Hotel Cefalu Sea Palace

The food was very limited in terms of choice and very poorly cooked. We believed that we were going to eat breakfast overlooking the sea and rock in a rooftop restaurant, this is totally untrue as the restaurant is closed and not available to guests. The gym is very small and many of the machines do not work. Staff speak very little English.

We had a wonderful family holiday here. The hotel staff were all very friendly and helpful. Parking was available for our hire car. The beach was just across the road and there were plenty of beds around the pool if we chose to stay in the hotel. The walk into town was about 15 minutes along the sea front promenade. The only downside was the wifi access which was a bit patchy but it didn’t affect us too much. On the whole I would recommend this hotel to anyone.

It was a long taxi journey that night from Catania airport to Cefalu Sea Palace Hotel but it was worth it, waking up to a frontal view of the sea and old town framed by our balcony window. The hotel itself is very modern and bright with most rooms affording a view of the sea while others look out on the old town crowned by its Arab Norman cathedral. The hotel scores top marks for location being a stroll across the road from its own beach bar establishment. Maria, the manager there and her husband were very welcoming although I became a little agitated to learn she had never heard of Ireland ! More importantly, the hotel is only a 15 minute meander to the old town where there are a plethora of bars and restaurants to choose from. We never ate in the hotel for that reason although we had a very pleasant night on the roof terrace at their Sicilian buffet evening. It puzzled a lot of guests, including ourselves, why the hotel didn't use the roof more, perhaps for breakfast, given the views on offer. Instead breakfast is held in an outdoor sort of courtyard annexe which I thought a bit soulless. The fare at breakfast is very decent although some of the offerings were a bit limited, like bread, and bananas were seldom seen although they grow on trees further up the road ! One of the breakfast staff, Alessandra, always managed a smile and sympathised with me when the coffee machine broke down all too regularly. In fact, these machines are great in a railway station but surely not in a hotel of this standard ? Get rid of them please and return to the traditional service of coffee or tea ! It's nice to have some interaction and pleasantries with staff when replenishing your cappuccino but under this dispense-it - yourself regime, they are non existent. The reception staff were very helpful and Daniel had a good sense of humour. If there was a general manager or boss in the hotel I never saw him. The welcome pack / information could be improved and the restrictions on putting your own drinks in the room fridge are petty and should be dropped. No one complies with them seemingly !! Cefalu is very charming to explore and eat in with so many terrific restaurants. Avoid the touristy ones in front of the cathedral and search out the more characterful venues amongst the side alleys and secondary streets. The walk back to the hotel is very pleasant, especially at night, with lights twinkling everywhere and so many folks out enjoying the cooler evening air. Some nights the hotel garden was given over to a younger crowd with the bar open late and music heard by most of Cefalu I suspect but it didn't obtrude too much when the doors were firmly shut. It also seemed to wrap up at end of August. Overall a fine hotel run by very pleasant staff and in an enviable location so would I recommend the hotel and its town to friends ? Absolutely I would.