Les Sables Noirs & Spa

Les Sables Noir is THE choice for Vulcano, a "resort" town of low quality. Our apartment (we stayed five days) had a large bedroom and large sitting/dining room with kitchenette, plus nice bathroom. A/C was efficient but noisy. No utensils but useful fridge freezer and sink. Our room (109) was on the corner, facing the beach. Great for the view and access, but not for privacy. The bad eggs smell from the mud baths occasionally wafted over, but not too bad on beach side. It's a 10 min walk to the port. Tip: make sure you call to for pickup or it's a case-dragging walk in the heat down a dusty road. There is no information at all at the hotel, not a single sheet of paper (why not?), so ask questions about the hotel and Vulcano. The rooftop bar would have had more than its 2 or 3 customers a night if someone even told the guests it existed! Also, the restaurant is for breakfast (adequate, but nothing hot - cold bacon and eggs?!? Weird.) and a snack lunch only, not for dinner, so you have to trek along the dark (take a torch), dusty road to the "town", with its terrible bars and grotty pizzerias. They could make a fortune here by opening and publicising that restaurant in the evenings, as the only decent one available. Great small private beach area with good quality shaded sunbeds on the black sands, but charging 6 Euros a day for a couple of towels? Pathetic for a place of this overall standard. The pool was nice, but has no shallow end, so poor for non-swimmers and kids.

This was my favorite hotel on my trip to the Aeolian Islands - it is located right on the black sand beaches and has a gorgeous pool as well. The breakfast is the best in Sicily (at least in my experience) and all the staff is extremely helpful. I arrived and was upgraded to a lovely room with two terraces because my original room had a broken toilet. The original room was beautiful too though - right on the pool with a terrace as well. I do not think there is a bad room in the entire hotel.

What the hotel may lack in updated decor and arguably maintenance, it more than compensates for with service and its sunset views. Starting with the pickup from the port, to the people at reception who very willingly helped us organize everything, including our tickets out of Vulcano. It really made for a fun atmosphere for the duration of our stay, which we extended by three days, not wanting to leave. We also got a great deal on hotels.com, which made it all the more enjoyable. (note that if you are paying rack rates, you may not be getting the best value for money, but there are not many alternatives on the island).