Casale del Principe — Hotel in Monreale

SCAM ALERT. If you are planning to stay overnight, please make sure to read their 1 star reviews to make an informed decision.

I booked two nights for my family of 5 and we ended up leaving the morning after we arrived. In summary, despite any initial friendly interactions on the phone or in person, or a nice swimming pool with views, it's NOT the 4-star agritourism experience advertised on their website. We live in Sicily and based on many agritourism places we've visited over the years, I consider this one to be a scam.

To start with, the room felt dated and dirty. I'm glad we didn't have to use the heater because it was filthy (see photos). Not a great start once we arrived but we decided to stay and go for lunch in their restaurant.

We went for lunch around 13.30h which I prebooked one week in advance, paying around 130 EUR for two adults and 3 kids aged 6, 3 and 1. The restaurant was empty so I thought we'd get a personalized experience or a really bad one. I asked the waitress to prepare the pre-set menu for our kids while my wife and I looked at the menu. After 15 minutes, I had to step into the kitchen to get her attention (she was casually chatting with the chef). While waiting for our food, we kept hearing the microwave - never a good sign. The food was indeed reheated and dry. The kids were served frozen French fries fried in soybean oil (we asked the waitress), along with pasta in some artifical tomato soup which the kids didn't like and left on the plate (a rare event for our little pasta lovers). The waitress was surprised we didn't finish. A terrible first impression. We decided to give it another chance but it got even worse.

The next morning we went for breakfast at 8h15 already with a low expectation, based on our lunch and after reading reviews following that experience. There was barely anything to eat and mostly packaged or old food (see photos). I asked the waitress for eggs and she said there weren't any and that the kitchen was closed. I was shocked and asked how was that possible ... at breakfast! After insisting, eventually she made us some scrambled eggs. There were a few homemade cakes which tasted good, but that's hardly enough for a healthy breakfast. Luckily, we brought our own food downstairs in anticipation of a poor breakfast - leftover pizza from the previous day, and food we bought before arriving to this hotel saved us. At that point, we decided to pack and leave. At checkout the receptionists were surprised. I said we changed our plans as the hotel didn't meet our expectations. They didn't ask for more feedback and so that was the end of it. With some people it's not worth wasting time and energy to argue over 200 EUR.

While the location is good in terms of being remote and offering good views, it's far from any place that offers decent food. So you're stuck in the middle of nowhere with no real food.

The only positives: swimming pool, views and cakes. But these aren't enough to compensate for their misleading offering.

If you want an overnight experience focused on eating quality food and organic agricultural produce, do NOT come here. You'll feel scammed.

If you want a 2-3 star hotel to organize an event or take photos with good views, where food is secondary or unnecessary, then perhaps this place is right for you. Just don't be fooled by what's being sold on their website.

REPLY TO THE OWNER'S COMMENT: From the líes in your reply, it's clear you're a group of scam artists. Having read other 1 star reviews during our stay, I anticipated you would defensively accuse us of something. So I took photos of how we left the room before leaving, now uploaded.

Breakfast was never overflowing. We were the first ones to arrive. Two adults and a child arrived later who we overheard were also unhappy with the quantity and especially the quality of what was served. Look at the dried up cheese in the photo and the lack of any fresh agricultural produce that your website claims to offer. As more proof, I have added photos showing how we resorted to...

What a beautiful place to say. During a recent trip to Sicily last month, I traveled with a group to 5 different places in Sicily. This was my favorite "hotel". The combination of views, the feel, and the food are what made it my favorite. ||||When we arrived, I couldnt believe it. You're nestled in the green fields of sicily. A castle up on a hill awaits you, with family ready to greet you and take you to your room. There is music playing out in the courtyard and you can smell the chef cooking.||||The rooms are impeccable and are all designed differently in unique styles. A group of us stayed in the more modern wing, renovated rooms and we LOVED it. I would highly recommend staying in this wing. The other rooms are beautiful as well, but not as modern and spa-like. ||||The spa and pool is breathtaking. Relaxing would be an understatement. ||||There is so much to say about the food that the staff made for us. Each night, there was a totally different menu and everything was delicious. From fresh soups, to handmade pasta and risottos, delicious salads, and dessert.||||Breakfast was a great way to start the day at Casale del Principe. Breakfast was fresh, and delicious every morning. We sat outside on the terrace as the sun came over us each morning. Fresh fruits, pastries, meat, cheeses, juices, coffee!!, and marmalades.||||Each morning, afternoon, and evening, we were greeted and treated like very special guests. After long days of traveling and sightseeing, this was a wonderful place to go home to. A must see, and experience! I would love to...

We visited Casale del Principe with two couples in september 2015. Casale del Principe is a very lovely site, though somewhat away from the places most people may want to visit in Sicily. Who goes there should count 1 - 1,5 hours by car to reach these places. But if you do not mind this, Casale del Principe is a great choice! It has a beautiful building with equally beautiful gardens. There is a relatively new wellness centre that is small but very beautiful.||We ordered two of the most expensive type of rooms and were very pleasantly surprised by these rooms: spacious, well equipped and decorated in a modern and surprising way. The rooms were clean and the beds were good. The owners and staff were very helpful and gave us some great tips dor places to visit nearby (a biological farm and a cantina where we could see how the wine was being produced) that we enjoyed very much. Breakfast was great with among others a great variety of home made cakes every morning. Dinner was good. allthough to our opinion not super. There is something however, that definitely needs improvement and that is the wifi connection. The rooms did not have wifi connection at all and the wifi connection at the reception did not work all the time.||Although Casale del Principe is situated in the countryside and perhaps not all tooeasy to find, there are enough signals along the road to make you find it without too much problems. Mind you however for the roads in the last kilometers. When I say that these are not too good, this is an...