Fiesta Hotel Ath�nee Palace

What People are saying

Nice Resort

Kateto999on 09/11/2017 17:28

We were a group of 14 and all of us liked the stay at Fiesta Athenee Palace, and all of us are on the opinion that we would return again.
However, I will write my personal review.
Fiesta Sicilia Resort is a very nice place with a big and beautiful outdoor area and with a convenient location to explore the beautiful Nortern part of the island. It is situated between Palermo and Cefalu, close to the main road but at the same time the place is quiet and isolated from noise. They offer regular shuttle service to the closest cities and a lot of opportunities to book excursions. Palermo and Cefalu for sure worth a visit but for Palermo I recommend to do this on your own because the timetable of the shuttle gives you option only for a half day stay which is not enough for this interesting city. Cefalu is a very beautiful and cozy town- with nice small streets, good cafes and restaurants, nice touristik shops, a romantic beach and wonderful sceneries from the Rock. Do not miss to go up!
I fell in love with Sicily. I have travelled a lot in Italy, almost everywhere there is an ultimate mix of sighseeing, good cuisine and wine and nice people but here the feeling is different, I cannot describe why, you have to go and feel with the heart. And for sure the people in Sicily are the most hospitable and friendliest in Italy!
Thanks to the warm welcome at the reception and at the restaurant of Athenee Palace, from the first steps we were sure that we are on the right place.
The people at the reception were polite and helpful. But they made a mistake during our stay and they missed to provide the expected apology. This is the reason why I rate their service with 4 from 5.
But the service at the bar and at the main restaurant I rate with 5 from 5. Definitely it was the best service in an All inclusive- resort I have experienced. All of them were very polite, helpful and always in a good mood. They make an impression that they love their job and do it with a pleasure. Thank you Giovanny, thank you all for your excellent service!
The food at the main restaurant was delicious but they should pay some more attention to its presentation and to the variety of the salad and sweet buffets. The drinks, included in the All inclusive package, were very good quality- Italian espresso, some good imported alcoholic brands, cocktails, bottled wine.
The entertainers were very polite as well. Their program was nothing special but a nice surprise for us because we have not expected any animation program at the end of the season.
The indoor swimming pool area needs some inprovements and the a la carte restaurant as well. The dining at the a la carte was a disappointment for me. For sure the food and the service at the main restaurant are better.
At the end of October we spent 2 days on the beach. What more to expect?!
For sure I will recommend the Resort!

Beautiful surroundings

nikkikenton 28/10/2017 14:31

Great hotel, friendly staff and beautiful gardens and pools. Good range of food but mostly the same each day with a slight change of fish or meat. The local wine and spirits are a bit acidic so can end up with heartburn. Plenty of sun loungers as not busy in October but still very warm. I would go back again. We stayed in the bungalows which was nice and quiet.

Not the hotel we booked!!

