Costa Verde in Cefalu

At first appearances the hotel looks modern clean and luxurious. Within an hour I was starting to question things. We arrived after a very early flight but inbetween restaurant times. The only snack available was a tiny cheese toastie which when ordered felt like a massive inconvenience. There are no access to shops that sell snacks apart from one in reception that is only open for a couple of hours a day. We were then told that the water park was closed, as was the pool bar and all the restaurants apart from the main one. The room was lovely and clean with a breathtaking view but there was no air conditioning and the hotel is situated on a busy main road so leaving the door open at night is very noisy. The beds were harder than concrete with thin hard sheets and one pillow each. 2 more pillows were brought up upon request. There was no tea and coffee making facilities in the room, no bottled water and soon found out that water was charged at €3 a bottle unless you wanted a tiny plastic cup of water from the bar. They also wouldn’t fill up my water bottle. For someone who only drinks water this was a massive inconvenience. Absolutely loads of drinks and extras were not part of the all inclusive. To purchase any of these you had to load money into your wrist band at reception and then go back to the bar. Such a long winded process. You couldn’t even load up money on your wrist band becuase whatever you didn’t use wouldn’t be refunded at the end of the holiday! Such a con. The food was lovely but on the cold side, you were given your own table to eat at for the duration of your stay. The restaurant offered gorgeous panoramic view of sunset at dinner time and it was all very clean. The shuttle bus to town is chargeable and there is also a 10 minute bus to the beach which from the pictures online is misleading. There was no food and drink available at the beach, no shops, no restaurants. There was about 6 sun beds lined up with no shade. The beach is clean and pebbly and sea very still. All in all I feel like I’ve been mislead about the facilities available. As a single parent entertaining a 10 year old it was pretty tough as most of the activities (mini golf, ping pong etc) were only available at limited times and the selling point of the holiday (waterpark) wasn’t open! The pool was super cold so you couldn’t even just spend the day messing around in that! The hotel looks like it has the potential to be lovey but I just feel totally ripped off and dehydrated!!!! When you pay for an all inclusive you expect to be able to fill up your water bottle. Also I’m not sure if it was me being a bit paranoid but I felt like the staff didn’t like English people. They seemed to be more engaging and respondent to the French or Italian guests. A lot of the time I felt a bit of an inconvenience . Cefalu town was worth a visit and the best day of our holiday was spent at Cefalu beach. They had a lovely pizza restaurant right on the beach front. All in all

Hotel staff are beyond rude when asking a question we were shouted no at or shamed in the centre of the reception area. The all inclusive was far from all inclusive mijority of drinks had to be paid for even after paying for the all inclusive package. The food was vile all options contained fish the fresh salad was dirty and servers in the restaurant had the same attitude as reception staff. Upon arrival we were informed nothing about a “city tax payment” we discovered this upon checkout. Our passports were taken from us at check in for the first 24hours of our stay due to “data protection”. We came as 4 people my partner paid over £4,000 for this holiday that we were told included access to the waterpark, a hot run balcony with sea view and our 2 other friends had no booking for a balcony and paid half to what he did, to get to the room to find out we had exactly the same room and no hot tub for double the price, this was when we asked reception and shouted at and shamed in the reception. We were then informed the waterpark was closed and had been for most of the year! With no e-mail or information about this. I entered the ladies toilet located by the restaurant and the sinks were full of sick we informed reception and nothing was done about it at all. I would not recommend this hotel to anyone - A complete waste of money.

As soon as you walk into the hotel, you’re met with an atmosphere of class and luxury. The reception area and communal facilities are beautiful, and the reception and information staff were incredibly helpful and attentive. At first glance, the hotel seems amazing. However, the longer you stay, the more inconsistencies you begin to notice and unfortunately, some of which can negatively affect your overall experience. Check In The first red flag appeared at check-in, although we didn’t pay much attention to it at the time. When you check in, the hotel staff ask for your passport to record your details as a guest while you complete some paperwork such as GDPR and data protection consent forms, which is perfectly normal. However, either of us have never stayed in a hotel that kept my passport overnight, only returning it the following morning once I had handed in the signed consent form. It felt unusual and unnecessary, and in hindsight, a little concerning. The Room A week before our flight, my partner and I looked up more photos of the hotel and were surprised and a little worried to find pictures of rooms that looked like they hadn’t been renovated since 2005. We noticed these photos were from 2013, so we assumed the hotel must have been updated since then. We had originally booked a mountain-view room but were upgraded at check-in to a sea-view room, which was beautiful, modern, and offered a breathtaking view. However, during our stay we realised that the old rooms from those 2013 photos still existed those were the mountain-view rooms. We caught glimpses of them while walking past, and to be honest, we were horrified by their condition - if the sea view rooms (or the lucury suites) are taken, we believe there is no point in even considering booking. Our own room, while lovely, was missing some basic amenities. The biggest disappointment was the lack of a kettle, cups, or instant coffee. If you wanted a morning coffee, you had to get dressed and go to the food court. So, if you’re hoping to enjoy a quiet coffee on your balcony while watching the sunrise you can forget about it. The bed was moderately comfortable, but we were surprised to find no proper duvet. Instead, there was a thin sheet-like fabric and a stiff bed cover. It wasn’t very cozy, though this may be a cultural difference. The Food While the food was acceptable, the selection was heavily focused on fish. Meat options were very limited, and when available, they were often fatty and full of bones, making it difficult to find enjoyable. if you are into fitness, you are not going to find many options for protein. On a positive note, the desserts and pastries were incredible. There is a pizza restaurant they offer (which you book separately) whcih offers fresh, delicious Italian-style pizza. All-Inclusive Experience We booked an all-inclusive package, but it didn’t really feel that way. There were no drinks in the mini-fridge not even bottled water. If you wanted water,

