We spent nine days here in August for a special celebration. The location and surrounding area are absolutely stunning, offering very chic aesthetics, beautiful views of Cefalù, and a wonderful blend of original buildings and classic Sicilian landscape. It was great to see plenty of activities catering so well to both adults and teenagers including pool parties with a great DJ, Trivia and our favorite, was the Italian Celebrations on Ferragusto. The evening's artistic team were nonprofessional dancers but it was great to see the managerial staff get involved and make the crowd laugh.
The primary highlight was the resort staff—housekeeping, service, and the Italian team in particular were phenomenal and truly embodied what you expect from Club Med's "Exclusive Collection." The spa was a nice respite of the heat during peak hours and we enjoyed a tranquil afternoon. Excursions were well catered to the beauty of the island and the history. We spent a lovely afternoon with two locals driving in Fiat500s and this was one of the highlights of Sicily! Bar Azzuro staff were always very happy and again, gave us a taste of local flair with their amazing cappuccinos and after dinner “grappa”.
However, several significant issues fell well short of that premium standard:
Room Quality & Maintenance: We initially reported a strong sewer smell in one of our rooms, which front desk staff tried to brush off as just "nature." Our adolescents woke up to ants crawling all over their bed and on them on our 2nd night. While our personal concierge luckily stepped in and moved us to another suite, it is unacceptable to assign a room in this condition to Platinum members—let alone any guests!
Dining Experience: The food at La Rocca was disappointing for a luxury resort in Italy. It was only good on two of our nine nights, and at one point, a staff member at the meat station refused to serve us because he was closing. We ended up sticking mainly to pizza and pasta as the safest option. Same dishes for lunch and dinners everyday. La Riva was a welcoming change for lunch and all of our meals there were excellent. We only ate at Il Palazzo, the fine dining restaurant once for a special occasion and it was excellent. Brunch was sufficient there if you were late. On a positive note, table service across all three dining spots was top-notch—especially thanks to Giovanni!!!
The "Chair Game" & crowd mismanagement: At over €2,000 a night, struggling to find a place to sit by the water or pool is unacceptable. For seven consecutive days, we could not find a single available chair to go swim in the ocean. The issue was exacerbated by day-pass users taking up capacity during peak occupancy, as well as off-duty resort staff (mostly the GO dancers) occupying multiple chairs. The poor lifeguards were left trying to assist frustrated guests instead of supervising the water, as there was no dedicated beach towel staff to manage the situation.
Service Culture & Language: The local Italian staff went above and beyond—warm, smiling, and always helpful. However, our interactions with the French staff were a different story. The front desk staff lacked warmth, and one French bartender named Bryan even used an offensive term toward my husband, assuming we didn't understand French (I am fluent!). If you are looking for authentic hospitality and warmth, seek out any of the Italians on the team!
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