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Opinions MONACI DELLE TERRE NERE Zafferana
Members' reviews on MONACI DELLE TERRE NERE
3.9/5
15 reviews
Value for money
Location
Cleanliness
Setting / ambience
Service
The ratings and reviews below reflect the subjective opinions of members and not the opinion of The Little Witty.
MONACI DELLE TERRE NERE
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Here are some of the things that make Monaci delle Terre Nere so special:
The location: The hotel is located in a peaceful and secluded spot, surrounded by vineyards and olive groves. It's the perfect place to relax and escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life.
The views: The views from the hotel are simply stunning. You can see Mount Etna in all its glory, as well as the surrounding countryside.
The rooms: The rooms are spacious and elegant, and many offer private balconies with views of the volcano.
The amenities: The hotel has a number of excellent amenities, including a swimming pool, a spa, and a Michelin-starred restaurant.
The staff: The staff are attentive and friendly, and go out of their way to make sure you have a memorable stay.
When we arrived in November 2023, we found that there was no “Villa” but just a superior suite, inferior suite and an unconnected hotel room hobbled together. The representation that 3 hotel rooms could not be rented during the summer of intense tourist demand in Sicily with 10 days advance notice rings totally untrue. I did not get to stay with my family at Monaci because I took the unconnected room with all the windows which did have beautiful views but an inferior bathroom without even the provision of Kleenex or bath soap. The bed and pillows were terrible, the sheets like light sandpaper and the towels were shabby.The room was heated only during the day to approximately 86 degrees with no heat at night when the room was extremely cold. The thermostat could not be controlled except by management. Our rooms were at the edge of the property which was difficult to navigate back to the lodge because of an inadequate map and signage. We were adjoining local houses with the added derogatory of barking dogs throughout the night.
We had dinner the first night at the Monaci restaurant which has Michelin star prices and substandard food. My chicken was average and actually came out with film over the sauce on the plate. Monaci wines were poured upon arrival at the nicer suite but, for me, only the Rose was drinkable.
The manager from Sri Lanka told us upon check in to the rooms that the minibar was free to us and that laundry services were also included free of charge. My family was leaving to catch a flight at 3am so I requested check out in the rooms the evening before which was refused. The bill was slow to arrive by What’sApp but upon arrival, I was charged both for the minbar and laundry. I had my clothes in their bag but had not filled out the laundry slip when housekeeping removed the same. We were told that “management” would have to be contacted about the charges and, after the annoyance, the charges were removed. When my grandchildren were preparing to swim in our small pool on the last night, Monaci employees came and closed the pool down.
Monaci staff only communicate by What’sApp. My subscription had expired and could not be renewed because I had not purchased international service for the trip because my son-in-law and daughter had the international plans. I was leaving later and entrusted Monaci to make arrangements for the car and driver. We had requested packed breakfast and Monaci gave my breakfast to my family so I had nothing until the airplane. I had no trust whatsoever in the trustworthiness or reliability of Monaci staff by departure so I had my family teach me how to drive the golf cart thinking that pickup by hotel staff might not occur as arranged. Remarkably, I was correct. At the arranged time, no pick up and no contact was possible because I did not have What’sApp. I dialed 0 on the phone to no avail. Despite a back and knee problem, I had to drag my luggage down flights of stairs, load it and drive myself to the waiting car. Reception was outside when I arrived and did look horrified saying something to the effect that Monaci would do something for me which was also untrue. The driver told me that he had informed Monaci that the drive to the airport was not 50 minutes but was 1.5 hours due to a closed main artery and rush hour and that my departure for my international flight must be one half hour earlier. The warning was disregarded and not conveyed to me. I had anxiety that I would miss my flight and hence all of my other connections. I travel extensively and never before have I experienced, for extremely high dollar accommodations, such deception, financial gouging, substandard amenities, food and service…..avoid!
Effettuo la prenotazione tramite il sito stesso del resort indicando data, orario e numero di persone.
Giustamente ci viene richiesto un numero di telefono e veniamo raccomandati di avvisare qualora fossimo impossibilitati a rispettare l'impegno.
