B&B Baglio Santa Croce in Porto Empedocle

I am also unsure about the reliability of a lot of the positive reviews that I have read, most of which are glowing while suspiciously non-specific. The place is objectively below standards, the owners are probably struggling financially and thus trying to run a low-budget operation -- and it shows. But it is not really a cheap place to stay either... The room is clean (but as noted by others, that is a must), comfortable and spacious, that much I agree with, and the air conditioner works (something that one cannot take for granted in Europe) but that is basically where the positives end. This is why I am giving it two stars instead of one. The location is inconvenient, In order to get just about anywhere it is necessary to walk up a steep hill and that can be a problem for people with limited mobility, no supermarket in the immediate vicinity and there is no public transportation available; hence, one must call a taxi or just walk. If one drives one's own car, the B&B has parking but there is a charge. The owner/manager is never on the premises and can only be reached via WhatsApp; if you need assistance and do not use that app, you're out of luck. The fridge in the room is functional but very tiny, and because (see below) one will likely need to buy one's own food (especially for breakfast), the small size is inconvenient. Alright, now we come to the breakfast part -- after all, that is what a B&B gets half of its name from. Um, wait... breakfast? What breakfast? Are you kidding me? As far as I am concerned, whatever it is that they have is no "breakfast" by any stretch of imagination. Breakfast is only served from 8 to 9:30, which already makes it inconvenient because people on vacation like to start their day earlier than that. One walks into this furnace that is the breakfast room (there is an air conditioner but they keep it off to save money), the person in charge greets you and offers you one teeny tiny croissant and some barely drinkable coffee (brownish hot water basically). There is a table where you find literally vending machine snacks (still wrapped in plastic), a sliced honeydew melon and no other pieces fruit (not even bananas), a few other supermarket items (e.g., 4-5 commercial yogurt cups, jam etc.), two jars of fruit juice (non-standard flavors), a few slices of swiss cheese and ham, stale sliced bread and a few hard boiled eggs and a cake from jurassic age... that's it. No water, no butter, no local/fresh pastries, no scrambled eggs, no vegetables, no orange juice. And if that's not enough, they do not replenish anything, so, you get there late... oops, too bad... Thankfully it is Sicily and there are plenty of places where one can go and enjoy amazing food for relatively little money but that is no reason for a B&B to fall so catastrophically short. I am quite sure that for the same money one can do much better in that area, so before you settle for this (as the very last option), do your own research. Not recommen