Sunny holiday but room has no balcony

[tellmewhenthespaceshiplandscoz]

Total first world problem I know but anyway...

Looking to go to Sicily next year and all the hotels that are almost perfect (Reston the town we want/half board but not buffet food/nice pool etc) all charge the earth for a too with a balcony. If they even offer them.

Now whilst we don't sit out on one much anymore (DD 15 so no need to stay in drinking sitting out there for adult time) I do hang all our wet/damp stuff up to dry overnight. And there always seems to be loads of it plus towels. I do however enjoy having a peaceful glass of wine out there before going out. Or having a quiet coffee in the morning as I'm always up before everyone else.

So - is there an obvious solution I'm missing? DH thinks I'm being a bit nuts insisting on having one.

How can we get all our stuff dry without one?!!!

Again, I'm aware this is very much an indicator of privilege

Woo-hoo I'm so excited for you! I'm sorry but I don't recall how often the buses were but we got one within only a few minutes of waiting. I do recall missing the last bus after a few too many drinks at an Irish bar in Taormina watching a footie match but we grabbed a taxi back with no problems for about €20. Btw yes it is hair-raising journey but totally safe and it is a coach as opposed to a regular bus so you're high up and have great views down the coast and across to Etna! Oh & we drove to Etna so sorry I can't help regarding hotel pick ups i'm afraid!

Hi Pink, no worries. We will look into trips when we get there. DD has exams this summer and it's going to be a slog so I think she'll be happy with at least a few days of sun, a lounger, a stack of books and great views so she can decompress.

We did in the end add half board as it was only working out about £15 a head each so we'll be happy to do that and then every 2/3 night eat out either in the village or Taormina. Feels pretty affordable still.
So any good good reccs you have would be ace.

And I have my beloved balcony which apparently has an Etna View ❤️

The Etna views are incredible.

Can you tell me what guide that was? Sounds amazing, would love to do that!

We only 'self cater'

I say 'self cater', what it actually means is buying nuts, cheese, olives and wine and crisps etc, having those as snacks and eating all 3 meals out every day.

I hate hotels

Now that's definitely my idea of self catering and do enjoy having room canapés before going out for dinner!

@CatherinedeBourgh This was the tour

https://etnaway.com/en/etna-tours/etna-trekking-tour/

Thank you!!

We only spent 3 nights at Villa Sonia as part of a road trip around Sicily, the best meal we had was at La Caverna which is right next to the hotel, ir has a cave inside and a huge outdoor terrace where i had a delicious swordfish lasagne and the best bottle of red wine I have ever tasted - the Etna wines are unreal! We also had really great pizza at Bar Turrisi (the penis bar!)

We also ate at some place in Taormina which looked lovely but the food was absolutely rank (think burnt steak and processed chicken) so do your restaurant research before eating out in Taormina!

Sorry forgot to reply in an earlier post that the bus down from Castelmola takes about 10 minures x

Sorry forgot to mention that on a return visit to Castelmola this year just for the day we had lunch at La Taverna dell'Etna - I had a mixed grill which wasn't the best tbh but the pasta dishes looked really good! There is a small balcony with THE BEST views of Etna but to get a table right at the front you'll need to book in advance - we booked 3 months in advance and only managed to get a table at the back of the balcony.

Fantastic!!

reading this has reminded me how much I love Italy (spent every spring, autumn and occasionally part of my summer holidays with my nonna in Italy as a little girl).

I might book a little Italian retreat for next autumn as well…

I hope you have a wonderful holiday!

We did it on the bus - it was interesting!!!! The Penis Bar is hilarious.

We're back! Castelmola was utterly beautiful and Villa Sonia lovely, thanks so much for the suggestion!

HUGE balcony although ironically way too hot after lunchtime to sit out until late in the evening but certainly for all our wet items dry! Incredible Etna views too and we saw lava fountains on several nights, what a fantastic show!

Meant to say - we did do half board in the end and actually while the service at dinner was odd at times the food was lovely.

We did wander up the hill into the village for coffee every am and then lunch too. Particularly loved Amuni and Pier De Cat.

€3.50 for a large glass of beautiful Nero De Avolo! Heaven.