Hotel Signum

A wonderful hotel in beautiful surroundings - lovely pool with views out to Stromboli and an excellent restaurant, particularly for lunches. The rooms are small and not luxurious, but well-appointed, clean and pleasant, especially if you request a sea view. We had number 25 and the view was spectacular.

The only let-down was the concierge, who had to be pushed to organise a couple of things for us. If your time at Signum is limited, I would advise emailing in advance to arrange excursions that require anything other than public transport. The things that he did arrange for us in the end though were great.

Highly recommended - a wonderfully relaxing place to spend a few days.

We had a great time at the hotel, drinks on the terrace watching the sun go down was a must every day! Although we were only there for three days, we made good use of the buses on the island. There are some fantastic walks, catch the bus from near the hotel to Leni and walk up Mount Fossa delle Felci, you get views of Salina and the other Aeolian islands (on a good day you can see Etna). The walk is four hours up and down in total, but well worth it.

Head out of the back door of the hotel down a small path and follow the road round to the left. Here you will find a small gate with a menu next to it. Through the gate and down some stairs you will be in the hotel's bar, Santa Isabel Lounge. Perched on a rocky outcrop with unparalleled views of the sunset, cushions and comfy sofas are liberally strewn around the pavillion. Accompanied with some very mellow music, it's the perfect place for a few sundowners before heading back to Signum for some more heavenly pasta.

We have recently returned from a fantastic holiday at the Signum hotel on Salina. We spent the days exploring this fabulous island and one day found ourselves in Santa Maria (where the ferry lands) and happened upon Nni Lausta. To say the owner Fabio Giuffre is a character is an understatement and its worth popping in for a bite just to be entertained, but the real star of the place is the fabulous food, whipped up in a huge kitchen at the back of the restaurant by the man himself and several other talented cooks. The food on Salina tends to be whatever the fishing boat brought in that day, so just go in and see what is on the menu. You can also pick up presents to take home from their deli. Highly recommended.

We had come to hear about two wineries on Salina island: Capofaro and Il Principe. The thing is, we never went to any of the two, because we loved Signum so much. The food was great, but the wine was extraordinary.

As for other parts of Sicily, we have been to, there were two very nice restaurants in Catania: Osteria i Tre Bicchieri and Osteria Antica Marina. The first one is a good dinner place, romantic and elegant. However, the second one was my favourite because the food they served was fresh and we could order from the vetrina – they bring suitable wine for the meal you pick.  The food was really good, especially the black spaghetti (made from cuttlefish).

Another high point for us was at La Botte in Cefalu. This is a very small trattoria that has a very select list of food, but it is worth it for the taste and the atmosphere.