We had a really enjoyable stay at the Costa Azul, this Hotel is lovely. Extreemly clean, family run and managed, with great emphasis on creating a proffessional image. Maria & Daniella, Linda & Lydia were always avaliable to answer any questions and make your visit pleasant.
We had a standard double room which was very comfortable and relaxing, although situated by the railway the trains ran a minimal service.
Food was quite adequate, breakfast is continental and dinner was pre-ordered in the morning. The external dining area was by the pool. The location was fine -with transport, quite a walk from town by beach - but town was quaint with fantasic seafood resturant, nice bars and wow what a lovely ice cream parlor.
I reccomend a car, so much to see, amazing views and so many places to visit. The train from Balestrate to Palermo is well worth the trip. Loved Segresta, San Vito, Caslemare del Golfo all accessable by car.
The rubbish is a problem you will encounter in Sicily it is not a problem of the hotel although the management endevour to address this issue. Would return with no hesitation, I felt we had a real glimpse of what Sicily could offer, Loved it !!

Hotel very nice, rooms clean and spacious, but in the front of the hotel is a train line, and to the rear is a main road. There are rules and regulations all around the hotel, and the owners made you feel very uncomfortable. The meals were tasty but very little choice, most of the dining staff very pleasant. Bar closed early each evening and we were not allowed music after the restaurant closed around 10.30.
There is no night life around and if you want to venture into the "town" it will cost you 5euros per person return, not that the town is worth visiting more than once.
All of the trips we wanted to go on were expensive, and most were cancelled at the last minute. You need to hire a car if you want to see or do anything. One day when we went down to the pool at 10.30am, we were told it was closed for cleaning, we were not allowed to use the pool until after 2pm, unfortunately that same day my husband picked up a severe ear infection. The walk to the dirty beach takes you past all the overflowing bins of rubbish, you can imagine the smell. If we had not had such a great bunch of people staying at the hotel, the holiday would have been a wash out.

This review really echoes a lot of what has been said previously but....here goes anyway.

The hotel is great. It's clean, attractive, modern and the staff are lovely. We didn't have any issues with service and all in all a very friendly atmosphere prevailed. We stayed half board and had, with the exception of a couple of evenings, our dinner there. The food was good - ok not exceptional - but value for money and we were served courteously and quickly. One minor gripe is that they do want you to dine in the gazebo like structure at the side of the reception area and not at the open air tables or in the bar. This seems a bit of an inflexible "blind-spot" but not the end of the world.

We had a suite with a balcony which was extremely comfortable and the air con worked fine.

OK. The area. As previous reviews have stated the nearest beach is pretty dire. There is some political issue going on with regards to refuse disposal and, as a result, masses of rotting rubbish is piled up at the collection points. It seems that they also make attempts to dispose of the waste by burning it!! Not good. Thus the entrance to the nearest beach to the hotel is a real eye (and nose!) sore. Such a shame as the potential for a truly lovely beach is there if the local/national politicians could get their act together.

Ballestrate is a bit tatty but.....is also quite charming as well once the eye gets accustomed. There are enough bars and restuarants to suffice and the food (as throughout all Sicily) is very good quality.

Hiring a car is recommended. Plenty of nice towns and coastal areas to keep one occupied but a car is needed rather than relying on public transport. That said there is a fairly frequent bus service (quicker than train) to Palermo - a city which is worth spending a day exploring.

In summary - nice hotel, rather less than nice area. We did, however, thoroughly enjoy our stay.