"We stayed at CDshotel Città del Mare in Terrasini for two weeks at the end of July, and sadly, this was the first holiday we have ever experienced where we found ourselves wanting to go home almost immediately and counting down the days until we could leave.
The one undeniable positive is the spectacular location and views. The sunsets and scenery are beautiful, and I can understand why the management may feel that this is the hotel's biggest selling point. Unfortunately, beautiful views cannot compensate for the lack of basic comfort, food quality, cleanliness and organisation elsewhere.
The heat and lack of places to escape it
We completely understand that visiting Sicily at the end of July means dealing with very high temperatures. That is not the hotel's fault. What was disappointing, however, was the almost complete lack of places where guests could sit and cool down during the hottest part of the day.
Outside of the reception area, there were no places where you could comfortably escape the heat. Spending time outside enjoying the views during the day was often simply unbearable, and our room became the only realistic refuge.
We stayed in the Sicilia block and, thankfully, the room had decent air conditioning. Unfortunately, the air-conditioning unit was positioned directly above our child's bed. We couldn't turn it off because the heat and humidity were unbearable, so our child was constantly underneath a stream of cold air. This is a very poor setup for a family room in such a hot climate.
Slides and beach
The slides were a nice addition and our child enjoyed them, but the area was extremely overcrowded. There was practically nowhere to leave your belongings and very limited shaded seating. Given the temperatures, sitting in full sun simply wasn't an option for us, so the slides became something we could use for perhaps 30 - 45 minutes rather than a major part of the day.
The beach itself was pleasant and we enjoyed spending some time there, but again the heat made it difficult to stay for long periods, the bar had a very limited selection of drinks (we don't drink alcohol) and no decent coffee or milk).
There was also an issue with getting drinking water. Cold water was only available at the bar, but the queues could be very unpleasant, particularly when some local guests repeatedly pushed in front of others and showed very little consideration for people who had been waiting.
Food: the biggest disappointment
The food was, without question, one of the biggest failures of the all-inclusive experience. We have stayed in many all-inclusive hotels and have never experienced such a limited and repetitive selection. Breakfast was particularly disappointing. The same basic food appeared day after day, consisting largely of bread and croissants, with very little variety.
The tomatoes were frequently overripe and the cucumbers were consistently bitter, overripe and almost cardboard-like. Eggs were basically limited to boiled eggs and a very unappetising, oily, powdery scrambled-egg mixture.
The breakfast yoghurt was another disappointment - a watery mixture from a machine that seemed to be out of order every other day.
Lunch and dinner weren't much better. There was very little variety and often not much food that felt like a proper, satisfying meal. Occasionally there was a decent meat or fish option - Wednesday's dinner, in particular, seemed considerably better - but these occasions were exceptions rather than the norm.
For children, the choice was especially poor. There was usually pasta and occasionally fried potatoes, but very few simple alternatives. Our daughter has mild gluten sensitivity, which made the limited selection even more problematic. There was no reliably available plain white rice or normal boiled potatoes, for example. As a result, she essentially lived on watermelon, gelato, fried potatoes and boiled eggs for much of the holiday.
Most concerning of all, more than half of our group came down with a stomach bug during the first week. I obviously cannot say with certainty what caused it, but when such a large proportion of a holiday group becomes ill, it is difficult not to question the food hygiene and/or food handling standards.
For an all-inclusive hotel, food should be one of the fundamentals, not something guests have to endure or work around.
Cleaning staff and general attitude
Another major issue was the attitude of some of the cleaning staff in the reception area and public toilets. Floors were being repeatedly mopped, seemingly every few minutes, with staff sometimes rudely pointing at guests to lift their feet or avoid walking across areas that had just been cleaned. There was little or no attempt to say "excuse me" or "sorry".
Even worse, in the toilets, staff would sometimes open cubicle doors without knocking. Many of the toilet locks were either broken or extremely stiff, so this was particularly uncomfortable. On one occasion, staff opened the door while I was using the toilet and then laughed among themselves rather than apologising.
We eventually raised this with management because it was completely unacceptable. The manager appeared embarrassed by the situation and asked us not to discuss it in the reception area, suggesting that we speak privately in her office over a complimentary coffee. I appreciated that she listened, but I found the offer of a free coffee rather pointless - coffee is already included at the bar.
To be clear, the room-cleaning team were a positive exception. They were friendly, polite and did their work very well. Unfortunately, that wasn't our experience with some of the staff responsible for the public areas.
Noise from the disco
If you are staying in the Sicilia block, be aware that sleeping between approximately 11pm and 1am can be extremely difficult.
The disco was incredibly loud, with the music and bass seemingly banging through the walls. I would normally read until around 11pm and then go to sleep, but during the disco hours it was almost impossible to fall asleep.
This might be acceptable for a hotel specifically marketed as a party resort, but for families staying in accommodation within the resort, there should be better consideration for guests who actually want to sleep.
Gym: a serious area for improvement
The gym was another major disappointment. It is essentially an outdoor cage with old, rusty equipment, no fans or effective ventilation, and apparently very little cleaning or sanitising. You could visibly see sweat marks on the machines, and several pieces of equipment were not working.
Opening hours were only 10am - 12pm and 4pm - 6pm. Given that there wasn't much else to do during the hottest parts of the day, the gym became quite busy, meaning guests were sometimes waiting to use the limited equipment available.
I was nevertheless grateful to have somewhere to exercise, but the condition and hygiene of the facility really need attention. A basic cleaning routine, functioning equipment, ventilation and readily available sanitiser would make a huge difference.
Overall
There were also some very unpleasant encounters with local teenagers, including attempts to dive head-first into the jacuzzi when lifeguards weren't present, inappropriate behaviour around the seating areas near the main restaurant, and a general lack of supervision. Of course, the hotel cannot control every individual guest, but better supervision and enforcement of basic rules would help.
Ultimately, what makes this review particularly disappointing is that the hotel has so much potential. The location is genuinely stunning. The views are spectacular, the sunsets are beautiful, the beach is pleasant and the slides are a good idea.
But a holiday isn't just about the view.
When you spend two weeks at an all-inclusive resort, you expect decent food, clean and hygienic facilities, somewhere comfortable to escape the heat, reasonable sleep at night, functioning amenities and staff who treat guests with basic courtesy.
Unfortunately, we experienced problems with almost every one of those things.
If the management invested in improving the food selection and quality, dramatically upgraded and cleaned the gym, provided more shaded and air-conditioned areas, addressed the behaviour and supervision around the resort, and improved the attitude and training of some public-area staff, this hotel could be a completely different experience.
The views may be spectacular, but they shouldn't be expected to carry the entire holiday.
For us, sadly, even the beautiful scenery and sunsets couldn't rescue the experience. We have never been so ready to return home from a holiday, and we would not choose to stay here again."
