Relais Abbazia Santa Anastasia Resort & Winery

The staff is professional, friendly, and helpful. Guests praise the cleanliness, comfort, and value for money. The location offers scenic surroundings, and the swimming pool provides relaxation.

It was unfortunate that our directions took us to the door of this remote hotel via a very rough and long road, which was barely navigable and plainly not the correct access, although we met several others who had made the same mistake. It would probably help if the hotel were to make their signage off the main road a bit more prominent. Our room was a little disappointing, being quite dark, and with only limited storage space. The bathroom was small, with an old corner shower which worked well enough but really needs an upgrade for a hotel of this calibre. Having said that, this is an old building and there must be limitations on the extent the rooms can be modified. The staff were at all times very helpful and friendly. It was a pity, however, that on our first night there was a wedding which meant that we could not use the much more splendid restaurant for dinner. The most impressive aspect of our stay, however, was certainly the great restaurant food and wine offerings. On our first two nights we had the half board menus, which were delicious and well thought out. Our a La carte dinner was also of excellent quality and much enjoyed. Breakfasts were ok, in a nice breakfast room, although the cooked buffet option ( the usual bacon and only slightly warm scrambled eggs which we found everywhere in other hotels ) was not that attractive. Wines are all from the immediate area and were not only excellent but also very reasonably priced. All in all much recommended, although somewhat out of the way via winding roads, but not too far from the popular Cefalù. Visitors should climb the 200 steps to the panoramic view which is very worthwhile. Also good walks in the area of the estate, but ours was curtailed because the route had been fenced off. The hotel needs to check this before recommending to others.

This is kind of a magical place, a beautifully restored 12th-century abbey and winery up in the hills not far from Cefalu. The place offers a beautiful pool with stunning views of the hills to the sea, the room was very comfortable and quiet, the grounds were beautiful, breakfast was excellent, and dinner (not included, of course) was both elegant and delicious. We also had a very interesting tour of the winery.