“Our fondest stay in Sicily!”

This was our favorite place in all of Sicily. I was baffled at the negative comments left by others so I want to share our personal thoughts (perhaps lengthy) if for no other reason than to thank the hosts for our wonderful experience. My husband and I spent 14 nights in Sicily each night at anot... more

This was our favorite place in all of Sicily. I was baffled at the negative comments left by others so I want to share our personal thoughts (perhaps lengthy) if for no other reason than to thank the hosts for our wonderful experience. My husband and I spent 14 nights in Sicily each night at another location depending where we ended our day. We found Colle San Mauro available on a booking website. I always quickly glance at the negative comments and laughed out loud at one complaint that there was no other restaurant nearby and they had difficulty getting back there late at night after dinner and wine in Caltagirone. Seriously? The reason to choose an agrihotel is the peace and tranquility of being remote and taking advantage of having a meal onsite prepared with their own fresh ingredients and to avoid the hassle of driving and parking especially after a full meal with alcohol. So I phoned the property requesting a room and dinner. We arrived thankfully just before dark. Yes it was a bit out if the way, yes it is not the easiest drive. But the turnoffs were sufficiently marked. We went into the restaurant and asked about the room. The owner took us to the reception area where we met the man I had spoken to. We asked if we could have a quick swim before dinner which was fine and we asked for dinner at 8:30. He said dinner was at 8:00 so we hurried. The pool.....gorgeous, amazing, and beautiful with the lighting and surroundings. This is the deepest pool I ever encountered. Even the shallower end I could barely stand. We arrived at dinner to see every room had a reserved table set with wine and water. We did not find menus; however, shortly afterwards, waiters appeared from the kitchen with trays of appetizers. We now understood why we were told 8:00. It was a set menu served banquet style. The appetizer plate was a variety of 10 or maybe 12 different items. Next came a plate of two different pastas with sauces. We are not fussy eaters so we actually welcomed the suspense of wondering what would come next. The meat was a pork with porcini mushrooms. All was delicious and with no indication what the dinner would cost, we resigned ourselves that this would be our ‘extravagant’ night. The hotel has obviously undergone major renovation. Our room was nice and spacious with an old style but modern comfort. Ok not everything was perfect....it missed a light fixture (a bare bulb) and the shower could use a small tray to hold soap. Also the electic socket did not fit the plug of the provided hairdryer. But, we really did not care about this minutiae. Every new or re-construction has little things that are still in the works. We get that. The following morning we had a wonderful breakfast! I was enthusiastic to see more of the property, especially the horses as I was missing mine at home terribly and was eager for the familiar feeling of one between my hands again. Sadly we had a downpour of rain and when it finally subsided, we decided to leave in order to stay on schedule. Our biggest surpise was when the bill came. The amazing dinner we had turned out to 25 euros per person including wine and water.....about half the price we anticipated! So for 63 euros for the room plus 50 for a full dinner we felt we had really been fortunate to stay here. I must mention that the WIFI was not working for us or others in the restaurant. For us, not a big deal as we have European mobile service and enough data not to be dependent on WIFI. That said, it was also not always easy to have a good signal. Again, we had little need to be connected to the rest of the world for the one night we spent there. However, for those for whom this is of great importance, this is perhaps not the right choice accommodation. Past negative reviewers commented on activity programs and entertainment staff. I do not know if these programs still exist but we were grateful that at the time of our stay, there was nothing like this occurring, no groups but rather just other couples and families enjoying the peaceful environment. To conclude, our experience was a 10. In fact, I have perhaps underrated other places we stayed due to the comparison with Colle San Mauro. We will undoubtedly return should we find ourselves in Sicily again.

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