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Reviews of Rifugio Sapienza

Rifugio Sapienza
Piazzale Rifugio Sapienza, Nicolosi, Catania

Reviews

8.8

Excellent

Rating 10 - Excellent. 65 out of 143 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 62 out of 143 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 12 out of 143 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 2 out of 143 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 2 out of 143 reviews" "

8.6/10

Cleanliness

9.0/10

Staff & service

8.2/10

Amenities

8.2/10

Property conditions & facilities

8.2/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

10/10 Excellent

Carmen

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great customer service, staff super friendly and helpful, room was very comfortable and had everything needed, good location and restaurant food was superb. Highly recommended.
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2023

10/10 Excellent

Kyeongmo

Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
The refugio was very good for the travellers. It was clean and dining was good. The staff was kind ans helpful.
Stayed 1 night in May 2023

10/10 Excellent

Gary

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2022

10/10 Excellent

Wybo

Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Rifugio Sapienza had everything we could hope for. Nice room, great restaurant, a super breakfast each day, and the best location for exploring Mount Etna!
Stayed 3 nights in Sep 2022

10/10 Excellent

Antonino

Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Very friendly people, very hospitable. The room is comfortable. The food at the restaurant was delicious. We enjoyed our stay
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2022

10/10 Excellent

Robi

Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Highly recommend, great experience with the hotel
We had a lovely time in Rifugio Sapienza, excelent location, right next to the cable car to Etna, good food and large portions, lots of choice also for breakfast. Room was clean and has comfortable beds, large balcony. Highly recommend!
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2022

10/10 Excellent

Bernhard

Stayed 1 night in May 2022

8/10 Good

Gillian

Liked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Solid hotel choice
Pros: Great value for the location, decent food choices, friendly staff, free on site parking Cons: Our room had a slanted ceiling and I hit my head on it constantly (and I’m 5’4). Cleanliness of shower could be improved.
Stayed 4 nights in Oct 2021

10/10 Excellent

Tricia

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2021

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great little hotel with amazing views and very professional and friendly staff. Good restaurant specialising in pizza. Would stay again!
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2020

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Disliked: Amenities
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2019

2/10 Terrible

Melissa

Traveled with family
Get insurance
I had to cancel due to losing my luggage on the airplane there. We had two nights and I was able to cancel a day ahead due to being stranded in the layover country. They refused to even let me cancel for the 2nd night.
Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Excellent option if you want to visit the Volcano area. Convenient and the best you get a discount for the cable car
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Stayed 1 night in Jun 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Traveled with family and small children
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
You get to sleep on an active volcano, at 2000 meter altitude. What more do you need/can you ask for?
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2019

10/10 Excellent

Michael

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Service very good. Rooms simple but clean. Perfect for hiking Mt. Etna. A few good restaurants nearby.
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
The hotel is quite old but there is not much choice if you want to stay overnight at Etna. It is an ok hotel for a night or two. We were two friends staying in a room with a double and a twin bed and it was ok for us. Room is quite small. Breakfast was buffet style with croissants, yoghurt, eggs, meat and cheese on offer.
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities
The staff. they were the most accommodating and friendly staff i have ever had the pleasure to stay with. they would do things for customers using initiative before being asked. always smiling and joking too. The volcano and scenery (best ever seen) comes second to these people.
Stayed 5 nights in Apr 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Traveled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Great room and service and restaurant. Super close to cable car. Get here by car or morning bus from Catania.
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2019

10/10 Excellent

antonio

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
A good choice up there!
The rooms are clean and cosy, very comfortable bed, soft towels in the bathroom, staff extremely helpful and kind. Breakfast was quite basic (maybe because we were the only ones that morning; I've been another time and there was more stuff) but you can order real coffee/cappuccino at the bar without extra cost. The pizza at the restaurant is probably the best in the whole province!
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2018

2/10 Terrible

Alexandre

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Appalling. Avoid at all costs!
We decided to stay at this hotel for two reasons: first, because it was about as far up the flank of Mount Etna as one can get, and secondly, because it was well rated. Boy, were we ever wrong on the second point! The front desk was manned by an unkempt man who barely looked up and offered no information whatsoever (e.g., we didn't find out there was an elevator until we were leaving). The halls and stairs were unlit, with switches on timers that had to be turned back on every five meters to avoid stumbling around in the dark. Our room was a singular cross between a Gulag, a sad summer camp and solitary confinement in a medium-security prison. Uncomfortable bed, questionable cleanliness, scuffed, worn floors, lightbulb burned out... We were tired and there aren't exactly dozens of food options on the side of a volcano, so we decided to try the on-site restaurant... which is where the "full Gulag" experience came into focus. It was genuinely appalling: Surly, indifferent waiters; ghastly, inedible prison food (I was unable to finish even a quarter of my plate); and the only truly undrinkable wine I've ever had in Italy. Nauseated and grumpy, we returned to our room as soon as possible and tried to fall asleep. The breakfast the next morning was somewhat better, though we still left as fast as we could. All in all, quite possibly the worst hotel I have ever had the misfortune of staying in. Avoid it at all costs!
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2018

10/10 Excellent

Nicolo

Cozy room on top of the volcano
Nice and cozy room. Good pizza at the restaurant. Decent price (considering where you are). Great starting point for a morning hike on the small craters.
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2018

6/10 Okay

Sarah, Malvern, Worcestershire

Liked: Staff & service
Perfect for visitng Etna
Friendly, helpful staff. Accommodation a bit basic, room clean, smell of drains in the bathroom. Breakfast was OK. BUT, right next to cable car for Etna. Also, we went to the restaurant (NOT cafe) attached for dinner and the food was excellent, would recommend it.
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2018

10/10 Excellent

Keith

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Very good few days.
Stayed 3 nights in Jun 2018

6/10 Okay

Oce, London

Liked: Staff & service
Good location
There is nothing exceptional but the location. Everything is OK though, I would recommend if you want to spend the day on the Etna and want to be closed to the funivia.
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2017

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2017

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Liked: Staff & service
Good stay to see Mr. Etna
Good location to see Mt Etna. Good hike & close to the lift.
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2017

10/10 Excellent

Mark, UK

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great stay at stunning location
Easy parking, great meals & breakfast. Room big, warm and top view. Cannot fault it.

