We booked a stay for JULY and have the receipt email showing the correct dates that we selected. We…read morewere charged for a stay in JANUARY. Hotel Villa Romana repeatedly refused to give a refund or honor the July reservation. Staff is extremely rude.

The Hotel Villa Romana is set in a bay on the south coast of Sicily, near the tourist attraction…read morethe Turkish Steps and a few kilometres from the birthplace of Luigi Pirandello (1867-1937) a Nobel prize-winning author. It is also convenient if you are visiting the valley of the Temples in nearby Agrigento. The hotel offers 4-star accomodation in a 0-star setting. Porto Empedocle itself is little more than an ugly fishing port and shipping town, pervaded by a strong smell of sardines and fuel oil. The beach is litter-strewn, with unpleasant grey-brown sand and piles of washed-up rotting seaweed. The promenade, such as it is, consists of a featureless road, totally lacking in cafes and restaurants, backed by some holiday homes which look the worse for wear, and a few warehouses daubed with grafitti. In this context, the hotel does its best to keep your spirits up. The staff are pleasant and helpful, there's a nice bar and lounge, a decent restaurant with well-presented but pricey food, and the rooms are spacious and comfortable. The breakfast is a treat. Yet one can't help but feel that the hotel is struggling; some of the usual creature comforts in the rooms were missing, the pillow (singular!) was like a rock, the wifi took an hour to set up, the private beach was more Southend than Sicily. If you are travelling along the southern coast, there's not much in the way of hotels, believe me. Avoid it if you can, and go day-trip to the Valley of Temples. But if you must stay down here, Villa Romana is at least civilised. It'll cost you 100 Euro+ just for B&B.

I recently booked two rooms at this hotel and, unfortunately, my experience was far from what I had…read morehoped for. I booked the presidential suite room 201, and was extremely let down upon arrival. The room was outdated, showing signs of wear and tear that suggested it hadn't been remodeled in decades. For the hefty price of $2,400 a night, I expected a much more luxurious and not dated room. My other room 101 was actually nicer and 1/2 the price. After expressing my concerns, the staff did offer me a different room 105 that had been remodeled, although it was not a suite. While I appreciated the effort, it was disappointing to have to downgrade when I had specifically booked a suite for that price. They mentioned they would speak to the booking agency regarding the price difference or possibly cover my dinner as compensation. However, at the end of my stay, I was surprised to find that nothing was taken off my bill. The hotel is situated in an amazing location. However, the outdated rooms and the lack of care from the staff left much to be desired. I felt that the staff didn't prioritize guest satisfaction, which really detracted from the overall stay. Overall, I cannot recommend this hotel unless significant changes are made to both the accommodations and the level of service. It's a shame, as this place has so much potential in such a prime location. Knowing other real luxury resorts are near the area we will just stay there next year.

Very nice restored villa. The views of the Valley of the Temples are outstanding. The pool and…read morethe grounds are beautiful and well manicured. Lots of safe parking. Their restaurant is amazing and the food is great. 5 stars for the service, beds, and especially the towels, some of the best towels I've ever used. The missing 5th star is because of the noise in the room. You can hear other sounds from surrounding guests, talking, showers, toilets flushing etc. It's a 200 year old building so perfection in this area can't be expected, just thought it was worth mentioning.

From the owner: Hotel and Resortread more

Great place to stay just down the road from Scala Dei Turche…read more The place looks brand new. The A/C was a bit weak, the electronic key system for the lights didn't work (they used regular keys, and the key insert on the wall kept flashing at night...a bit annoying) and the internet didn't appear to work...didn't realize it until late and didn't want to go ask the staff. They did have a wireless range extender in the room though, so I'm sure they have it if you have the password. Ok, those were the fairly minor drawbacks. This is the only reason I'm not giving 5 stars, and it's hard for me to do that. This place is awesome! They don't speak English, but we can stumble through with Google Translate, and the staff was really friendly. Don't think they have many tourists here, but I like it that way. The place is literally across the street from the beach with a shower in front of the building. Costa del Sol is the small building right next to the big hotel on the right. You can't use the pool at the hotel unless you pay 10 Euro extra, but you're at the beach. I wasn't looking to use the pool anyway. The breakfast...Literally, the best breakfast I've had in Italy in three weeks. Crepes made fresh. Fresh juice. Yogurt. Whatever coffee you want. Crepes were fresh out of the oven...trust me, don't miss their breakfast. If they are out of your favorites, they will make more for you. I will stay here several nights next time I'm back in the area. I love that there are few tourists around, great food in the area, proximity to the beach, immaculate and clean rooms that look brand new, entire hotel looks immaculate and luxury, and friendly staff.

