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Sicily Experience with Mangia’s fam trip – with Laura P
I was lucky enough to be invited on a Sicily familiarisation trip hosted by the fabulous Mangia’s hotel chain.
They have 5 resorts in Sicily as well as one in Sardinia. All their hotels are 4 or 5*, with fabulous facilities and great reviews. I started my trip by flying in to Catania from Bristol . This
is on the east side of Sicily. My stay began in the beautiful Brucoli resort which is a luxury 5* hotel with amazing views, delicious food and wine, as well as recently refurbished rooms. The style of this hotel was very spread out with beautiful gardens so perfect for having a walk and explore as well as lovely spots for swimming. The buffet evening meal and breakfast were lovely, with views of the bay at Syracuse as well as the most vibrantly coloured flowers. I then moved up to the North of Sicily on day 2 to the beautiful Cefalu area.
We passed Mount Etna, although it was a bit cloudy this particular day so my photos don’t do it justice, a popular choice for an excursion though with so much information and history available about this still very active volcano!
I visited Cefalu itself which has a lovely Cathedral, typically Italian town square and picturesque beach, as well as quaint souvenir shops and apparently the best ice cream in the whole of Italy (It really was delicious). The hotel here is the Polina resort which is a 4* village style hotel, the views speak for themselves. Our group had a hosted lunch at the impressive pizzeria, watched a beautiful sunset, had a rather fresh swim in the sea and also had a couple of hours free time to relax by the pool.
Following our time in Cefalu, we made our way to Sicily’s capital Palermo. This was a brilliant experience. A lively, vibrant City with so much going on. Fantastic monuments, a stunning castle and palace, lovely cobbled streets and little backstreet markets, a great experience and well worth the visit!
We then moved over to the west of Sicily and along the south west coast. I can’t describe how shocked I was at the stunning beach at our hotel – Mangia’s Torre del Barone, you would be forgiven for thinking it was the Caribbean, absolutely beautiful. This hotel also had a lovely Spa and natural Thermae pool which we had free time to enjoy. On our final day we then headed further down the West Coast and had another beautiful beach at Mangia’s Selinunte . We were spoiled with a true Sicilian dining experience with a variety of dishes at their outdoor grill restaurant for our final night.
I have never sold Sicily as a ‘beach destination’ but having experienced the West Coast, I will be from now on. A great trip, so much history and culture – not just Italian but Moorish, Arabic and Maltese too. It is very different to Mainland Italy with its own identity, culture, food and wine. A truly wonderful capital City, 2 airports that are easily accessible from the UK, lots of excursions, activities and points of interest as well as a wide range of accommodation, ranging from little typically Itlalian B&B’s to large All Inclusive and beach front properties. A great experience – I will most definitely be returning for a holiday.
If you would like more information on Sicily please feel free to visit me in store for a chat , email us at clevedon@globalindependenttravel.com or give us a call on 01275 774886.
I have also included a link below of the Mangia’s hotels, 4 of which I have stayed at – https://www.mangias.com/en/resorts
