Una Hotel One Spa & Wellness ★★★★

My younger daughter's birthday was coming up and, to help her relax from her university pressure, we headed somewhere we were guaranteed a good dose of vitamin D, culinary adventures, quintessential sandy beaches and glorious history. My daughter offered to search for an Uno hotel, after having amazing memories of her stay in one in Rome. She was excited to find one in Syracuse, the ancient port town in south-east Sicily. The Una Hotel **** is part of a network of Italian hotels which are fast getting a name for being the next big thing. They're designed with the contemporary traveller in mind and in Syracuse we found a fusion of Eastern influences with a celebration of technology, sleek ultra-modern design within a casual, yet professional, atmosphere. Una invites you to serve your own food from the gourmet buffet, wear your bathrobes from the spa if you so choose, and use the wellness therapies for personal rejuvenation. But for all its laidback attitude, the Una Hotel doesn't skimp on luxury.

Standing as a crossroads and crucible of Mediterranean culture, there are few places in Europe more exotic and historic than Sicily. Syracuse was one of ancient Greece's most important cities. Honey-coloured and decadent in its Baroque architecture, and with much older foundations still, it's now a lively and vibrant coastal city. There are cathedrals, churches, amphitheatres, monasteries and archaeological remains to keep the most ardent history-lover happy. But it isn't just the glorious dusty past that attracts people to this part of Sicily. Hotel Una is an example of the innovative and creative spirit pushing Syracuse into a new era.

When you enter the hotel you can tell it's something different. The décor is stylish black and white contrasts with ambient lighting, and striking use of colour. The furniture is futuristic and minimalist. Our room was spacious and sleek with those personally chosen pillows, luxurious linens and comfortable beds. Our balcony was the perfect place from which to enjoy a sundowner too, if we weren't up on the sky roof! The sky roof sunroof is fantastic with big funky chairs, lush foliage, and candles flickering; a vibrant space from which to relax, enjoy the setting sun, the view, and the social atmosphere in the evening. In the Una Hotel you don't feel separated from the city you are visiting: you feel as if you are staying in one of its melting pots.

The hotel isn't very central, but we didn't mind as it had so much to offer. There was a complimentary thirty minute massage with our room which got us in the mood for spa-style relaxation. The pool at Una is totally memorable - set into real rock, illuminated by warm lights and candles; it's a luxury healing cave. There's also a Hammam and a Finnish sauna. Their beauty clinic provides private and nourishing spaces for personal treatments, which we sampled. At Una they promote 'Wellness' medicine, a branch of therapies which works to re-establish the psychophysical balance. To help you get physical, there's a well-equipped gym too.

When we did feel the need to leave the dreamy world inside Una, we wandered the beautiful streets of Syracuse, ate out on bustling squares full of old-world charm and wonder, sampled gelato from tiny vendors and shopped in the boutique stores and bustling markets. We drove along the stunning Sicilian coast too, where elemental views of the sea and sky meet pristine sandy beaches and provided long heady days of beach-side bliss. But it is our time in the Una Hotel that we'll remember when we think of Syracuse!