Villa Gaia Hotel

“A gem in the heart of it all”

This boutique hotel is a gem. Not many places offer so many thoughtful amenities, and the breakfast was delicious. In a packed city, we had consistent parking and easy access to the town, the beach, restaurants, and markets. The hotel was very clean, and the staff was exceptionally welcoming. Every… more

This boutique hotel is a gem. Not many places offer so many thoughtful amenities, and the breakfast was delicious. In a packed city, we had consistent parking and easy access to the town, the beach, restaurants, and markets. The hotel was very clean, and the staff was exceptionally welcoming. Everything about this quaint hotel made our vacation comfortable and relaxing. We will definitely be coming back.

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“Great location!”

This is a wonderful place to stay. I only wish we could have stayed longer. The staff is fantastic and very helpful. The rooms are clean and comfortable. The only negative is that there is no lift. But, the staff will help you with your luggage. A special thank you to Sara!

“A Few Tips on Villa Gaia Hotel”

Just over one kilometer away from the train station, one can actually walk to Hotel Gaia. We decided to take a quick taxi for 15 Euros. There is a dedicated parking area to the side. One needs to contact the hotel to access the gate. The staff are friendly, genuine and accommodating. We were … more

Just over one kilometer away from the train station, one can actually walk to Hotel Gaia. We decided to take a quick taxi for 15 Euros. There is a dedicated parking area to the side. One needs to contact the hotel to access the gate. The staff are friendly, genuine and accommodating. We were able to secure a “sea view” room--#5. This Villa was recommended in the first and now second edition of Rick Steves Travel book on Sicily. In the first edition, there states that Gaia has a “elevator.” There is no such beast. And, due to the high ceilings, there are actually 2 stair cases to carry your luggage. And this is your responsibility. If you are savvy packer, you should have no problem with lugging your belongings. In Steves second edition, the wordage has been changed to, “no elevator.” It is good to know a major company checks. Rooms #5 and #6 have direct ocean views. The balcony is about five times bigger than normal. It was wonderful to view a sunset from our balcony. You can enjoy the comings and goings of the beach front of Cefalu. If you go to Google, there is a picture of a pool. There is no such beast on property. Where this pool is located wasn’t divulged to us. You do have access to two beach properties with chairs though. I would assume the towels went along with the request. We never did use the beach area as we live close to one back home. Breakfast was good. Italian sweets, yogurt and delicious Croissants. Coffee was made for you. There were also scrambled eggs and meat. On request, fried eggs could be made. We came across some Four-Star hotels in Sicily that didn’t have fried eggs. The room was large, the biggest in our 24-day sojourn around Sicily. There was another room with a bed. Decorations were wanting in this room though. We did have to call-up the night clerk to show us how to bring down the metal shutters. Also, to show us how to use the shower. Both the clerk and my wife got fairly wet when the nozzle went off. It became a laughing situation in the end. Even though the bathroom was a good size, the shower was excruciatingly small. The bed was good and so was the cool AC. It did take a while to cool down due to the high ceilings. There is a bar in front of Villa Gaia. The noise was minimal. By 20:00 it was very quiet. The only night we heard any discernible noise was when Italy was in a soccer championship. That noise died down in the first ten minutes with 5-0 loss. The real noise came from a diagonal bar that was operated by Cefalu Sea Palace. It was Saturday night, time to party and raise cane. LOUD music until 3:00AM. I don’t remember Hotel Gaia giving us any ear plugs. Cefalu is a highly sort after beach town. With that quality is a quaint historic old town that is a joy to walk around. Each ally has something to offer. Going into the Cefalu Cathedral is a must see. Our favorite restaurant was Porta Terra with a beautiful fountain. It is away from the waterfront and thus they made their own water theme. We highly enjoyed their meatballs made tasty tomato sauce with cheese inside. The eggplant parmigiana was to die for. As for pizza, we enjoyed the four-cheese pizza at Lilies. There are plenty of cafés and shops to explore in Cefalu. Spending 3 nights in Cefalu went by awfully quicky—even with the blaring music that one night. If you found this review “helpful” in any way, please click “thumbs-up” to let me know.

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