Byssus Suites

The Byssus Suites is at via del Porto Grande 2, in Syracuse, in the Umbertine district: this is the historic quarter built between the nineteenth and the twentieth century on the southern headland of the city, the one that stretches towards the island of Ortigia, thick with public buildings and churches. The property grew out of the restoration of a historic house of the early twentieth century, and the location is its first argument: the railway station is four hundred metres away on foot, the Temple of Apollo and Porto Piccolo a little over a kilometre, and Ortigia is reached on foot in about a quarter of an hour. Catania Fontanarossa airport is sixty three kilometres away and the house arranges a transfer at a charge.

Here there are no rooms, only suites, and that is the reason for the name of the house. The Classic ones measure from 35 to 40 square metres, have a king size bed, large windows and in some cases a private hammam. The Deluxe ones are of 45 square metres and add a terrace for exclusive use with a glimpse of the sea and of the masts of the boats in the harbour. The Attic ones are on the top floor, measure from 45 to 50 square metres, and some have a sea view, others a tub or a hammam. The Executive is the largest, sixty square metres for two people, with a real living room, two balconies and a hammam in the room. The Lodge, finally, is an independent annexe of 48 square metres with its own entrance looking on to a private inner patio. The equipment is the same everywhere: free wifi, acoustic insulation, smart tv with Netflix, Apple and Prime Video, a gourmet minibar with local produce, a Nespresso machine, a safe, a premium mattress with topper, a kettle and a sea water toiletry line.

On the wellness front it has to be said precisely what is there and what is missing. There is no shared wellness area: no swimming pool, neither on the site nor on the page of the portal, and no shared spa. What there is lies inside the suites, and it is the private hammam of some Classic suites, of the Attic ones and of the Executive; the booking portal also notes a sauna and lists a suite with a sauna. Anyone who wants to be sure of having the hammam or the tub therefore has to ask for the right category at the time of booking, because not all the suites have them.

On age the source is the booking portal, which states that guests aged twelve and over are welcome: under twelve there is no stay. The official site publishes no figure and does not contradict the information, it simply does not deal with the subject. Pets are not allowed. Smoking is not allowed, parties are not held, and cash is not accepted: payment is by card.

The services around are those of a small, well kept hotel: free parking inside the property, a lift, daily cleaning of the suite, free luggage storage before check in and after check out, free bicycles subject to availability, advice on itineraries, transfers and floral arrangements on request at a charge. The continental breakfast is served every morning and the reception is open from 07.00 to 22.30; arrival is from 15.00 to 22.00 and departure between 08.00 and 11.00. The restaurant is tied to the family business, the Onda Blu, born from the sea of Syracuse in 1979: one place is inside the fish market in the city, where the fish is chosen at the counter or from the tanks, the other is on the sea at Isola.

It suits those who want real space, silence and parking in Syracuse without sleeping inside Ortigia, and those who are looking for a hammam in the room instead of a shared spa. It suits less those who want a swimming pool, a shared wellness area or a direct outlook over the old town.