8/10 Good

Giovanni

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort

8/10 Good

Simon, UK

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Amazing location and great value!
A GREAT location - stay high on the slopes of Etna surrounded by lava flows at 1910 meters above sea level! The views day and night are fantastic and after the tourists all leave around 5PM its incredibly peaceful. The Refugio has nicely renovated comfortable ensuite rooms which are of a decent hotel standard. There is good free wifi (though it wasnt always working during our stay!) and a nice breakfast included each morning. The restaurant does HUGE pizzas and nice Italian meals for reasonable prices. The BEST feature though is that all guests get 30% off the adjacent Etna cable car/jeep/guided tour package which can save you around £25 per room of 2 people, which makes a night in the hotel VERY good value if you factor that in! In winter you can ski from the door also so a good year round destination.

6/10 Okay

John, Melbourne Australia

Disliked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Basic hotel but right at the cable car to Mount
Reception very off hand but the hotel has all facilities required for a max three star hotel. Great to overnight and spend the whole day on the mountain

10/10 Excellent

Mirko

Traveled with group, Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2024

8/10 Good

Maria Jesusa

Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Lugar idoneo para visitar el Etna
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2023

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2023

8/10 Good

Denis

Stayed 1 night in Aug 2023

6/10 Okay

Ruffier

Traveled with family
Liked: Staff & service, amenities
Belle chambre spacieuse mais odeur pestilentielle d égout , et surtout très bruyant rodéo de voiture sur le parking tard dans la nuit , mauvaise insonorisation mais situation au top pour l'Etna et bon petit-déjeuner personnel adorable
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2023

8/10 Good

Agata Delizia

Stayed 1 night in Jul 2023

10/10 Excellent

Giovanni

Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Ottimo
Esperienza positiva è staff al top
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2023

8/10 Good

federica

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2023

8/10 Good

Veli-Matti

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Yllätys oli, että aamiainen sisältyi huoneen hintaan. Tämä olisi ollut hyvä tietää etukäteen. Ikävää, että moottoripyörälle ei ollut mitään suojaa, kun Etna levitti tuhkaa ja kiveä.
Stayed 1 night in May 2023

8/10 Good

Riccardo

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Stayed 1 night in May 2023

10/10 Excellent

Cristina

Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
comodissimo per le gite sull'etna

10/10 Excellent

paul

Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Site exceptionnel
Site exceptionnel. La chambre était meublée en bois style montagnard mais spacieuse. Le petit déjeuner était excellent. La réception était disponible. Elle nous a conseillé sur le choix des guides pour l'ascension de l'Etna. En passant par l'hôtel, nous avons bénéficié d'une réduction et du panier repas. Juste les pizzas du restaurant qui n'étaient pas extraordinaires. Je recommande l'hôtel et l'excursion proposée par l'hôtel.
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2022

10/10 Excellent

Annamaria

Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Accoglienza e gentilezza di tutto il personale. Straordinario!
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2022

4/10 Poor

Verified traveler

Disliked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Not great service but good pizza
The breakfast was not up to standard. The people that worked behind the cafeteria Did not tell us what was included, they Were not service oriented at all. Other people got juice, it was not even offered to us. The day of our arrival same thing when we bought some stuff from the cafeteria. Bad service and slow service. We did try some other cafeterias at other hotels and got really good service and friendly service. The pizzeria that was in the hotel was different and had very friendly staff and the pizza was very good. The room was pretty old and the electric outlet was only one in the room and it almost fell out of the wall. Overall we do not think this hotel deserves so high rating however if the staff downstairs had been nice it had been a different experience. Guessing they are very bored with their jobs. The hotel is very close to the cable cars so that is a plus.
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2022

10/10 Excellent

Stephane

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Petit paradis
Hotel très agréable, dans un cadre magnifique et zvec un restaurant succulent.
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2022

10/10 Excellent

Stephane

Stayed 1 night in Jul 2022

10/10 Excellent

Herbert

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Prima locatie om etna hike te staren
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2022

10/10 Excellent

SIMONA

Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Struttura ottimamente gestita, le camere sono essenziali ma non manca nulla. Ottima anche la colazione come pure il servizio ristorante.Hanno un parcheggio privato e custodito davanti al rifugio e si trova a 1 minuto dalla funivia che porta in vetta.
Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2022

8/10 Good

Bruno

Liked: Staff & service
Super beliggenhed i meget smukt område.
Super beliggenhed i et meget smukt område. Beliggende ved alle aktiviteterne til Edna. Venlig personale og rigtig super morgenmad. Værelserne var OK, bortset fra en kraftig lugt fra kloak/toilet. Bemærk ingen klimaanlæg på værelset, hvilket kan være et problem om sommeren. Udmærket restaurant på hotellet. Stedet er et besøg værd og kan anbefales til kortere ophold for at besøge området.
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2022