March 2025. We’re embarking on a train trip to Sicily. We fly from Brussels Airport to Leonardo da Vinci Rome Fiumicino Airport with ITA Airways. Then we take an Intercity Notte sleeper train by Trenitalia from Roma Termini Railway Station across Italy to Syracuse. Yes, the train is loaded on a ferry to cross the Strait of Messina. After visiting Syracuse, Catania and Palermo, we return to Rome, and home. With 25,832 km², Sicily is only 20% smaller than Belgium (30,689 km²). Quite a lot in four days.

In Syracuse we stayed at the Boutique Hotel Caporticia, located next to the park in between the station and the Ortygia Island. It’s a small hotel inside an old building with a modern design on the inside.

We had a standard room facing the interior courtyard. There was a big bed in the middle of the room with a desk and a TV opposite it.

In the desk was a well-stocked minibar and on top was a water kettle with tea and instant coffees. There were also two complimentary bottles of water

Next to both beds are power plugs to charge your devices. On one side next to the desk you have a window opening up to the interior courtyard, on the other side you have a deep closet.

The bathroom is separated from the bedroom by a frosted glass wall. While it gives privacy in that you can’t see into the bathroom you still can hear everything, which is not optimal.

The bathroom has a toilet and a bidet, a single sink and a good size walk-in shower. The shower door closes well so you don’t flood the bathroom and you can choose between a ceiling mounted rainforest shower and a handheld one.

Toiletries are still small individual ones. The toilet paper is recycled paper which Timothy didn’t particularly like.

On the rooftop the hotel has a nice panoramic terrace, there they also have a jacuzzi for hotel guests to use. The jacuzzi incurs a fee of €50 for an hour per use and obligatory reservation but includes the use of slippers and bathrobes as well as a glass of prosecco and a fruit plate.

The receptionist proposed us the 17:30 to 18:30 so housekeeping could set everything up. When it was time however nothing was set up but as soon as we went to inquire at reception they rushed to let us in the pool and came to bring the bathrobes, slippers, prosecco and fruit plate later. Despite this hiccup the receptionist really gave us the best timeslot of the day as we could enjoy a beautiful sunset from the jacuzzi.

In the morning the breakfast was served in the Il Tirrano restaurant, they had a beautiful buffet. Contrary to what you would expect in Italy it had an almost 50% savoury and 50% sweet offering.

They really emphasised local products which did enhance the breakfast experience. Coffee and hot chocolate where made by the barista and delivered to the table, juices and tea where self-service from the buffet. You could also order some eggs made to order from the menu included in the price of the buffet or order different dishes at an additional cost.

The second evening of our stay we decided to try out the €120 6-course menu of the chef, in which we didn’t know what we were served in advance, all to the chef’s discretion. It was very delicious and if you ever do stay here we really recommend trying it out.

We had a wonderful stay at the Caportigia Boutique Hotel and can only recommend staying here. Its excellent location, small scale and wonderful personalised experience really made it shine.

Sicily & Rome 2025

1. REVIEW | Brussels Airport Diamond Lounge at A-Gates.
2. REVIEW | ITA Airways Business Class Brussels to Rome.
3. ROME | Afternoon tea at Hotel Hassler Roma on top of the Spanish Steps.
4. REVIEW | Trenitalia Intercity Notte in Superior (Excelsior) Class.
5. SICILY | Neapolis Archeological Park of Syracuse.
6. SYRACUSE | Ortygia.