Ballata Holidays from £278

The set-up is very pretty, the pool area is beautiful, the gardens well-maintained and the rooms were comfortable. The breakfast was excellent, the tortilla was amazing. The host could be a little more communicative as we didn't realize we could use some of the utensil and space to prepare ourselves our meals (just no cooking), we saw guests doing it so we asked and it was permitted. It would be nice to have a little more information on the amenities when we check-in. The location is ideal 10 min for Valley of the Temple and 25 min to Scala Dei Turchi.

The staff was amazing and very helpful. They moved our room after our first night because the people in the room above us were so loud we could hear everything. The rooms are nice but have some drawbacks: in order to have your windows open to get fresh air at night, the room is flooded with all the uplighting surrounding the hotel. The windows have wooden shutters inside which means in order to block out the light, you must close the windows and then close the wooden shutters. Either turn off the floodlights at night or provide some curtains. The walls are also very thin and you can hear everything in the room next to you. We couldn’t get any of the TV apps to work so only had access to Italian TV. Did a fun (but very long) cooking class. The pool area is interesting but not inviting. It’s in a corner in the main area of the courtyard and faces 2 walls so there is no view. Also not very private. There is no lobby bar or any soft seating to relax anywhere. There is also not a set restaurant at the hotel - you have to do a cooking class or a private chef cooking for you (which would be nice but it’s in the cooking class/breakfast room so you have to experience it while a class is going on beside you). It’s a very pretty hotel but not really designed for the best experience for guests.

We enjoyed our all inclusive holiday at Grand Palladium Sicily. We stayed at signature level, but I don't think it's really worth it to pay extra - there is a separate pool for signature level, but we couldn't get a sunbed there due to guests reserving them with towels early in the morning. There is a separate restaurant for breakfast and lunch for signature level, but the main buffet is bigger. I could not fault the setting, cleanliness, and staff, but there are a few negatives to mention: More vegetarian options are needed at all the restaurants, it was quite lacking. There should be dedicated smoking areas instead of smokers allowed to smoke anywhere, as someone stinking out the outside bar with a cigar ruins the enjoyment and atmosphere of those areas. The in-room entertainment is very poor .. only news channels, or paying €7 for a film, and finally the app also doesn't work half the time, which is frustrating as it's needed for looking at menus and making reservations. So, mostly great, but a few things which could be improved. The beach was nice although stoney (but we knew this when booking). The hotel should enforce evicting people from sunbeds left unattended with a towel on for 30 mins so that everyone can have a chance to sit by the pool. There are signs up that say this will happen, but no one is actually doing it.