Sicily

I have just returned from a super holiday at the Costa Verde Hotel, Cefalu, Sicily and would return again in the blink of an eye. It just goes to show that you should never believe everything that you read on tripadvisor as this is a great hotel and super value for money. I had arranged low-cost flights from Dublin to Palermo and a car-hire from Palermo airport for a week as the transfer costs meant that it was more cost effective to do that than pay for a taxi. From Palermo it took around an hour and a half to drive to Cefalu. One advantage of arriving in the evening was that the roads were a lot quieter and the journey from the airport went really well, motorway practically the whole way. We arrived quite late at the hotel, but they had arranged a light supper for all their late arriving guests, nothing fancy – a salad and some cold meats and a drink, but a lovely touch all the same. The Hotel Costa Verde is a large hotel and our rooms were quite a way from the reception but they were very big indeed, each with TV and fridge and huge balconies. We had arranged to go all-inclusive so we used the restaurants daily. Breakfast is continental style, consisting of breads, fruit juice, ham, cheese, cereals and good coffee it was great! This was the only meal taken in the indoor restaurant The other meals were superb, all eaten in the outdoor restaurant where your table is reserved for your entire stay. At every meal there was great choice, pasta, pizza, always a seafood option and a meat carvery with lovely salads. Service in the restaurants was great, tables cleared constantly and any requests handled promptly. Local Sicilian red and white wines and bottled water accompanied lunch and dinner. The hotel offers free Wi-Fi in the reception area, for all guests and has a full entertainment and sports programme. The majority of guests are Italian and French so the entertainment provided by the young animation team is geared around them. However everyone is welcome to participate and it was great to see my two boys having loads of fun taking part in the daily water-polo matches despite not being able to talk to their team mates. Seriously if you do not enjoy being with other nationalities, or only want a hotel that caters to British/Irish clients then go somewhere else as this is not for you, if you enjoy mixing with others then this is an ideal hotel! Personally I love mixing with loads of other nationalities, this one of the reasons why I go abroad on holiday. Every member of staff in the hotel I found to be extremely helpful and they all made our stay very pleasant. I would recommend hiring car, Cefalu is about five miles away and definitely worth a visit, there is a hotel shuttle bus which goes regularly to the town but the freedom of the car means that you can go as often as you want, when you want. There is also good parking in Cefalu along from the public beach. The narrows streets (where you walk, don’t try to drive on them) leads you up to the lovely cathedral, there are loads of good souvenir shops. The hotel also has its own beach (about a mile away) which is reached by a shuttle bus and there is an Aqua Park across the road. Guests in the Costa Verde usually get one admission to the Aqua Park during their stay but have to pay for their sun bed hire like all the other visitors. For our return trip although we checked out of our own room by 10.30am we were welcome to use the facilities of the hotel until we left and were provided with a room to change and shower in before we left, this was all done without any fuss or extra charge. All inclusive I found to be great value with soft drinks for the kids especially worthwhile. The bar staff like everyone else in the hotel were helpful, friendly and professional. Cefalu is a beautiful town and well worth a visit, the old streets are just full of character. Overall a great memorable holiday and a super introduction to Sicily, I fully expect to return to Sicily again.