, you can't help but smile even before he speaks or dances or sings. He and the rest of his staff are so jolly. In a way they really did make you feel as though you were more than a guest to their hotel.
We went full board, which meant a buffet breakfast, lunch at the sister hotel (Hotel Bianca - 2 mins down the road), and evening meal (choice from set menu). Breakfast was fairly simple which for us was fine. With regards to lunch, we didn't want to keep going back to Hotel Bianca for lunch so Ipanema made us a picnic every day which we took to the beach. Dinner was nice, fairly good choice but be warned starters are huge and main courses are lighter. What ever you do, don't miss the Sicilian buffet on Friday nights. The food is amazing and a huge number of dishes to sample (as many times as you like). With this comes a Sicilian folk band who sang and mingled with everyone all night.
The hotel has a very tiny pool on the roof terrace. However, they also have a Beach Club about 1.5miles away which you get to by taking the shuttle bus service they provide every morning from the bus station just opposite hotel Bianca. The bus runs on the hour every hour. Don't worry if you don't get on the first shuttle as the driver returns to ensure that everyone waiting gets to the Beach Club. It may seem a little undignified first with everyone trying to cram on the bus. After the first day when we realised that he makes return trips we decided we would wait and arrive 5 minutes after everyone else in a much more relaxed fashion. Really was no drama at all.
The Beach Club has a very nice pool and is well worth a visit. The beach is great too and has a lifeguard there all the time. No cost to go to either of these (other than drinks and food of course).
Taormina town reachable by cable car is a breeze to get to, and once there you can choose from so many different restaurants or walk to the piazza and see the lava from Mount Etna glowing orange at night (in the distance I'm happy to say).
I adored this holiday and will be returning. Such a beautiful place and the hotel comes with a high recommendation.
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- Date of Holiday:Jul 2008
- Board Basis:Full Board
- Tour Operator:Citalia
" Spent 1st week of Oct in Sicily at... "
Submitted By: Mrs C Jackson-Leafield
Spent 1st week of Oct in Sicily at Ipanema Hotel in Taormina Mare.
Hotel reception staff are very friendly; nothing seemed like too much trouble.
Hotel has beautiful terrace on roof for sunbathing and a small pool. As we went in Oct this area was very quiet and relaxing, the sun went off the pool area quite early in the afternoon but the terrace area was very sunny until gone 5pm.
Towels for the pool were provided free of charge from reception. We didn't go to the beach - but understand hotel had a private area nearby & a mini bus took people down there.
Our room was really small - think most would be the same - we only stayed a week and weren't in the room much so it wasn't too much trouble. The balcony was really nice with a sea view (all rooms on same side so all should have view of the bay) and the sun was very hot until late on each day. The walls were quite thin in the hotel so we were disturbed quite a lot with noise from above, below & at the side!
Restaurant - breakfast was self service buffet of rolls, cheeses, meats, jams etc. Evening meal was silver service served with a choice of 4 starters, main meals and desserts, really high quality food and a fair choice each night. The weekly buffet was served outside and was lots of choices of Sicilian dishes, the only problem was it obviously took so long to prepare some of the hot dishes were actually cold by the time we chose and got to the table.
The UK guests were probably in the minority - other guests were French and German. The age group was predominantly over 60 - so were a good 25+years older than my husband & I. The 3x per week piano entertainment was geared to the older folk. The bar area / communal seating was nice but not really much in the way of atmosphere, seating outside was dominated by smokers which was quite a shame as it was still quite warm in the evenings. Without going up into the town - there weren't any bars as such to go to in evening.
The hotel is on a busy main road with no pavements - I thought this should have been pointed out in the brochure. Just a few metres away you could change ££ and buy drinks etc from 2 small shops. On the opposite side of the road - down stairs leading to the beach - were a few places you could buy lunch but all seemed to sell the same thing.
About 200m away was the cable car up to Taormina - it was 3, 50 for a return ticket up into the town. Town was really pretty, ideal for afternoon strolls (mornings full of coach parties) with designer shops, antique shops and plenty of places to eat & drink. 2xPizzas and a couple of drinks was about 20-25Euros. The public gardens offered great views of Etna - the Greek theatre views were the same - but it was 6Euros each to get in there.
We got the bus up to CaselMola which was a pretty but very small town with great views of the surrounding bays & Etna- but after 5 mins there wasn't much else to do there - we had to pass nearly 3 hours for the bus back! Likewise we went to Saturday market at Giardini Naxos- again not worth the journey on a packed bus - stalls sold household goods and cheap, nasty clothes. Both the town & market quite a hike from the bus stops.
All in all, a very quite relaxing week - great place if you are happy to do not a lot! Think the hotel would definitely be a wise choice -some of the nearby 3* looked quite poor, so we were certainly glad we paid extra for Ipanema.
Hotel reception staff are very friendly; nothing seemed like too much trouble.