La sera della cena arriviamo nel locale pregustando già la cena ma al citofono non risponde nessuno. Insistiamo...nulla...proviamo a chiamare ad uno dei recapiti cellulari...nessuna risposta...proviamo un altro recapito fisso e una voce registrata ci avvisa della chiusura del locale fino al marzo 2024!!!
Questo episodio ha davvero del ridicolo, una struttura 5 stelle che si vuole proporre come turismo del lusso non può permettersi una gestione così penosa del sito e delle prenotazioni! Non solo sul sito non è indicato da nessuna parte che il ristorante fosse chiuso, ma non è nemmeno stata sospesa la possibilità di prenotare!
Ovviamente la serata è andata a farsi benedire con tutti i disagi del caso.
Male male male....altro che 5 stelle
The staff / service / food / wine were great and nothing but positive notes on that end. Housekeeping was attentive and cleaned up the room nicely.
The rooms did not meet the standards of a 5-star property. They were very outdated and need some renovation and TLC (tender, love and care). Inevitable that bugs would get in the room given you are on an organic fruit and wine vineyard too that we experienced. Overall, they could use some new sheets, blankets, air conditioning units, mattresses with covers, and some real work.
For the price, we were disappointed.
The pool was crowded with kids and some of the other outdoor items need some attentive maintenance for aesthetics too and routine upkeep.
We ended up visiting Taormina primarily, and utilizing the restaurants on the island.
If we were to do it again, would stay beach side as it is quite a distance away and for the price it’s well worth relocating towards the beach vs. vineyard.
Le domaine est très beau, le panorama sur la mer et l’Etna grandiose. Entourés de vignes, d’arbres fruitiers avec une température au mois d’août très agréable. Tout semble être rassemblé pour en faire une expérience idyllique. Malheureusement ce n’est pas vraiment le cas et c’est très dommage !
Une partie du personnel est agréable et serviable, l’autre partie au contraire. Nous sommes ainsi balloté tout au long du séjour, entre professionnalisme et mauvais service, entre sympathie et antipathie. Assez déstabilisant ! Un grand point négatif en ce qui concerne la nourriture. Le petit déjeuner n’a jamais varié, beaucoup d’aliments sucrés (gâteaux, viennoiseries), très peu de choix de légumes, d’aliments « sains ». Le pain d’une manière générale mauvais, sans parler de la focaccia ! Pas une seule fois nous avons eu la sensation de manger du pain frais du jour. Pas un seul pain brun, complet ou aux graines. Pas de proposition à la carte. Il me semble incroyable à notre ère de ne pas offrir de bons pains ou pâtes sans gluten, des yaourts végétaux ou sans lactose dans un établissement comme le vôtre. Les plats du restaurant sont sans grand intérêt. C’est très dommage de ne pas retrouver dans son assiette des plats avec une vraie signature « locale », de caractère, une carte en adéquation absolue avec ce que vous revendiquez « slow food, organic, etc. »
Nous n’avons pas du tout aimé notre chambre, la no 15 qui se trouve dans un bâtiment récent, le bâtiment d’ailleurs dédié au SPA. On retrouve dans le domaine d’anciennes petites maisons charmantes et authentiques qui font office de chambres. Nous n’avons malheureusement pas eu la chance d’en profiter. Notre chambre n’avait aucun charme, voir vétuste, vitres cassées dans le dressing. Un prix payé donc qui n’avait aucun sens !
Pour résumer, ce n’est pas à la hauteur des prix que vous pratiquez qui sont par conséquent exorbitants. Je n’ai jamais vu des prix « kids menu » aussi élevés. Ce n’est pas à la hauteur d’un relais château. Absence du détail, d’élégance et d’amour pour ce lieu. Je pense que vous n’honorez pas et ne mettez pas en valeur le bijou que vous possédez.
The service / staff were great.
The pool was cool, but there were A LOT of kids so just something to think about. The poolside service was good and we loved their wine and lunch food.
We didn't eat dinner on site as we took advantage of options in Taormina, which is a 30 minute drive. The Belmond restaurants are very good and offer very scenic views and Belmond lets you us their free parking so we went early to roam the town before dinners and didn't have to stress about parking our car somewhere else.
If we were to do the trip over again I think we would have stayed somewhere else given price and location. We weren't at the resort all that often.