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Working in our hostel spiritually enriches you. You will make new friends, know people from all over the world and learn how to approach guests in the best way possible! Moreover in exchange for work you will obviously have your free time to enjoy Sicily, Mt. Etna, Taormina and all the beautiful places Sicily offers.
I'm Gianni, Gianni House's manager: it is a family run hostel located in the area of Giardini-Naxos/Taormina. Our aim is to create the meeting point is Sicily, that's why we are searching for people from all over the world who can help us in our project: we deeply believe that anyone of you could be helpful to us and could add something special to our hostel! Volunteers will be treated as they're part of the family, they will have accomodation and a typical Italian breakfast included. Moreover the atmosphere here is really friendly so it will be easy to make friends with the family, the staff members and all the guests. Some of the mansions include welcoming guests at their arrival giving them tips about the places they can visit, helping them in case they need suggestions, showing them the room where they'll stay and the hostel, and finally cleaning the common areas.
Canada
Gianni and Grazie are so nice but they live off site. This means that when people ring the doorbell in the middle of the night or need help when you aren’t working you are still responsible to help as there is no one else there. Also, I was there three weeks so should have had two days off. I only ended up with two days off because they counted my travel day as a day off. Finally, it can get very lonely. Despite being told that there would be other volunteers, I was the only one. The hostel itself is very nice and cozy and the beach town is also nice. Thank you Gianni for welcoming me!
8 days ago
Hello Grace and thank you for your help!
Other volunteers were supposed to work at the hostel with you but eventually they cancelled their stay and you can imagine that it is difficult to find a substitute in a short span of time.
Canada
I had a great time at Gianni House, the tasks were easy, only had to do the check-ins and keeping the common areas clean. The hostel is super well located, at walking distance of everything, beach, food, bus station.. Also the owners were welcoming and so kind. Sicily is beautiful and this volunteering is a great way to explore it, I totally recommend it!
8 months ago
Ireland
Overall I had a really good experience at Gianni House. This was my first time working in a hostel and after a week I felt I understood how a hostel functions. But this came from a lot of 'learning on the job'. There is no training provided which can lead to disagreements with the hosts if communication isn't clear and respectful. I never had issues with this but other volunteers were often unhappy with the way they were spoken to, including being scolded in front of guests. Despite all this I had no big issues here, I learned a lot and had a great time speaking Italian with Graziella.
9 months ago
Hello Brian and thanks for your review.
Your help at the hostel was fundamental to go through the season.
Unfortunately, this was a very complicated season for us due to personal problems as well, and we thank you for being comprehensive. We thank you for your feedback and we will make sure your suggestions will be heard and put in place. It was very nice meeting you and we hope to see you soon!
United States
Gianni the owner means well. But he put me up in an apt 20 minutes from the hostel with no hot water or wifi, and refused to let me stay at the hostel even tho no one told me that would be the case. He is very inflexible and doesn’t train the volunteers yet gets mad at them when they don’t do things he never said to do. It’s very empty not too many guests and disorganised. That being said he means well and is a lovely man. It’s not in Taormina very far from “life”. If you don’t care it’s a lovely place to go and go beaching for a while but that got boring for me so I left.
10 months ago
Denmark
I worked here in June which is a bit out of season and therefore the hostel was very quite (not as crowded as in the pictures). But the work was just as I expected, very perfect for first time volunteers because you learn a lot about the hostel-culture and the tasks in the reception are easy. 5 hours of work 6 days per week where you have the opportunity to talk to the guests and relax.
It’s a great place to go if you like to enjoy the summer, be in the nature, have time alone and relax. Sicily is full of beautiful nature and Gianni House is relaxing and a very friendly place.
11 months ago