Hotel has beautiful terrace on roof for sunbathing and a small pool. As we went in Oct this area was very quiet and relaxing, the sun went off the pool area quite early in the afternoon but the terrace area was very sunny until gone 5pm.
Towels for the pool were provided free of charge from reception. We didn't go to the beach - but understand hotel had a private area nearby & a mini bus took people down there.
Our room was really small - think most would be the same - we only stayed a week and weren't in the room much so it wasn't too much trouble. The balcony was really nice with a sea view (all rooms on same side so all should have view of the bay) and the sun was very hot until late on each day. The walls were quite thin in the hotel so we were disturbed quite a lot with noise from above, below & at the side!
Restaurant - breakfast was self service buffet of rolls, cheeses, meats, jams etc. Evening meal was silver service served with a choice of 4 starters, main meals and desserts, really high quality food and a fair choice each night. The weekly buffet was served outside and was lots of choices of Sicilian dishes, the only problem was it obviously took so long to prepare some of the hot dishes were actually cold by the time we chose and got to the table.
The UK guests were probably in the minority - other guests were French and German. The age group was predominantly over 60 - so were a good 25+years older than my husband & I. The 3x per week piano entertainment was geared to the older folk. The bar area / communal seating was nice but not really much in the way of atmosphere, seating outside was dominated by smokers which was quite a shame as it was still quite warm in the evenings. Without going up into the town - there weren't any bars as such to go to in evening.
The hotel is on a busy main road with no pavements - I thought this should have been pointed out in the brochure. Just a few metres away you could change ££ and buy drinks etc from 2 small shops. On the opposite side of the road - down stairs leading to the beach - were a few places you could buy lunch but all seemed to sell the same thing.
About 200m away was the cable car up to Taormina - it was 3, 50 for a return ticket up into the town. Town was really pretty, ideal for afternoon strolls (mornings full of coach parties) with designer shops, antique shops and plenty of places to eat & drink. 2xPizzas and a couple of drinks was about 20-25Euros. The public gardens offered great views of Etna - the Greek theatre views were the same - but it was 6Euros each to get in there.
We got the bus up to CaselMola which was a pretty but very small town with great views of the surrounding bays & Etna- but after 5 mins there wasn't much else to do there - we had to pass nearly 3 hours for the bus back! Likewise we went to Saturday market at Giardini Naxos- again not worth the journey on a packed bus - stalls sold household goods and cheap, nasty clothes. Both the town & market quite a hike from the bus stops.
All in all, a very quite relaxing week - great place if you are happy to do not a lot! Think the hotel would definitely be a wise choice -some of the nearby 3* looked quite poor, so we were certainly glad we paid extra for Ipanema.
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- Date of Holiday:Oct 2007
- Board Basis:Half Board
- Tour Operator:Thomson
" Excellent facilities even during the... "
Submitted By: Ms B Rogers
Excellent facilities even during the last week of the season.
Beautiful hotel, clean, spacious, stunning views and two minutes to the beach.
Varied menu, good choice and excellent service. They went out of their way for me as I am a vegetarian.
The staff were truly excellent and made my children feel really welcome. Mario is a legend! He tells some fantastic stories and mixes a mean cocktail!
Tour Company were excellent, excursions are well priced and breathtaking.
We took The Godfather trail, the Mount Etna visit and the shopping trip to Catania.
Etna was active and the lava flow was easily visible from Taormina town, just a fun ride up the mountain on the cable car.
Highly recommended!
Beautiful hotel, clean, spacious, stunning views and two minutes to the beach.
Varied menu, good choice and excellent service. They went out of their way for me as I am a vegetarian.
The staff were truly excellent and made my children feel really welcome. Mario is a legend! He tells some fantastic stories and mixes a mean cocktail!
Tour Company were excellent, excursions are well priced and breathtaking.
We took The Godfather trail, the Mount Etna visit and the shopping trip to Catania.
Etna was active and the lava flow was easily visible from Taormina town, just a fun ride up the mountain on the cable car.
Highly recommended!
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- Date of Holiday:Oct 2006
- Board Basis:Half Board
- Tour Operator:MyTravel
" Absolutely excellent! Taormina:... "
Submitted By: Miss M Davey
Absolutely excellent! Taormina: beautiful! Lovely staff! Wonderful service! Very friendly waiter called Mario! Lively family hotel!
Beautiful views! Amazing food! Good entertainment! Hilarious Sicilian folk band! Excellent tours/excursions! Beautiful shops! Beautiful people! But the staff were just the best!
The only down side was the security breach at airport because of UK terror scare!
Beautiful views! Amazing food! Good entertainment! Hilarious Sicilian folk band! Excellent tours/excursions! Beautiful shops! Beautiful people! But the staff were just the best!
The only down side was the security breach at airport because of UK terror scare!
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- Date of Holiday:Aug 2006
- Board Basis:Half Board
- Tour Operator:Thomas Cook
Advice: Affordable Luxury!!
Activities: The cable car and the food
Good for: Beach City Breaks