Warmest greetings from Catania!
We have been very busy, trying on all levels to augment the activities of the hostel, while also attending to the sort of wholesale improvements that are not feasible when the hostel is open.
One of the wonderful things about staying with us is the experience of living in a historical palace, in one of Catania’s most prestigious addresses. This building was constructed more than three centuries ago for Noble families native to Catania. The highlights of the palace are the fresco-adorned ceilings of the hostel, and the stunning city and volcano views available from our balconies and the rooftop bar.
Time is unrelenting, and cosmetic wear inevitable. Thus, in the closed period since late 2020 we have, room-by-room, attended to all the street-facing doors onto the balconies, restoring the wood, stripping, treating and repainting to recapture some of the majesty of the spaces we have for you.
Our previous reception area has been repurposed as a store for bicycles and e-scooters for hire giving you new ways to explore the city. The large mixed dorm has been cut, allowing us to create a vast new reception area with places to sit and unwind, a snack and drinks bar for refreshments during the day and night, a new secure luggage storage facility available both to guests of the hostel, and to other visitors to the city, a reception and information desk where you can check-in, check-out, and learn about Catania, Mount Etna, and other unmissable places to visit while you are with us. We also commissioned a local artist to add a new mural, and have filled the hostel with a plethora of plants.
The dorm rooms too have seen some changes, all doors remain key card operated, and we hope that the new decorative elements, and renovations carried out, will be felt by you, our guests, as we have added splashes of colour and humour throughout.
We have relocated the laundry facility to a dedicated space above the main floor of the hostel, as well as creating more spaces for quiet study, relaxation and work.
We have upgraded the WiFi to blazing fast speeds, capable of handling anything you can throw at it.
We have also refreshed our website with new content. You can now read articles on the city, on things to do, places to visit, learn a little of Catania’s history and read about one of the world’s largest street festivals - an annual event here which takes place in February - not to mention a retelling of the legend of the Elephant.
We will continue to carry out improvements, and cannot wait to welcome you back to the city, the island, the outstanding destination that glimmers like a jewel on the coast of the Mediterranean’s largest island.
There’s nowhere else like Catania - a port city, close to Europe’s largest active volcano, with a Roman colosseum, a Greco-Roman theatre, an abundance of stunning baroque buildings, ancient marketplaces, quaint kiosks, beaches, cliffs and elephants.
There’s nowhere else like Ostello Degli Elefanti - a late 17th Century palace, in the absolute centre of the old city, running alongside the cities most celebrated street and flanked by its two most important squares, with unparalleled views of the old city itself, and the smoking volcano North of us. A few minutes walk to the port, to the sea, to either of the grand markets, to all of the city's historic monuments. You are surrounded by bars, restaurants, churches, the Cathedral, landmarks and smiles. Come and discover this treasure for yourselves in 2021.