Very relieved!

If you've booked this hotel, don't panic. We booked to stay two nights at this Hotel as part of a self-drive tour of Sicily and I was really worried after reading the reviews, expecting some run down hole. This hotel is absolutely fine. The rooms were comfortable,clean and larger than average, the food was ok and the staff very courteous. The only down side was that the pool was unusable due to the very strong winds.

San Leone is the Sicilian equivalent of a small British seaside town but without a good beach and I agree that you probably wouldn't want to spend a week there but it is a good location for visiting the temples a few miles up the road (take the car).

Poor reviews unfounded

We don't all wish to stay in a tourist trap. Whilst agreeing that Agrigento itself is none too attractive,most of us go there to learn something about our culture and not to sit around on the beach sunbathing. The hotel and staff are well above par and food at the Ristorante Pescatore just along the promenade has to be sampled to be believed. OK no staff in posh uniforms for which one pays extra. Just good,honest Sicilian food well presented and at a sensible price.

Stay away!!

We stayed here right after Christmas 2004, admittedly in the off-season. However, that doesn't excuse the terrible service. We arrived in mid-afternoon, having missed lunch during our trip. When we asked about room service or any food whatsoever, we were told that nothing was available and that we would have to wait until dinner was served. That occurred in a cavernous room in which the heat had been turned off, so it was uncomfortably cold. The information from the front desk staff was unreliable; on one occasion (when I asked them to call us a cab) they told us that the temples were an easy 5-minute walk from the hotel, when, in fact, they are 45 minutes away and the trip involves walking along a divided highway with no sidewalk. The hotel is situated on the watefront, but it is behind a gas station and an empty lot full of litter. It is a fairly new building, but it is not well-constructed; doors stick, the place is cold, etc. Finally, everything around the place is closed in the winter, so there is nothing nearby to do (except the temples, which are fabulous). The waterfront consists of a serious of cheap carnival attractions, so it's hard to imagine it's much better in the summer season. Stay clear.

Great Hotel

We stayed at the hotel for 3 days, we originally were only staying over night, it is off the tourist side of town on the water, great views, walk to great restaurants, about 3/4 min. to the temples and the food and service was excellent. we would go back there again

Surprised at the negative reviews

I must say, I am a bit shocked by the other reviews. I do agree that Agrigento itself has no redeeming features other than the temples themselves. The hotel I found quite comfortable and a good value. Our room overlooked the pool and sea, at night we could see the temples lit up in the distance, all quite beautiful. We visited in June and never encountered any loud noises or kareokee, the other people refered to. We traveled from Taormina (which I agree is quite wonderful, but a long distance to drive round trip). We spent the night and visited the temples the next day before the tour buses arrived (quite wonderful and only a short direct drive up the hill from the hotel). We then went into the city (waste of time) and returned to the hotel to relax and spend one more night. We found the staff helpful and quite nice, the food was well priced and quite acceptable, as were the rooms. We have certainly stayed in nicer places, but this place by no means was a dump!

THIS IS NOT A 4* HOTEL!

We were having a wonderful holiday.....until we arrived at the much anticipated Dioscuri Bay Palace Hotel in Agrigento! After a lovely week in Taormina we were looking forward to a few days of luxury whilst exploring the Valley of the Temples. Firstly Agrigento is an ugly, unwelcoming poor part of Sicily which should be avoided on an overnight basis at all costs! The hotel was a disappointment from our first impressions, right up until we left! It was a tired looking, cheaply built square block with an unimpressive foyer and reception area, dirty worn chairs, thread-bare rugs and uninspiring decor. The atrium was a cold unwelcoming space with a partitioned area they claim as a restaurant at one end, a small bar with 3 stools at the other along with a few chairs in the middle for seating for the awful Kareokee which blares throughout the place on a nightly basis - it was awful! The rooms were of a decent standard, but as we were stuck above the entrance, all we could hear was a screech as the automatic doors opened and closed every 5 minutes. The balcony was a waste of time as it looked over the car park and again was in desperate need of attention - the tiles were broken there was paint flaking off the walls and the plants all along the balconies were dead and withered. There was also no attempt to make the space private as all that stood between your balcony and the next was an open iron low partition. The pool, when open was freezing and even in Mid July was too cold to swim in. The hotel claims to have a glorious location with it's infinity pool and stunning backdrop of the sea - I agree it looks lovely in the photo, however on closer inspection, there is no access to the beach via the hotel and just as well, as the shore just below the pool's wall is full of sewage and rubbish!! My advice to anyone thinking about a hotel in Agrigento is DON'T! Base yourself somewhere like Taormina or even Syracusa and do a daytrip to the Valley of the Temples. It may seem like a long day, but there is literally nothing else to do there and this place left a bad taste in our mouths for the remainder of the holiday! The Framon Group should be ashamed to have this hotel associated with it's name! BE WARNED.

What a dump- avoid at all costs

Avoid this hotel and indeed the city of Agrigento at all costs. The hotel is located in a run down part of an ugly city and borders a very windy stretch of the Med. The beach on the other side of the fence is strewn with refuse. The pool shuts between 12.30 and 3.30pm each day but frankly the wind makes it impossible to enjoy. The hotel is awful and impersonal. Don't even attempt to get a full nights sleep. The interior is reminisent of an aircraft hangar, with a large atrium. The bar has a karaoke singer in every night who keeps every guest awake until 11.30pm. When I complained to the manager he refused to have it stopped and regarded this as 'normal'. We booked for 3 nights but left after 2. Stay in Taormina- much nicer.

Comfortable large hotel on the water

Perfectly nice, modern large-scale hotel, comparable to a major chain hotel in the US. Balconies overlooking the sea are a nice touch. Located almost on the beach (although we didn't go so don't know if access is convenient) in San Leone, down the hill from Agrigento.