My wife and I stayed at this hotel for our honeymoon and thought it was fantastic. When we went (September) it was pretty quiet and had a mostly Sicilian clientèle. This was exactly what we were after as we wanted to relax and not be surrounded by English people. We found that there was plenty to see and do in the surrounding area but spent the majority of the time lounging by the pool.

The food was consistently excellent but if there was any criticism there was a little lack of variation. We only encountered this as we ate at the hotel most nights. This is an upmarket hotel and as such does not have a menu that you can order from. You just ask the waiter whats on and he gives you some options. Most meals there came in 4 courses: starter, pasta, main (usually fish), and dessert. The staff were also very willing to bring you something different if you requested it. Whilst I was initially a bit scared of the the food on offer (i'm a little fussy) it all looked so good I couldn't help myself. I discovered a liking for many new foods during my stay here.

When we were there evening meals were generally eaten outside next to one of the pools which was a wonderful setting and on one night they had a fantastic live jazz band playing. The restaurant was busier at night as the restaurant attracts many people despite being a little bit in the middle of nowhere.

The breakfast was a lot better stocked than the previous review suggested, but again lacked a little variation. It was however all very tasty. I can't comment about the tea or coffee situation as neither my wife nor I drink them.

The rooms were spacious and we had a great balcony on which we could drink wine and play cards. Our bathroom was fine and certainly did not have a combined shower and toilet.

Whilst we had a few language issues (we are terrible at languages) with the staff, they were all friendly, polite and helpful. The hotel also looks a lot better than most of the photos suggest.

All in all, we loved it and would recommend to anyone who wants a relaxing holiday.

My boyfriend and I were really looking forward to the 'second leg' of our holiday, having spent a wonderful week at the Capofaro resort in Salina. Unfortunately, to say that Il Podere did not live up to our expectations, would be an understatement! The photos on the hotel website (and on ---) make the hotel seem truly magical. We were looking for a relaxing, authentic Sicilian experience, complete with the gorgeous local wine, food etc... Upon arrival at Il Podere, we found the buildings to be impressive (they have all the potential to make a wonderful hotel). Nevertheless, we ambled into reception and instead of being warmly greeted, we were completely ignored. We then went up to the room (no lift, no help offered with v. large bags). The room itself was adequate - a bit of character ... however, the 'bathroom' resembled a 'pod' with a shower/toilet all in one - the sort of thing you might find in a student hall of residence (but sadly, not as clean). Although we decided to try to make the best of this hotel, despite the rather poor first impressions, things looked bleak! Although the view from the room was splendid and we could see for miles, there seemed to be no other guests at the hotel.
It was rather late by this stage and we decided to chance the restaurant. Despite being such a lovely building, to get to the restaurant, we had to walk through a big deserted hall, and into a 'curtained off' area. There was no ambiance whatsoever (there were one or two other couples) and one hapless waiter who conjured up images of (a poor) Fawlty Towers.
We asked for the menu and were informed by the water, with a sort of hopeless desperation, that there was not one! Obviously, we were meant to be mind-readers! We ended up eating a rather bland meal (bog standard p. ham and melon, followed by sorry- for-itself fish - not surprised,really) which really echoed the rather bland attitude of the hotel. It wasn't so much that the food was bad, it was just the whole package. It was so awful, it was almost amusing ... but it wasn't, given the fact that we were paying rather a lot for the 'pleasure'!
Anyway, the meal experience left us totally underwhelmed and we went to the bar for a drink ... only, I think the word 'bar' is slightly too elaborate.
So, there it was, our first evening at Il Podere and to be honest, we could not wait to get away. Still we thought we would give the place a little longer to work its 'magic' and we stayed the night and woke up looking forward to breakfast. It was at this point however, that Il Podere really surpassed themselves. To get to 'breakfast', you have to walk through the 'dining room' to another curtained-off area, amidst chairs that had been stacked away (presumably after the management realised that they were not expecting guests in huge numbers). I can honestly say that I have had better breakfasts in 10 Euro-per-night youth hostels. What we had on offer was: half a croissant (burnt and stale); 2 small packets of cornflakes and some 'orange juice' (of a fashion). Coffee and tea seemed to be a HUGE effort and we had to ask for it several times. It was at this point that we had both had enough and decided to leave! We went upstairs, packed our bags and emerged at reception. When we were noticed,we asked to see the manager. He could not believe our woeful tale and apart from the fact that he acknowledged that breakfst was utterly poor, he would not accept our constructive comments! Luckily, we managed, through the agent that we had booked with, to negotiate matters so that we only had to pay for one night and did not lose our deposit. We left, breathed a sigh of relief and headed for the wonderful hotel Lady Lusya (see my review of this hotel).
All in all, Il Podere has wonderful potential to be a 4 or even 5 * hotel and it is such a terrible shame that this potential has not been realised. Many changes are necessary before this can be achieved. I would advise anyone who wants to embrace the Sicilian culture, food, wine and overall experience, to avoid this hotel at all costs.

We stayed for two nights in this great hotel. Don't be afraid of the road towards the hotel, on the road is a lot of waste. De staff did everthing to make our stay a plaesant one. We get free spumanti and fruit at the swimmingpool. Dinner at their restaurant was very nice. Tell the waiter what you like and he makes sure to get the right bottle of wine.