VOI Arenella Resort

From the moment we stepped inside the hotel we had a lovely warm welcome. All of the staff around the hotel were really friendly. Our room was modern, spacious and the cleaners were in every day. The balcony was a lovely and plenty big enough. The food was lovely with plenty on offer. I have a gluten free diet and all the food is allergy labelled. The staff in the restaurant still went above and beyond to make sure I had something to eat and brought me breads and little baskets of goodies. No tea or coffee during lunch/evening meal so if you’re not all inclusive then you will need to guy one from the bar. The pool areas were really spacious and the loungers were really comfortable. The grounds are beautiful and so well kept. We used the shuttle service to the beach and back a few times but in one occasion decided to walk back. It’s not that far and it was a lovely stroll. We booked a private taxi to Syracuse itself to do some sightseeing as the bus service only allows for 3 hours between drop off and pick up and we didn’t want to be limited with time. The musician that performed on an evening was superb. He played music from all different genres and we thoroughly enjoyed listening to him.

Miles away from anywhere and hardly anything was open. When we realised how far away from anywhere we were we had to upgrade to all inclusive as things were so expensive. Had to move rooms as had no hot water, second room was inferior to the first one. No local shop on site so not able to purchase snacks or milk etc. Jet 2 didn’t tell us that there would be 200 school children staying there, mainly unattended at night as the Italian teachers liked a drink! The “quiet pool” was never quiet as the school teenagers took over it, screaming and shouting. Could not use the pool as they would play fight in it (there was another livelier pool they could have used). When people complained the management did nothing, neither did the Italian teachers. The place itself is fairly clean but be warned this is mainly for Italian families and the restaurant is more like a cafeteria.

superior rooms clean, comfortable beds, large mattresses. Air conditioning in every room. small balcony. no beach. large, clean pools. Dinner a little late, the meals were very tasty. I recommend staying at this hotel

We arrive on Wednesday afternoon to be told our room had been upgraded, which was great. The food is amazing with a great choice, it's fresh and presented well, as always wherever you go for a buffet choice it could be slight warm rather than hot, but tasty nevertheless. All meals, breakfast, lunch, evening meal could be a bit busy but always plenty of food choice. We had a great stay and relaxed and went with the flow.

To call this hotel bad would be unfair, because at its basic level it is OK, but it certainly isn’t a good hotel and it is definitely not “4 Stars”. At the basic level, the rooms are clean and well maintained, but I can get that at a Travelodge and the room quality is similar. The food is tasty, well cooked and there’s plenty of variety, but I can get that at a motorway services. Finally, the bars and lounges reminded me of the departure lounge of a regional airport. The problem is that I don’t want to go on holiday to a Travelodge, eat in a motorway services and drink in an airport departure lounge. The facilities lack any sort of a**osphere. The two main lounges have such bad acoustics that it is impossible to hold a conversation at any level other than a shout because of the noise of the other guests, who are all doing the same. The décor is almost non-existent which is why it feels like an airport lounge. The same problem existed with the dining room. It was like eating in an aircraft hanger, which is something I have actually done so I know what I’m talking about. There were also signs of “penny-pinching” that don’t fit with a “4 star” experience. I’ll list the most obvious ones: • No metal dessert spoons – only tiny plastic ones. Everyone knows how easily plastic cutlery breaks, especially when used to try to cut a thick pastry crust. • Paper and plastic cups for coffee and drinks. I can understand that around the pool area, where safety is an issue, but not in the restaurant and bars of a “4 Star” hotel. • No coffee/tea served at lunch or dinner. You have to go to the bar and buy it (there is no bar in the restaurant). • Although the food is served buffet style, it is ladled out by staff who glare at you if you dare to ask for a bit more on your plate. I spent the week feeling like Oliver Twist. The two swimming pools were fine, but I could imagine it being crowded during the peak holiday periods. There is a €20 deposit if you want beach towels (obviously we are so desperate for towels we are going to steal them if they don't charge a deposit) and you have to pay €2 if you want to change them. Another example of penny-pinching. Evening entertainment was limited during our stay. It was the same singer/guitarist each night. He was OK, but I didn’t want to watch him EVERY night. This was preceded on several nights by almost an hour of children’s entertainment, which may have been fine for the parents, but was boring for everyone else. I can see the financial attraction of this for the hotel, encouraging parents into the bar, but it had us going back to our room before 10 pm. The TV in our room showed Italian TV stations, which is to be expected, but the couple of channels that carried English language news came up as “no signal”. I would recommend taking a laptop with HDMI cable so you can connect the TV into Netflix (there is wi-fi – the only thing that is “free”). For families there is a very enthusiastic children’s entertainme

Rooms need so updating , we enter our room and the smell of musky was unreal the curtains really did smell , the bathroom was ok the actual bath was very black around plug , not English friendly hear many rude staff who don’t try to understand you , the only way to get away is boom the bus the day before or take an excursion Ice creams wasn’t free poor kids , all the snacks were extra , everything given in plastic cups , coffee machines at breakfast always running out staff in restaurants were very I can’t be bothered , overall I didn’t enjoy it the grounds were nicely kept not much to do , I would not choose a resort again I like to walk out of the hotel and go places here you can’t no where to go

Very clean, wide and beautiful complex. Good choice for relax or traveling. Close to big city and silent and calm as a resort in the same time. The beach is amazing, sandy, clean water , perfect for swimming. The shuttle is every 10 minutes and overall it`s not far away. We recommend it!

Staff friendly and helpful. Facilities clean and well maintained. Catering is traditional Sicilian, delicious and plenty of variety. Premium comfort rooms spacious and provides access to Wellbeing pool, a place of tranquility. We loved that the emphasis of this hotel was all things Italian as we travel to experience local cuisine, culture and history. Massages from the Wellness Team were excellent. We were a party of 4 with one disabled. Main complex was fully accessible . We thoroughly enjoyed our stay.

We spent a week in the resort during September. Going to beach was difficult, using a little train that does not operate during sienta and also broke down on the last day. Road to the beach is long, dusty and dirty. But the resort is well kept, lovely palm trees, clean pools and very good meals.