From the owner: B&B Costa del Sol e' specializzata nelle escursioni.read more

Decided to take a trip to the Vally of Temples while we were in Sicily. Found this on a travel app…read moreand decided to give it a try because of its positive reviews! I am SO HAPPY that we did. Daniel, who checked us in, is AMAZING!! Friendly, professional and had the most wonderful suggestions for restaurants to have dinner. We chose one of his recommendations, Kokalos, which offers spectacular view of Temples, delicious food and excellent service!! Daniel put us in the best room which overlooked the garden and the view of the illuminated Temples at night was very romantic! The bed was huge and VERY comfortable! WiFi and buffet breakfast with tons of tasty selections are included! The bathroom was spacious and had a higher pressured shower than other places we've stayed. The prices are very reasonable and the proximity to the tourist areas is convenient! I highly recommend this boutique hotel for your next visit to the area! ----------------------------------------- Abbiamo deciso di fare un viaggio nella Valle dei Templi mentre eravamo in Sicilia. L'abbiamo trovato su un'app di viaggio e abbiamo deciso di provarlo per le recensioni positive! SONO COSÌ FELICE che l'abbiamo fatto. Daniel, che ci ha fatto il check-in, è STRAORDINARIO!! Cordiale, professionale e ci ha dato i migliori suggerimenti sui ristoranti in cui cenare. Abbiamo scelto uno dei suoi consigli, Kokalos, che offre una vista spettacolare sui Templi, cibo delizioso e un servizio eccellente!! Daniel ci ha messo nella stanza migliore che si affacciava sul giardino e la vista dei Templi illuminati di notte era molto romantica! Il letto era enorme e MOLTO comodo! WiFi e colazione a buffet con tonnellate di gustose selezioni sono inclusi! Il bagno era spazioso e aveva una doccia con una pressione più alta rispetto ad altri posti in cui abbiamo soggiornato. I prezzi sono molto ragionevoli e la vicinanza alle zone turistiche è comoda! Consiglio vivamente questo boutique hotel per la vostra prossima visita in zona!

This is a very nice property with an excellent dining room and patio. The rooms are spacious and…read morewell appointed. The staff are well trained, helpful, and efficient. Best of all, it is but short walk to one of the entrances to the Valley of the Temples and also a reasonable walk to the city center. It was a shame to only have one night here. Maybe someday to return.

PROS: - The breakfast buffet that is included in your stay…read morewas outstanding! They had everything and it was all unlimited. At peak hours, it was a little busy, but that did not take away from the experience. - The hotel is ideally located to visit Agrigento and the Valley of the Temples (a 10 minute drive away). From this hotel, we were able to walk to the beachfront, which wasn't huge or sandy, but it felt local which we liked. - The spa was nice and they gave us prosecco while we were in the hot tub, which was a nice touch. I did think it was way overpriced for the hour that we had to use it, but it was a fun experience. - Our room was really big, had its own patio and had a hot-tub(inside a second room attached to our room - They gave us a free bottle of wine when we left. - Everyone was super nice! CONS: - I would not recommend the restaurant for dinner unless you have no other option. We ate here on the first night that we arrived late, because it was easy. The pizza was meh, as was the antipasto and the house wine. - The beautiful website is deceptive. The hotel is much smaller than it looks and is divided by a road between two parts of it. The pool is much smaller than the photos also. - While you do get a complimentary drink and antipasto in the afternoon, you basically have to stand in the tiny lobby to eat and drink (unless it's warm weather, and then you can go outside). When we were there, someone let their two kids take over the only two chairs in the lobby to play video games loudly and so we couldn't even sit down to relax with our drinks. - Also, the amazing beaches they show you on the website are pretty treacherous to get to, although relatively nearby.

Loved this little Gem! Super helpful staff, great price, clean rooms, and good beach location. We…read moreeven got a parting gift with a lovely bottle of wine. Thank you! The Nowak's Utah and Colorado

A beautiful location for this rustic inn. You can stroll the private gardens and can also see the…read moreValley of the Temples from the courtyard. The rooms are very simple but functional. There is a small window that fully opens and depending on the room you are in you can see the Mediterranean Sea. The bathroom is small but has excellent water pressure in the shower. Internet, while available, is a weak, unsecured signal. The bed was really hard and the pillows really flat so I didn't sleep as well as I would have liked, unfortunately. If you get a room on the 2nd floor, there is no elevator so hopefully you packed light as you will need to carry your belongings up the stairs. The included breakfast is quite good and contains bacon and eggs, various cookies, meats and cheeses and these wonderful croissants that are stuffed with pistachio or vanilla creme. I had dinner in the same restaurant ( there is nothing else within walking distance) and had a delicious piece of fish topped with eggplant and potatoes. And they made a pasta with pumpkin sauce for the first course which was terrific! The location is perfect for after a visit to the Valley of the Temples. And they have lovely gardens and a center courtyard for just sitting and relaxing while listening to the fountain. The hotel alone would warrant a 3 rating on its own but the food in the restaurant pushed it to a 4!

I normally do not do hotel reviews because they are pretty much all the same - one chain franchise…read morehotel is pretty much the same wherever you go. The exceptions are noteworthy, and Residence Villa Margherita for us was a wonderful travel experience well worth repeating. Salvatore, the owner, is a great host, very friendly and will do almost anything to make your stay memorable and enjoyable, including playing the saxaphone, giving you a drink of his own Marsala wine for an apertif and providing a gluten free meal for my wife. Each room is unique and decorated in an expressive, colorful way. The hotel has been recently renovated so all the rooms are fresh and new. For breakfast we had a wonderful selection of fruit and cold cuts that for us was an ample and delicious start to the day. A stay here will be memorable!

I recently stayed at the Paguro in June while on vacation from Chicago in Sicily. Let me start by…read moretelling you how great and helpful the staff was at this unique hotel. They treat you as if they have known you for years. They attend to all your needs. Always are attentive and have a smile to greet you. Salvatore and Giacomo will do their very best to ensure your needs are met. The hotel itself is unique due to its outstanding location. Right on the sea. Beautiful view and the sound of the water is soothing. The rooms are spacious and clean. They have everything you could possibly need while vacationing. The food at the little hotel restaurant was terrific. They made a fish dish special for my group that was delicious. The chef, Paolo came out to make sure everything was to our liking. The seafood was fresh, tasty and plentiful. They also serve a typical Italian breakfast in the lobby restaurant. It is not a new hotel but very comfortable and welcoming. You won't meet a friendlier staff who is willing to attend to your every need. The hotel is clean and the view is priceless! The ambiance makes me want to go back right now. This hotel is what makes Sicily so wonderful!