Domina Zagarella Sicily

I wasn't going to write a review about this hotel as I was so disappointed with our stay but having just come back from an amazing holiday in Crete I decided that this hotel needed a fair and honest review. The check in process is very efficient and quick. It seems that they have that down to a fine art. There after there is no guest services as the desk staff are very unhelpful if you go with a problem or concern. The hotel is very clean although tired but one can't fault their hygiene standards. This hotel has so much potential and it is clear that the staff aren't happy as it shows in their awful, rude, disinterested attitude. However housekeeping on the other hand can't do enough and are polite and smiling people. We booked a prestige sea view room. They claim they gave us one but I would not call it that at all. We instead got a side view room and if you walked to the end of the balcony you could see the sea. Why advertise that the hotel has more sea view rooms that it does? Rather call it what it is... a partial/side sea view with limited views! The food is much to be desired overall. It is a poor breakfast. The scrambled eggs are watery and bacon under cooked. The salads are mostly served with limp lettuce and there is a lot of repetition in the meals served. I am not a fan of the canteen type buffet area as it lacks character and no view. We tried Cava once and that wasn't much better - they are understaffed and the food was tasteless. Despite the hotel having amazing views and lovely pools there are a few things that need to be addressed: Sunbeds - there are clearly not enough...don't bother on the weekend as they let local residents and D Club members in so you have no chance. It is chaos if the hotel is full and during the week guests book them before breakfast. We were shocked that as paying guests of the hotel, the D Club/local day visitors got preferential treatment. A simple solution would be getting more surely? Small children - since when is it acceptable to allow children to swim in dirty nappies? We saw this on a number of occasions and I was horrified. This was not an isolated family or time either. Overall it was a stay that won't be repeated.

We arrived here by car, being welcomed by a guy at the entrance saying we can park outside for 7 euro’s per night. At the reception they told us we can park for 12 euro’s a night. There’s no other place to park, so you are forced to use these facilities. These costs are not communicated up front and feel like a scam. But this is just the beginning of their greed.

In the hotel perimeters, they have some “””restricted””” areas for “d club members”. You will get bothered by people trying to lure you into a drink at the bar, before asking you for 15.000 euro’s to become a member of the d club.

The actual staff doesn’t really speak English, but that doesn’t matter as they don’t really acknowledge your presence either way. They will only interact with you if you ask them something and even then they will do it with minimal interaction.

The beds are as hard as wood, but you can get a topper. That doesn’t really help, as they are very soft. My backs hurts a lot after sleeping here.

The walls of the rooms are made of cardboard. You can hear everything that’s going on in the hallway or in the rooms next to you.

The bathrooms are clean and spacious, so that’s a plus. The shower also has a good beam of water.

The salt water pool is relaxing and clean. It’s a nice spot to sit in the morning, but do know that you will be bothered by people trying to sell you tours and activities, even when you tell them not to.

All in all I would not recommend this place. It feels like a money grab and the personnel doesn’t really care about you. It’s in the middle of nowhere and they take full advantage of this by overcharging a lot.