Relais Parco Cavalonga

We recently returned from 2 weeks at Parco Cavalonga; we are a family of 4 and were self-catering, staying in Casa Donnafugata. We had a wonderful holiday and really enjoyed having this lovely Relais as our base. Our villa was very elegant with a basic but well-equipped kitchen, 2 decent bathrooms and a large, airy living area. The air-con was effective so we were cool at night. The furnishings were basic but stylish and charming. All the towels and linen were good quality and replaced each week. We had a lovely terrace giving perfect views of the stunning sunsets each evening. The grounds of the Relais are full of typical Sicilian plants and trees: carobs, figs, prickly pear, bougainvillea, olives etc. This is a very hot, very dry land, so of course it is not all green and lush, but it is fragrant and very mediterranean. We used the large infinity pool that the self-catering villas share; there are plenty of sunbeds and we never had difficulty finding space. We ate breakfast in the hotel on several mornings and very much enjoyed the buffet-style array of local cheese, honey and fruit as well as scrambled egg, toast, meats and always cake! We also enjoyed dinner in the hotel twice - a set-menu is served at 8pm, on the delightful terrace. The choices were all local and well cooked and we would recommend it. All the staff were very helpful and kind; they even ordered and collected a cake for us to celebrate our daughter's 15th birthday - so they very much go the extra mile for their guests. It is true that the villas and pools could probably do with a little TLC before too long, but this hotel (like many in Italy and across Europe) no doubt took a huge financial hit during covid, so they no doubt need a little time to recover. We would thoroughly recommend this as a base for a family holiday.

We stayed in Apartment-suite Ibla. The apartment is big, bright, and nicely renovated. The bathrooms work well, as does the AC. The park is wonderful, a perfect (in my opinion) combination of curated and wild. The two swimming pools are well maintained (though not new), have great views, and weren't ever too busy during our stay. The staff is helpful, knowledgeable, and friendly. The shortcomings all relate to the apartment. The cooking hob is ancient; four slow hot plates with four knobs - that's it. No safety lights to warn that the plates are hot. No drawing to show which knob goes with which plate, or which way the knob needs to be turned. There is no microwave. There is only one shelf to store the food. In summary, the kitchen is barely usable. In the living room, there are no cabinets. After asking, we were given a plastic table to put in a corner, which did the trick. The drying rack for the laundry is at small as it gets and certainly not sufficient for 6 people. Good thing clothing dries very quickly at 30C+! In summary, the place is beautiful and the expensive bits are all there: large apartment, AC, swimming pools, park. It just needs some additional work and money to go up a notch. Right now it is between 3 and 4 starts but I give it 4 in the hope they will be addressed soon (I emailed all of these points to the hotel). I would probably go back but not a sure thing.