fushia56on 27/10/2017 14:04

We booked 2 weeks holiday to Fiesta Garden Beach to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary via Expedia in a Superior Bungalow. After having carefully checked out numerous hotels we decided on this one as it had all the facilities we required, as well as not having many steps due to my walking with crutches. Upon arrival, seeing my walking, management suggested that we stay in the main hotel & not in a bungalow as the distance to restaurants etc was a bit far. She told us that we could, by all means, go & look at a bungalow & then make our decision but having been up all night we took her advice & decided to stay in the main hotel. At this point we were asked to sign a waiver which we were a bit surprised about! A few days later we were to find our why! We were given a lovely room with a fantastic sea view but it was not the quiet, secluded holiday we had envisaged. As this was a last minute change, although the room was made up, facilities like the tea & coffee making & mini bar were not! It took my husband 3 visits down to reception to request these facilities that were finally delivered 36 hrs after our arrival! By this time I was badly dehydrated due to one of my health conditions.
On our 3rd day we decided to travel into Cefalu to look around & got a taxi arranged by the hotel that cost 30 euros. When we returned we got a local taxi back & asked to be taken to Fiesta Garden Beach. He took us to what looked like either a derelict building or work in progress. (There was also the fact he charged us 45 euros so beware of local taxis!!) The taxi driver said that he thought we were probably staying at the Athenee Palace next door which we were. Until this time, due to no signage on the hotel, we had no idea that we were actually staying in a completely different hotel, one that we had previously discounted as there appeared to be a lot of steps visible in photographs. I found it extremely difficult getting around the complex due to the steps but eventually we found that if we took our bathing gear down to breakfast, there was a ramp that was easier for me to manage & we went over to the beach pool for the day. Although there were shallow steps in the main pool that made it more accessible, toilet facilities were inside the hotel that meant climbing up & down steps to use them. Therefore we were restricted to the beach pool as toilet facilities as well as a bar/snack bar close by. The downside of using this pool was that I was unable to enter the pool without help as there were no ramps or shallow steps.
Over time we spoke to a number of people as well as staff & we were told that the Fiesta Garden Beach main building that housed the restaurant & bar was closed for refurbishment! This was the REAL reason we were advised to stay in the main building of the Athenee Palace & not have the bungalow we'd booked at the Fiesta Garden Beach. Needless to say we were disappointed that we'd been deceived by a failure to disclose this!!!
Having said all this, the hotel was exceptionally clean, the staff were courteous & hard working. The facilities were good (apart from, of course, having to go into the main building for toilets at the main pool). The restaurant was exceptional, always plenty of choice, staff friendly, courteous & efficient. The grounds were extensive & very well kept. There were places that you could find to have peace & quiet if that's what you wanted!
On the whole we enjoyed our stay but we were very, very disappointed that we didn't have the holiday we'd anticipated.

Sicily with Tui to Fiesta Athenee Palace

saltash67on 26/10/2017 15:24

If you land in Cantanio airport it's about a 90 minutes coach ride across the island to the hotel which is a tour in itself.
The hotel is situated within its own gated grounds by the main road along the coast.
Access from the hotel to anywhere is only by taxi or coach. If you want any shops then you must travel to the closest village which is Campofelicie - this is worth it just for the views and market.
We travelled in mid October and temperatures didn't drop below 24 in the day but it is relatively chilly at night. Mid October is also out of school holidays so 90 percent of the guest were 'mature' travellers and the whole complex was relaxed with no queues for anything except during mealtimes.
The food is Italian and very good - if you're vegetarian then the staff will prepare meals for you.
Main facilities are reasonably maintained and our room was always cleaned well.
If you want peace and quiet then this is perfect.

Outdated

Sue Lon 23/10/2017 16:11

The hotel is located in the middle of nowhere. It took one and three quarter hours to get there from the airport. The reception area was quite nice with easy chairs and tables. The bar was at one end and the reception at the other. The reception staff were very welcoming and helpful.
Our room had been "upgraded" as we had booked the fiesta garden hotel but it had shut so we were moved next door to this hotel. The room had a kingsize bed plus a single and a sofa bed so it was large however the decor and furnishings looked tired and outdated. The bathroom was well decorated and the shower over the bath was very good with plenty of hot water. There were tea and coffee facilities in the room.
The restaurant was a bit of a let down, The cold food looked lovely laid out on marble tables but it was not covered or refrigerated which was not very hygenic. We did see the odd fly on the food. However the fresh fruit table had bowls of water on it to wash the fruit.
The hot food was luke warm unless you wanted pasta which was always covered and hot. The fried eggs in the morning were cold as was the bacon and tinned tomatoes. There was a microwave there which my husband used to heat up his breakfast. The bread at breakfast was already cut so if you had a late breakfast it was stale.
The restaurant was quite noisy and the waiters. although they work hard. were not friendly or approachable.
The grounds of the hotel were lovely. We went in October so it was quieter and although water aerobics were on the pool wasn't noisy. We found it very relaxing sitting by the pool in the sun. The pool bar was ok and served limited snacks at lunchtime if you didn't fancy a big lunch.
Evening entertainment was a singer and his keyboard. He was good but sang the same things every evening.
Disappointed with the cocktails - all inclusive guests were treated like 2nd class citizens with a limited amount of choice and served up in small tumbler. The best one was an orange blossom which was gin, orange juice and grenadine. The pina colada was rubbish.
All in all we wouldn't go there again even though the weather was glorious. It was far too far away from Cefalu with a limited shuttle service.
The beach was part sand part stone and although the hills to one side looked lovely there was no other outlook with derelict buildings overlooking it.