Relais Antica Badia - San Maurizio 1619

“A nice experience”

We stayed for five nights at the Relais Antica Badia in Ragusa in December 2023. We are retirees and experienced travelers. We currently hold the Ambassador status in the Bonvoy fidelity program (at least 100 nights a year); we have collected well above a thousand Bonvoy nights since joining ... more

We stayed for five nights at the Relais Antica Badia in Ragusa in December 2023. We are retirees and experienced travelers. We currently hold the Ambassador status in the Bonvoy fidelity program (at least 100 nights a year); we have collected well above a thousand Bonvoy nights since joining the program in 2010 and in the current year (2023) we spent already more than 140 nights in hotels (Bonvoy and other hotels). We are quite satisfied with our stay at the Relais Antica Badia. The quality of the hotel exceeded our expectations. Quite satisfied is perhaps an understatement, we were sorry to go at the end of the stay. We chose the hotel as a basis for exploring Ragusa, Modica, Scicli and various other places in this part of Sicily. From this point of view the location of the hotel is perfect, right in the middle of the “new” part of the city of Ragusa (i.e. the one built after the earthquake of 1693). This was very positive as every evening we could just step outside the hotel, walk in the pedestrian area and choose among the many good eateries available (the hotel does not have a bar or a restaurant). It must be stressed that the hotel has a small internal garage/parking area (we drive a Volvo XC90 and a car wider than ours could not have driven in). We had our reserved space and we could take the car whenever we wanted. The parking area is in an internal courtyard just a few steps after the reception. The hotel is rather small, only 16 rooms, and is housed in an historical palace, the Schininà palace. The entrance of the building is impressive. The room where breakfast is served must have been the ballroom of the palace. But four/five other nice period rooms are also at the disposal of the guests. The hotel has a roof terrace which offers the best possible view of the San Giovanni cathedral. We had booked a “Junior Suite” and the room we were offered, room 208, was certainly larger than an average hotel room. The bed was good even if its width was at the lower end of what can be called a King-size bed: 1.80 meters. Ideally, we look for two-meter wide beds (like the one we have at home), but 1.80 was acceptable. The room had also a corner with two armchairs and a small table and plenty of storage place. The bathroom was even more spacious. There was only a small table that could serve as a writing desk, but a second one was brought in as soon as we made the remark. And it came with a lamp that could be lit up separately. The internet connection was good. The staff was extremely helpful and polite, from the reception desk to the breakfast staff. The breakfast buffet offered everything we could expect and more. Every morning we were given a hand out with the weather forecast for the day and the two following ones, some information about the city and suggestions about things to see (the information was different every day we were there). Just a warning. We were initially offered room 206, but it came with a surprising arrangement that was not of our taste: the large shower was separated from the bedroom only by a transparent glass wall ! An easy improvement of the room we were in could be the replacement of the present safe with a larger one that could be used to store laptops, iPads and video cameras and other largish objects. These big safes are now almost a given in the hotel sector.

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“Former palace - Relais Antica Baida hotel”

Amazing former family residence/palace across the street from Palermo's Cathedral (Cattedrale di San Giovanni Battista). Beautiful, comfortable, spacious rooms with most attentive staff. Really enjoyed our three night stay there while we were touring the island. Very nice morning breakfast buf... more

Amazing former family residence/palace across the street from Palermo's Cathedral (Cattedrale di San Giovanni Battista). Beautiful, comfortable, spacious rooms with most attentive staff. Really enjoyed our three night stay there while we were touring the island. Very nice morning breakfast buffet. Highly recommend.

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“Beautifully restored palazzo in the centre is Ragusa Ibla”

The palazzo is gorgeous, filled with knickknacks, painted ceilings & opulent furniture. The breakfast was excellent served in a sumptuous room overlooking the duomo. The rooms were well appointed with showers containing a multitude of jets. Parking is at the back on an enclosed area. Location was... more

The palazzo is gorgeous, filled with knickknacks, painted ceilings & opulent furniture. The breakfast was excellent served in a sumptuous room overlooking the duomo. The rooms were well appointed with showers containing a multitude of jets. Parking is at the back on an enclosed area. Location was perfect. Thanks to the recommendation of reception, we walked down then up into Ibla, had lunch, strolled through the gardens & caught the local bus back which was an experience in itself!

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“Decent hotel, but missing some of those extra touches to make it truly great”

This is a nice hotel, but lacked a few of the little extra things to make it feel like a luxury boutique. We booked 2 junior suites for our family of 4 - space was adequate, but the suites themselves were quite different sizes (but the same price). Pros: Good location in the upper part of Ragus... more

This is a nice hotel, but lacked a few of the little extra things to make it feel like a luxury boutique. We booked 2 junior suites for our family of 4 - space was adequate, but the suites themselves were quite different sizes (but the same price). Pros: Good location in the upper part of Ragusa. Easy walk to restaurants, and about a 15 minute walk to the old part of town (though it is a steep walk down to get to the old town and then many many steps to get back up). Front desk staff is friendly. Beds are good quality. Windows seem to keep the noise out well enough. Bathrooms have everything you need and are clean. No parking, but there is a paid garage a couple blocks away that makes it easy to use your car. Cons: Not really cons, but given the price point, we hoped for some more of the small touches. For example: a/c doesn't work this time of the year (understandable), but the rooms got quite stuffy. Would have been nice to have a fan available for circulation. We did keep windows open when we could, but closed them at night to keep noise out and the room got hot. Breakfast was good, but they charged us 8 euros pp extra to order eggs. This was the only hotel we stayed at in Sicily (out of 6 hotels) that charged for that. They even ended up over-charging us (charging us for 5 orders of eggs instead of 4 one of the days) - I'm sure they would have fixed it, but I didn't notice until after we had checked out and by that point, I didn't bother to circle back. Would have been nice if they would just include hot items, as other hotels do. The hotel doesn't have any sort of bar or lounge area - there is a roof-top terrace, but it was very wind-blown and dusty, so not really nice for hanging out. The lobby itself is clean, but very sparse (just a reception desk really). Rooms were also a little sparse feeling - maybe add a rug or two in the rooms to make them feel more welcoming/cozy. No turn down service.

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