Baia Del Capitano

Stayed here as part of a Newmarket Sicily Tour. First the Pros: Apart from the Barman by the pool (who was a but glum) all other staff were very friendly, helpful and cheerful. Room was kept very clean. The main bedroom area was very old world Italian with the contrast of a very big modern bathroom. Had a very nice ride in a Tuk -Tuk by courtesy of the hotel to go to the beach. The Cons: Food was not good. It was a bit chaotic on our first night, no menu but we did get fed. There were pens on the table to pick our meals for the next 2 nights but you can only pick meat or fish so you have no idea what you will get. One of the choices was meat roll - don’t ask! Wine by the glass or bottle very expensive but as the hotel is isolated you can’t really go elsewhere. However regarding the food, I do feel this is probably down to the allowance given by Newmarket holidays as I did see other guests whose meals looked much much better than ours. Also our long tables were set up in one part of the dining room which felt a bit like being in a school dinner hall. I wouldn’t say this is a 4* hotel and it wouldn't be my choice of hotel but not knowing how much Newmarket have paid them does make it difficult to say if it’s good value for money.

We stayed at this hotel as part of a Newmarket tour for 3 nights. We were not given any information upon arrival about the hotel facilities or the timings for the tour the following day. The room was small but adequate and contained 2 x twins put together and a single which dominated the room. There was a small door of about 800mm with a side glass panel totalling about 1000mm in the far corner of the room with a very small balcony (2nd floor) which meant there was little light in the room. However the view of the sea was nice. The dining room was hot and clammy and we needed to ask for the air conditioning to be put on which they did. We had to go down to reception to ask for the key to the safe which was only big enough for a small wallet, nowhere near big enough to take even a small iPad. The power points weren’t all European but fortunately my friend had a universal adapter that we could use. There was no tea and coffee facilities in the room, no tea and coffee served after dinner or table water unless charged for, a 75ml glass of wine was 8Euros and a bottle was 35 Euros. There was no shop for several miles so we could not stock up on the first day with our own provisions. The hotel is small, the pool is more of a dipping pool than a swimming pool. The private beach is approached by very steep steps, not suitable for the less mobile, and very rocky under foot so not easily accessible. The staff were responsive and gave us a small kettle for the room, as well as a key for the safe, plus the TV remote which was kept at reception. There was very little information on hotel amenities and if I’m truly honest, this barely makes 3* and is more reminiscent of being on a school trip. My next review is with Newmarket and their total lack of presence at the start of this tour plus the misrepresentation of it in their brochure. I would not recommend this hotel as a 4*.