Agriturismo Il Poggio Luxury Country Resort

The location is quiet and the view is amazing, which made the stay for me. The hotel is outside town and difficult to find with Google Maps or GPS, so pay close attention. You'll need to plan ahead to drive somewhere for lunch or dinner. Breakfast was plain but fine. The staff were eager to help and talk, even though their English wasn't very strong. They made a big difference: they got us a table at their restaurant, Il Borgio, about a 5 minute drive away, arranged an Etna tour at the last minute, one day ahead, and recommended and booked a wine tasting at Cantine Patria for that same day. It was great. Our room was cosy and the bathroom was great, though the bed was very hard and there were ants in the kitchen area. The pool was good too.

The service was excellent and the staff were super friendly, but we didn't enjoy our stay at Il Poggio. Expedia advertised it as a luxury country resort, which felt misleading to us. It's an Agriturismo with a pool. Our room had a lot of humidity and mold, and it was very hard to sleep there. We only noticed after reception had closed at 4 pm, so we couldn't ask to change rooms. The property was full, and I don't think a change would have been possible anyway. The owners knew about the room's condition, but only put in aroma diffusers to cover the musty smell, without much success. The shower pipes were broken and water leaked from the ceiling, which was gross. The walls were so thin that we could hear the dog barking all the time in the room upstairs. There's nothing close by, and after dark there's nothing to do at the property. Everything closes, and there's no reception area.

Getting to Alcantara was easy, and the place itself was beautiful. Everything was good!