When you visit Sicily in August, you expect heat—and you’re prepared for it. But when you book a hotel with air conditioning, you expect your room to be a place to cool off and rest. Palace Catania UNA Esperienze struggled to provide that.

We booked a Prestige Double Room with View. That evening, our room never dropped below 24.3°C (76°F). The hotel controls the A/C centrally and said rooms aren’t allowed to cool below 22°C—which would’ve been fine, if ours had actually reached that. Despite calls at 6:30 and 7 PM, and an in-person request at 8 PM, nothing was done. At 10:30 PM, I brought someone to the room—they tried adjusting it both in-room and from the lobby, with no success. We were finally moved at 11 PM.

The next morning, we were told our room didn’t include rooftop breakfast, despite what we were told at check-in. When I verified that it was included on our booking confirmation, they eventually let us stay—but made it feel like they were doing us a favor.

The low point came when the hotel offered to waive the €22 parking fee—but only if we signed a confidentiality waiver. That felt less like an apology and more like an attempt to suppress honest feedback. We declined.

They did adjust my booking at no cost when I mistakenly selected the wrong date—and that’s the reason this is 3 stars instead of fewer.

This wasn’t a terrible hotel—but it was inconsistent, overly controlled, and indifferent when it mattered most. We won’t be returning.