VOI Marsa Siclà Essentia

Mixed reviews about this hotel. Your experience will depend on what your standards and expectations are of a 4* hotel. First the good. Beautiful grounds and well maintained, staff on the whole are friendly. The beach is great and there are always sun beds available on the beach or by the pool at all times of day so you never need to reserve. There’s also plenty of parking for hire cars. The rooms are big and have lovely outside spaces. Now the not so good. If you don’t speak Italian then you will struggle with a lot of things. Day-to-day communication isn’t so good, plus all evening entertainment is in Italian with no translation to English. The restaurants are all in the same place so every morning you have to walk 10 minutes uphill to breakfast in the baking sun to arrive at the restaurant with no AC. The buggies to transport you around site are nowhere to be seen and if they are then they’re very selective who they pick up (the beach shuttle works well though). The food is generally poor, not much choice and anything that is supposed to be hot is cold. Meal times are very regimented, I found it odd having to sit at the same table every day for every meal. Don’t bother eating the food from the beach bar. There’s no option for room service/food outside of the set hours. This was really difficult for me and my partner as we were both very unwell whilst staying at the hotel and sometimes all we wanted was a croissant in our room for breakfast or a takeaway pizza but that wasn’t an option. The cost of food if you are half board is unjustifiable (lunch at the buffet for 2 people is €60!). The hotel claims to be eco, but some things just don’t work for guest experience for example the powder toiletries in the room and no options to refill plastic bottles with water. On check out day we felt rushed to be out of the room. We agreed with reception 24 hours before to check out at 12pm, however we had cleaning staff knocking on the door at 9:40am and waiting outside the room so we felt pressured to get out. It’s a shame as our experience with the reception staff when we arrived was great, very accommodating and helpful which made us feel very welcome. But all of what I have outlined above outweighed any good and for us we won’t be revisiting.

Amazing place, very clean, delicious food, nice open-air gym, great swimming pools and relaxing landscape. The Thalasso Space is a wonderful place to enjoy. Very comfortable bed. The room is very spacious and clean. Special thanks to Giusi. Private beach access and shuttle service is great. The beach is spectacular. The cuisine was phenomenal and staff was superb. Also the hotel includes a play area for children. Excellent service. We will recommend to friends and family! Keep up the good work.