The hotel staff are absolutely rude, dont know how to speak English, seem very agitated when speaking to you. Only Alessandra on the information desk is the only kind staff, shes helpful and very understanding. The animation crew are trying their best to entertain the guests with the limited facilities they have. The hotel itself seems to be catering for Italians and French retired people. Majority of the guests are old people. The hotel pool is the only nice thing to enjoy throughout the day. The location is full of greenery and good scenery however you have to use the bus to explore as everything is quite far. You have to pay for the bus tickets. Wifi DOES NOT WORK, even when they say free wifi available. I told the receptionist and yet this was not looked into. THE HOTEL IS NOT ALL INCLUSIVE EVEN WHEN IT CLAIMS IT IS. They still make you pay for food/ snacks at the bar, 99% of the drinks are to be paid for. They have a specific time for the “free options” such as 4-5pm sandwiches are free. Only a bottle of water is available to drink at lunch and dinner along with their own red and white wine. No other options. Food at lunch dinner and breakfast is not amazing. Its passable but not much variety at all especially in the vegetarian options. All in all I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND. People here are not very friendly at all they seem greedy to make money so they charge you for every little thing.

Hotel Costa Verde is a beautiful building with lovely pools and very photogenic views and that is honestly all I can say in their favour. I feel as though the hotel was grossly missold to us through Jet2 as somewhere that British tourists can enjoy and relax in the Sicilian countryside, however I have never felt more unwelcome and looked down upon by both guests and staff alike. When we arrived we were told absolutely nothing about how the hotel runs, the receptionist spoke almost no English and just took our passports and gave us a key card. Due to this, the first two days was a constant struggle to find our way around and a learning curve that was not relaxing at all. The food and drink is utterly abysmal for an all inclusive 4-star hotel, as you cannot even have a simple mixed drink, no, if you want a drink it has to be something from the long list of syrupy mistakes they call “cocktails” (im not joking - you can order vodka, grenadine, kiwi syrup and pineapple juice but god forbid you want a rum and coke without paying the hotel even more money?). The buffet was clearly designed with only the local guests in mind, which meant that there was regularly nothing pleasant to eat aside from bread and tomatoes. The chefs are utterly incompetent also, as we were subjected to raw sausages. I’m sure that would be great for those of us who love dinner with a side of tapeworms or don’t want to pay for Mounjaro? On another occasion we also had mussels which were very gritty and tasted as if they were found in the depths of a food bin, yum. The air conditioning had absolutely laughable air pressure akin to shaking an a4 sheet of paper and is turned off halfway through september; apparently 30 degrees is an acceptable temperature for guests to be unable to escape during half of their trip. We spent most of our trip sad, sweating and hungry, so if you enjoy that combination Hotel Costa Verde is the place to be!

Wow, what a huge disappointment. Staff not particularly welcoming, bar staff miserable as hell (the men, not so much the woman) never smiled. Rooms are adequate but not fantastic, no water in the room, no tea /coffee making facilities and the bar staff limit 2 drinks to be served per individual despite the fact we are a family of 3. 2nd week, hotel looks to be full but they still won’t open all of the restaurants or bars! No swimming towels provided either…. Lastly the food, incredibly basic and seriously boring,

The hotel is very remote, everywhere is a bus ride away, even the beach (there is a free shuttle bus) You are trapped in the hotel unless you have transport. There are no other restaurants and bars in the walkable vicinity. The hotel staff are not overly friendly other than on the night that they leave a tip envelope on your table in the restaurant. Food is pretty rubbish and not much for kids, other than plain pasta with tomato sauce or some other green stuff that looked unappealing. We paid for all inclusive and would have expected ice creams to be available for the kids, sadly they are not included and have to be purchased. Free ice cream is available at meal times only as a desert, and even then you are served two small scoops in a bowl. Water is available in small plastic cups from a water dispenser at the pool bar only. Do not try and fill a water bottle up as this is frowned upon. Water in any volume is available to buy at €2.50 for a litre. (There are no local shops to buy water from). All drinks (other than beer) are served in small receptacles and are packed with ice to ensure a short measure. At the time of our visit there was only one night out of the week which they provided evening entertainment. And that was a chap singing to a backing track. Definitely not worth paying for all inclusive. Very poor value for money. On a positive note, whilst you are tucking into your evening meal there is a lovely sunset. Summary : Disappointing