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After we spent a few days in Malta at the Hyatt Regency Malta (review here), we flew to Sicily and spent the next three nights at the Almar Giardino di Costanza Mazara del Vallo. There are no Hyatt, Marriott, or Hilton properties in this part of Sicily, so I read some reviews and found a hotel in the right spot and one where I could use the $300 annual credit from the Citi Strata Elite Card.
Anthony’s Take: The Almar Giardino di Costanza Mazara del Vallo provided us with a convenient base for exploring Southwestern Sicily. We were able to easily get to Marsala, Trapani, and several other towns in the area. The hotel has lovely grounds, a large pool, and great service, overall. The suite that we had was comfortable and spacious with a nice balcony overlooking the pool.
Booking
I booked a Superior Junior Suite Pool View for three nights through Citi Travel. This provided us with free breakfast (which all guests seemed to receive). The nightly rate was $605.60. Thanks to my $300 annual credit from the Citi Strata Elite Card as well as an additional $50 promo, the nightly rate dropped to $488.94.
Transportation to/from the Hotel
We rented a car at Trapani-Birgi Airport (TPS) and drove the 27 miles to the hotel. This took around 41 minutes. When we left, we drove to Palermo’s Falcone Borsellino Airport (PMO). This took around 80 minutes.
Location
The hotel is not convenient if you do not have a car. There is nothing within walking distance and the approach from the airport made the area look incredibly rural. The city of Mazara del Vallo is not far and we found ourselves dining there.
When we pulled into the property, there was a parking lot to the right. The main building was straight ahead.
The grounds were beautiful and we got a calm, pastoral feeling as soon as we entered.
The entrance to the lobby was on the right side of the driveway. You can pull up to unload bags and then use the self parking lot or just walk up from the lot with your bags if you’re traveling light.
The lobby was bright and open with fresh flowers, a piano, and several seating areas. There was also a bar found there.
An outdoor terrace provided even more seating.
Water was available throughout the day in the lobby.
Check-in
Reception was immediately to the right once inside the lobby. We arrived around 7:30 PM and our suite was ready. We did not need a late checkout and the agent checking us in led us down the hall to the suite.
The hallways were clean and in good repair. We were located on the same level as reception.
Superior Junior Suite Pool View (103)
The Almar Giardino di Costanza Mazara del Vallo offers 88 guestrooms and suites.
The suite opened with a small hallway.
A wardrobe on the left held robes and flip flops as well as a tote bag for use on property.
Next to this space was another that held the safe, coffeemaker, tea kettle, coffee, condiments, glasses, cups, and more. A refrigerator was also there with some beverages for sale.
The bathroom was to the right. It offered a vanity with two sinks, a large shower with a bench, a toilet, and a bathtub.
The vanity offered plenty of counter space.
It held bottles of Philip Martin’s Body Lotion and Hand Soap as well as some other amenities.
I liked that the toilet was in its own room along with a bidet.
The shower was a good size. Water pressure and temperature were both fine. My husband loved that the shower had a bench. More toiletries were mounted to the shower wall.
The tub was across from the vanity.
The living room and bedroom areas filled the rest of the space.
The area closest to the bathroom held two armchairs, a table, the TV, and a desk with chair.
I got some work done at the desk in the corner.
I love these ceramic heads throughout Sicily.
A console table was also in the room.
Bottled water was provided daily.
There were also some cookies left at turndown.
The bedroom area held a king-sized bed, nightstands, and a vanity table and chair.
The vanity table and chair filled the corner near the bed.
The suite also had a furnished balcony.
The views from there were relaxing.
Dinner
We were tired when we arrived and decided to have dinner at AquaMadre Restaurant. Had it been earlier, we would have left the property and found a nice restaurant. This one was disappointing. The service was inefficient and all of the food mediocre. Breakfast is also served in this restaurant. It was much better than dinner.
We started with a salmon amuse bouche. It was fine.
A bread basket was then brought out. Everything was kind of meh.
My husband had some octopus, which he enjoyed.
We then both had a version of Pasta alla Norma. I usually enjoy this dish, but this one was lacking flavor. Throughout the meal, no one checked on us, the server could not open a bottle of wine and broke the cork three times, and she forgot to bring me my beverage and left it melting on a counter.
Breakfast
The hotel offers a breakfast buffet. It was a bit picked over in some areas while others were constantly replenished. There were several hot dishes, breads, pastries, fruit, meats, cheeses, cereal, and more offered there. Juice and prosecco were self serve, but servers took coffee orders.
Pancakes
Scrambled Eggs (I think)
Boiled Eggs, Grilled Tomatoes, and Baked Beans
Sausage and Bacon
Meats
Cheese
Fruit
Cereal
Condiments and crackers
Bread
Salad ingredients
Yogurt and more fruit
Pastries and baked goods
Fruit juice. The raspberry juice was sweet, but interesting.
Prosecco
Poolside Lunch
My husband was hungry and ordered a Club Sandwich and French Fries by the pool. He enjoyed his lunch. Food is ordered via QR codes.
Public Areas & Amenities
The hotel has a spa, a fitness center, an outdoor pool, an indoor pool, a tennis court, Wi-Fi, a bar and restaurant, and meeting and event spaces.
The pool was large with lots of chairs around it.
Towels were available there.
I loved the lush courtyard.
The plants throughout the property were beautiful.
The tennis court was past the pool.
There was also a random boat there.
The pool table was in the lobby.
The hotel also had some fun art throughout.
Overall Impression:
We enjoyed our stay at the Almar Giardino di Costanza Mazara del Vallo. The grounds are lovely, the suite was comfortable, and the staff was friendly. The restaurant is a bit of a disappointment and I recommend driving a bit for much better food.
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Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
