Monaci delle Terre Nere

We selected this resort to have more of an Etna view after seeing some videos of the property, although you could only see the mountain from select spots on property. The staff / service / food / wine were great and nothing but positive notes on that end. Housekeeping was attentive and cleaned up the room nicely. The rooms did not meet the standards of a 5-star property. They were very outdated and need some renovation and TLC (tender, love and care). Inevitable that bugs would get in the room given you are on an organic fruit and wine vineyard too that we experienced. Overall, they could use some new sheets, blankets, air conditioning units, mattresses with covers, and some real work. For the price, we were disappointed. The pool was crowded with kids and some of the other outdoor items need some attentive maintenance for aesthetics too and routine upkeep. We ended up visiting Taormina primarily, and utilizing the restaurants on the island. If we were to do it again, would stay beach side as it is quite a distance away and for the price it’s well worth relocating towards the beach vs. vineyard.

We anticipated travel in July to celebrate Dave’s (my son in law) birthday. The day before departure Dave required ICU hospitalization due to a life threatening brain issue. Monaci stated that they were penalizing me one third of the funds that I had advanced because, with only ten days advance notice of cancellation, they would be unable to rent “the Villa” that I had booked. When we arrived in November 2023, we found that there was no “Villa” but just a superior suite, inferior suite and an unconnected hotel room hobbled together. The representation that 3 hotel rooms could not be rented during the summer of intense tourist demand in Sicily with 10 days advance notice rings totally untrue. I did not get to stay with my family at Monaci because I took the unconnected room with all the windows which did have beautiful views but an inferior bathroom without even the provision of Kleenex or bath soap. The bed and pillows were terrible, the sheets like light sandpaper and the towels were shabby.The room was heated only during the day to approximately 86 degrees with no heat at night when the room was extremely cold. The thermostat could not be controlled except by management. Our rooms were at the edge of the property which was difficult to navigate back to the lodge because of an inadequate map and signage. We were adjoining local houses with the added derogatory of barking dogs throughout the night. We had dinner the first night at the Monaci restaurant which has Michelin star prices and substandard food. My chicken was average and actually came out with film over the sauce on the plate. Monaci wines were poured upon arrival at the nicer suite but, for me, only the Rose was drinkable. The manager from Sri Lanka told us upon check in to the rooms that the minibar was free to us and that laundry services were also included free of charge. My family was leaving to catch a flight at 3am so I requested check out in the rooms the evening before which was refused. The bill was slow to arrive by What’sApp but upon arrival, I was charged both for the minbar and laundry. I had my clothes in their bag but had not filled out the laundry slip when housekeeping removed the same. We were told that “management” would have to be contacted about the charges and, after the annoyance, the charges were removed. When my grandchildren were preparing to swim in our small pool on the last night, Monaci employees came and closed the pool down. Monaci staff only communicate by What’sApp. My subscription had expired and could not be renewed because I had not purchased international service for the trip because my son-in-law and daughter had the international plans. I was leaving later and entrusted Monaci to make arrangements for the car and driver. We had requested packed breakfast and Monaci gave my breakfast to my family so I had nothing until the airplane. I had no trust whatsoever in the trustworthiness or reliability of Monaci staff by departure so I had my family teach me how to drive the golf cart thinking that pickup by hotel staff might not occur as arranged. Remarkably, I was correct. At the arranged time, no pick up and no contact was possible because I did not have What’sApp. I dialed 0 on the phone to no avail. Despite a back and knee problem, I had to drag my luggage down flights of stairs, load it and drive myself to the waiting car. Reception was outside when I arrived and did look horrified saying something to the effect that Monaci would do something for me which was also untrue. The driver told me that he had informed Monaci that the drive to the airport was not 50 minutes but was 1.5 hours due to a closed main artery and rush hour and that my departure for my international flight must be one half hour earlier. The warning was disregarded and not conveyed to me. I had anxiety that I would miss my flight and hence all of my other connections. I travel extensively and never before have I experienced, for extremely high dollar accommodations, such deception, financial gouging, substandard amenities, food and service…..avoid!

The property is unique and untamed and I think fits the vibe for being at base of Etna, but for the price I felt like the rooms were not 5-star worthy at all and could use a refresh. The service / staff were great. The pool was cool, but there were A LOT of kids so just something to think about. The poolside service was good and we loved their wine and lunch food. We didn't eat dinner on site as we took advantage of options in Taormina, which is a 30 minute drive. The Belmond restaurants are very good and offer very scenic views and Belmond lets you us their free parking so we went early to roam the town before dinners and didn't have to stress about parking our car somewhere else. If we were to do the trip over again I think we would have stayed somewhere else given price and location. We weren't at the resort all that often.

Beautiful grounds, nice design and great concept but ultimately falls short in terms of service and hospitality expected at this level. Service was underwhelming and it was hard to get help when needed. Wifi didn’t work in the room. The environmental ethos rang hollow when you heard their fossil fuel-guzzling helicopter soaring above and seemed more like an excuse to squeeze profits by using bottom tier toilet paper and cutting down on cleaning. To try to better understand the surroundings, we requested a ”botanical walk” as described per the website but was driven around in a golf cart for 5 minutes by a stressed receptionist who pointed out a few trees. Not the ”extraordinary sensory experience” advertised. At € 700 a night there needs to be some attention to detail and better storytelling to make up for the dirty grout in the bathroom and unenthused staff.

This is a wonderful resort for a nice retreat. We stayed one night here and drove here straight from Catania airport. The property is so magical and relaxing. Nice green scenery and you have a great view of the top of Etna from the breakfast room. Room was nice and spacious, very comfortable. Only thing I would highlight is that the bathroom shower can be slippery and unsafe. Please take extra care. Breakfast was very nice and generous. Everything was fresh and probably coming from their own orchard. We had dinner in the hotel restaurant - Locanda Nerello - which was not bad.

I invited my family here for a relaxing time in a beautiful environment. While they enjoyed themselves and believed it was an unique experience, I do not think it was the exceptional 5-star experience I wanted to give them! The attention to detail is poor…the suite I had pre-booked…had a broken water boiler, which should have been checked before we arrived. We weren’t able to take a warm shower on our first night, though, they were apologetic and upgraded to a bigger suite. A lot of other little services also just gave us an impression that the training of staff is not on par with standards of a 5 star. On a good note, the food and wines are delicious!