Recently opened after a lengthy renovation, the Ortea Palace is undeniably the most beautiful hotel in Syracuse, if not Sicily.

We’ve been waiting a long time for this hotel, to say the least! It’s housed in an emblematic building in Syracuse, originally built in the 1920s to house the city’s maritime post office.

The building is in Art Deco style, a surprising choice for the time in Sicily, where Baroque and Classical styles still dominated.

The renovation project began in 2010 and lasted 4 years, but it wasn’t until 2017 that the hotel opened. I didn’t have the chance to go to Sicily at the time, and then there was the COVID… so it was after a very long wait that I was finally able to put my suitcases down there.

You’ll find a summary of articles about this trip to Sicily at the bottom of the page.

Location of the hotel

In fact, when we talk about Syracuse in terms of tourism, we’re talking about its historic center, the almost-island of Ortigia. The hotel is located at the entrance to the island when you arrive from the city. The peninsula measures 1km2, so it’s ideally located.

From the station, it’s a 15-minute walk.

Booking

A few weeks before my stay, I booked a “Roundhand” room, the lowest category, with no view, for 290 euros a night.

I then used some “Suite Nights Awards” I had thanks to my status in the Marriott loyalty program to try and get upgrades to higher category rooms because, rarely, even the highest categories were eligible. So I asked for just about everything available in the best rooms, hoping that with a bit of luck…

3 days before my stay I noticed in the application an upgrade to a “Bauhaus” room with partial sea view, i.e. an upgrade of two categories. Better than nothing, but it’s the upgrade due to my status, I’m still waiting for the SNA result.

And the day before my arrival I’m informed that the said SNA is accepted and I’m upgraded to a “Signature Suite”, the second best room in the hotel, billed at over 1,500 euros a night.

A great deal…

Welcome and check-in

I walk from the station and go to the reception. The welcome is very cordial, the protocol followed to the letter, the recognition of status is there, I’m given details of all the benefits to which I’m entitled and a map of the city with all the sites to visit.

They also confirmed my late check-out at 4pm.

Unfortunately my room isn’t ready yet and I’m invited to wait at the bar, located in the lobby just past reception.

I’m offered a welcome drink (lemon granite and sparkling water), obviously a local specialty to keep me waiting.

The bar is located under a glass roof, and although it’s “only” 25 degrees outside, it’s a real furnace inside. It reminds me of the bar at the Hermitage Gantois in Lille, which had the same configuration, but where they didn’t have the elegance to offer me my drink even though my room wasn’t ready at the official check-in time.

Once I’ve finished my drink, I’m not sure what to do. Do I wait for someone to come and get me, or do I go back to reception? After waiting a while, I go back to reception where I meet a new person who asks me for my papers again as if she was going to redo the whole procedure. Luckily, the colleague who had been looking after me arrived and said something in Italian that must have sounded like “Stop, it’s the client from the signature suite”.

All of a sudden, a big smile lights up her face and she offers to take care of my suitcase and accompany me to my room.

The signature suite

It is located on the top floor of the hotel and offers a view of the sea.

Once through the door, I come face to face with a small chest of drawers.

A glance to the side reveals the living room.

Marble everywhere, tasteful furniture, not overloaded, I like it a lot.

On the table, a welcome service awaits me.

I’ve also noticed that the minibar is not just decorative, but is filled with quality and quantity.

At the end of the living room, a corridor leads to a small office.

Very practical for working, and for once located neither in the bedroom nor in the living room.

Next door is a large dressing room.

Next door is the toilet, separate from the bathroom.

At the end of the corridor is the bathroom.

Large bathtub, double washbasin…

I really like the mix of marble and exposed stone.

The bath products, of excellent quality, come from Dyptique.

I retrace my steps to discover the bedroom.

Bright, tastefully furnished and decorated, but not overcrowded either, giving a real sense of space.

Bedrooms and living rooms open onto a lovely balcony offering superb views.

What to say? As much as I found it expensive to pay 290 euros for a standard room, I find this to be exceptional value for money.

It’s beautiful, bright and spacious, with no lack of taste. I regret that I only booked for two nights.

Let’s end with the traditional video.

Bar and restaurant

The hotel has a restaurant and a bar, but I’ll only try the latter.

As we’ve seen, it’s located in the hotel lobby, just like the restaurant.

In the evening, stools are available for seating directly at the bar.

Very pretty, very friendly bartenders and quality cocktails.

Facilities

The hotel has a gym and a spa including a swimming pool. Both are located in the hotel’s basement.

The gym

It’s beautiful with its exposed stonework, but moderately spacious and not very well equipped.

But the main problem was that during my stay the air conditioning was broken and the heat was unbearable for a session.

The spa

It is accessible by reservation to limit the number of occupants for the comfort of customers, but when I went there I was alone.

There are showers…

A large, brand-new sauna.

A steam room…

And a huge swimming pool with a 1.50 m deep basin.

Very pleasant and relaxing.

On the other hand, there’s nowhere to sit and relax, like chairs or deckchairs. It’s a real shame, because it spoils the potential of the place.

A beautiful place, but in the same genre, I still prefer the spa at the Heliopic in Chamonix, the Radisson Blu Scandinavia in Gothenburg or the Grande Bretagne in Athens.

Service

Professional and friendly, nothing to complain about.

Check-out

I’ll check out on the mobile app, so I won’t have to go through reception before leaving the hotel.

Bottom line

A truly beautiful product and quality service, it’s just a shame that the spa’s potential is a little under-exploited.

The articles about this trip to Sicily

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