VOIhotels

VOI Marsa Siclà Essentia

VOI Marsa Sicla Essentia is a quiet family resort in southeast Sicily, for parents who want a sandy beach and will be driven to it. It is about 85 minutes from Comiso, a four-star with 150 rooms in green grounds, one pool with a children's pool beside it, two restaurants and a Kids Club for ages three to eight. The private sandy beach at Sampieri is 1.4 kilometres away along the resort's own route, so this is not a beachfront hotel. Guests praise the quiet green setting, the sand at Sampieri, the family facilities and the clean rooms. The complaints are that distance to the beach, the complexity of choosing between the meal plans, and a location remote enough to make a hire car worthwhile. The thing people wish they had known is that all-inclusive is the All Inclusive Premium formula rather than the only rate, and that the resort suits a quiet family week rather than a lively one. All Inclusive Premium covers the buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner at Il Baglio, the light lunch at the Ossi di Seppia beach bar on reservation, and an open bar of selected national and international spirits by the glass; bottled drinks, the spa and the airport transfer are extra, and the minibar is a daily refill of mineral water, with Deluxe rooms getting one refill of the rest. Compare it against half and full board, because the open bar is the part you are paying for. The Superior Room takes four, and the 50-square-metre Deluxe Family Room is the one with two bathrooms. Anyone who wants to step from the room onto sand should look at the beachfront resorts nearby.

VOI Baia di Tindari Resort

VOI Arenella Resort

VOI Arenella Resort is a big family resort on the coast near Siracusa, for families who want pools, activities and a base for southeast Sicily. It has 410 rooms, three freshwater pools and three restaurants on the Arenella and Ognina shore, where sand gives way to rocks and solarium platforms. The rooms sit 250 to 600 metres from the first sea point and about 800 metres from the beach, reached on foot or by a free shuttle train. Guests praise the large grounds, the pools and the family activities, the position for Siracusa and the nearby beaches, and the buffet with its gluten-free and celiac support. The complaints are a beach that is not beside every room, all-inclusive exclusions covering the beach bar and the branded drinks, and entertainment that leans Italian-speaking. The thing people wish they had known is to book the all-inclusive board explicitly, because half board is sold alongside it. All-inclusive covers the buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner with the drinks from its own line, Wi-Fi and the children's programming, but it is not valid at the beach bar restaurant, and the international and branded spirits, the bottled and canned drinks and the ice cream all cost extra, as does the club card in season. The Superior Room splits a living room from the bedroom, and the Family Comfort Room is the family answer without premium-room benefits. Anyone who wants a luxury beachfront resort should look elsewhere on the island.

VOI Tanka Resort