Torremarabino Reviews

We stayed for four nights at the end of May as the final stop of a fortnight's holiday in Sicily. It is a perfect place in every respect: a building with character, set in beautifully tended grounds and with great views of the countryside around (not least from the terrace on the top of the tower itself). Our room was spacious and comfortable and came with self-catering facilities. All of the staff were very welcoming, friendly and helpful and the general atmosphere was relaxed. We got into conversation with more guests here than at our three previous stopping points combined. The food was excellent and prepared and served with evident - and fully justified - pride. Some excellent and reasonably priced local wines, too. Other reviewers have commented on breakfast - the range and quality of freshly baked savoury and sweet pastries could not be bettered. The Torre fully deserves its five-star rating and the praise heaped upon it by other reviewers

We stayed here for 4 days in June and loved every minute of it.
It's small, stylish, friendly and very well run. Lovely pool and sunbathing area, beautifully kept gardens, nice outdoor terraces, comfortable rooms and excellent food. What more could one ask for?
The staff were friendly, helpful and very professional. We would love to go back.

The room we stayed was probably the best hotel room we ever had since we arrived in Sicily. The hotel is tastefully done and with many characters. The room is sizeable and the bathroom is at top notch condition. I cannot find any fault in this hotel. The staff were very helpful and responsive to the e-mail. We had lunch at the restaurant when we first arrived and I had a great mushroom and fish risotto. The only setback that we could not eat out in the garden for dinner. The dinner was satisfactory, but we expected more.
We would want to stay for one more day but they were fully booked.

Our Superior room at the Relais Torre Marabino was “Moscato”, which was split over two levels. We went down three stone steps into the ground floor (kitchen and living room), then up a staircase to the first floor (bedroom and shower room), from which the ground floor could be seen over the interior balcony. This was a very clever conversion. The ceiling was curved, and whoever tiled the wall of the walk-in shower so beautifully must have been a genius. Our bed was comfortable, and we would recommend this characterful room to other visitors.
Our room was the nearest one to the pool, but the weather was cold and very windy, so we didn’t get the best out of it. The day we moved on was, of course, sunny and warm.
Breakfast, with much to choose from, was well presented and featured the breakfast chef’s own pastries. It was served outside on a sunny terrace under olive trees on our first morning, but came indoors when the weather deteriorated.
In the evening the offer of aperitifs at 7.30pm at 6 euros a head did not seem particularly good value, so we only did this once. It did get us chatting to other guests though and, by the time we left, we had talked loads with countless other visitors. All very friendly.
We ate dinner at the Relais each evening. We like to split a bottle of wine with our food, and didn’t fancy going out and taking our chances at night on the Sicilian roads. Each evening the menu offered different choices of starters (2), second courses (2), mains (2: usually one meat and one fish/veg) followed by whatever puddings were available. The cooking was good, but maybe not quite as good as suggested by the menu and the prices.
The stormy weather meant that we spent more time in the car than we had planned. One day we drove to Capo Passero, where the sea was rather spectacular, then along the coast to Marzamemi, where we enjoyed a picnic lunch watching kitesurfers whizzing across the bay. On another day we went to the old pre-earthquake cave dwellings in the gorges of Ispica’s Parco della Forza, followed by a drive to the Cava d’Ispica. It was astonishing to realise that people lived at these sites from the Bronze Age until the 1900s.

My husband and I have just returned from a week's stay at Torre Marabino. We had a fabulous time. This is a small family run Agriturismo hotel set on a working farm in the Sicilian countryside. You are immediately aware of the peace and tranquility of the site. It is a beautifully restored Saracen tower with large rooms with lofty ceilings. They are simply but comfortably furnished and we had a very well equipped shower room. We were in Don Pasquale with a double aspect looking over the countryside and the beautifully tended gardens. The swimming pool was lovely with sunbeds and sturdy parasols which withstood some fairly hefty breezes during our stay. The garden offered shady spots to read a book and there was a small children's play area. Our meals were served on shady terraces and were excellent. The breakfasts were a real delight with a mix of sweet and savoury pastries, cold meats and cheeses, fresh fruit, a range of juices and excellent coffee. This was all prepared freshly every morning by Elena who has the lightest baker's touch I have ever come across. I will never taste a better croissant or lemon cake. Dinner was a gastronomic delight. Lovely Sicilian food prepared using organic products from the farm where possible. Not a massive choice but this encouraged some adventurous choices such as oysters and a delicious carpaccio of beef. This is an ideal base to explore the SE corner of Sicily. The Towns of Modica, Scicli, Noto and Ragusa offer excellent examples of Sicilian Baroque towns. Also the quaint fishing towns of Marzamemi and Donnalucata are worth a visit. After a morning of exploration we loved to return to this peaceful haven to relax by the pool and look forward to dinner. Idyllic.

We've been 3 times now and have loved each trip. Great wine, exceptional food, wonderful friendly staff. The wine from the Marabino estate is well worth a try, and it's easy to arrange a visit to the vineyard if you fancy a wine tasting opportunity. The moscato is one of the best dessert wines I've tasted (and Sicily is one of the best places to taste it - also try the passito from pantelleria if you can).
It's also very easy to visit the local area if you have a car e.g. Modica, Noto, Syracusa and Ragusa are all within reach (plan for lunch since there are some fantastic options in each). We'd definitely go back

A wonderful Sicilian holiday...made possible by a combination of amazing, friendly and professional staff especially Simona, Lorena, Elena, Luigi and Margarita; superb 'real' food and fab Marabino wines!; this is a magical home from home...everybody was so friendly and helpful. We loved it.

Ci torneremo!

Fergal & Catherine

We stayed for 14 nights in july, This was our second visit to Torre Marabino, the owners and the excellent staff would go to any length to make to make our stay perfect, our room was lovely light and clean with views over the gardens country side and to the sea, the pool and grounds are wonderfuly kept. Breakfasts were a real delight freshly baked by Elena each morning, sweet and savoury pastiries (she should be on Italian bake off) dinner was excellent using fresh organic produce and wine professional and friendly sevice by Luigi and Marghenita.

we would like to thank every one at Torre Marabino for making our second visit just as enjoyable as our first,looking foreward to our next visit

We stayed 5 nights with our family of 5. The Relais is excellent. We had a spacious apartment and enjoyed trips to the nearby beaches. The pool is excellent and the staff very friendly and charming. The stand out food deserves particular mention. The food is gourmet with a very talented chef and the serving staff are exceptionally friendly, knowledgeable and accommodating. All in all excellent