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The Villa Athena Resort in Agrigento, Sicily is a gorgeous luxury resort but is it worth the luxury price tag? While two restaurants, a pool, gorgeous grounds, and exclusive temple view made the property seem like a dream come true, restaurant availability became an issue. The proximity to the temples is certainly the strongest feature and allowed us to pay the park fee and enter directly from the hotel. While this luxury 5-star resort is expensive, going in the off-season did give us a 50% discount which made the experience within our “splurge budget.”
Quick Verdict
Read more about why we found our stay comfortable but only partly functional…
Location and First Impressions of Villa Athena Resort
We drove to Agrigento using a rental car from the Palermo Airport and saw two other Greek and Roman ruins along the way. Once in Agrigento, finding the hotel was easy and there was ample parking. At first look, the resort is beautiful, impeccably clean, and featured Greek and Roman décor. We were offered a glass of prosecco upon arrival at the beautiful lounge room.
We highly recommend having a private vehicle while staying along Sicily’s south coast. The immediate area is agricultural countryside, and the city of Agrigento is a couple miles uphill from the hotel. This means that there are no other restaurants or services to walk to from the hotel except into the Valley of the Temples Regional Park.
The southern coast of Sicily has many interesting attractions that are within easy reach by car. Visiting all the temples will require a car along with visiting the Kolymbethra Gardens and the Peter Griffo Archeological Museum. We also spent a day driving into the gorgeous countryside and paying a visit to the 82nd Airborne World War II Memorial, which we highly recommend.
Room tour: Our Junior Suite with Balcony at the Villa Athena Resort
Our junior suite included a balcony with a garden view and a peek-a-boo view of the temples. We are all about the balcony–as you will see in any of our other hotel reviews—this one was large enough to have a cute café table and chair set.
The room itself was divided into a living room suite separate from the bedroom with the bathroom as the divider. This turned out to be a very functional layout for us because I am up late and CT is up early. The living room area of the suite had a couch, coffee table, chairs and a window we could open to the garden.
The bedroom area had a comfortable bed, bench seat, and desk. The room had coffee/tea service, a safe, and a mini fridge. Space around the king-sized bed was limited. We could walk around both sides of the bed but maneuvering a suitcase through was tricky as was getting out to the balcony since the doors opened into the room.
Night Light and Noise
The suite shared a wall with the hotel front desk so we did hear toilet flushes often, but otherwise the hotel was very quiet. This was probably due, more so, to the fact that we pretty much had the hotel to ourselves. Light at night was not an issue though the Temples are lit through the night and the hotel’s pathways are lit through the night. These lights were low and didn’t interfere with sleeping, in fact, you may want to bring a nightlight.
Bathroom Review
The bathroom had Jack-and-Jill sinks with a generous amount of counter space and under sink storage. The shower included a combination bathtub. My note here for anyone who is a little nervous in the shower: The bathtub had the slanted back rest on both ends of the tub. Unfortunately the showerhead arm did not extend very far, so we were literally standing on the slanted back rest of the bathtub when showering. I did relay this to the hotel management, so I am hoping they will address this safety issue. Otherwise, the bathroom was comfortable and the toiletries and towels on the high end.
Villa Athena Hotel’s Finest Feature and Where Amenities Fell Short of Expectations
Private Entrance to the Valley of the Temples
The best feature of the hotel was certainly its proximity to the Valley of the Temples. The view of the temples, especially at night, was amazing. We were able to buy our entry ticket directly from the hotel’s front desk. They gave us a key for the private entrance which was located in the parking lot. It was a short walk on a dirt trail to get to the temples and intersected the park’s main path at the Temple of Concordia. The park is open late and the paths in the park are lit. We felt very safe walking around the temples and back to the hotel at night.
The resort aspect of the hotel included beautiful grounds, a pool, and outdoor seating with casual dining and bar. Being that we were staying in Sicily in January, the pool was cold, the outdoor bar and al fresco dining closed so the outdoor seating was put away and tables covered.
Dining at the Villa Athena Resort
Upon our arrival the first day at dusk after a long day of sightseeing, we asked to make a reservation for dinner but were told that both restaurants were closed. We were told that we could still order room service “snacks” which turned out to be very good simple meals—a panini or eggplant parmesan–which must have been cooked in the restaurant on-site.
The next night, we were able to eat at the hotel’s formal restaurant. Everything was plated beautifully with locally sourced food but was quite pricey. The “splurge budget” was certainly being drained! The third night the restaurant was again closed and we happily ordered the snack plates again.
Honestly, the reduced food options were the most disappointing part of our stay. When we research hotels, we look for ones with multiple dining options either on-site or within walking distance. We feel uncomfortable driving in a foreign country at night. Since dusk was around 5:30 pm, we were sorta stuck. That the restaurants were closed was not conveyed to us either in the hotel description or in the pre-stay communication.
The Hotel’s Included Breakfast
The included breakfast, on the other hand, was outstanding. A tea tray of breads and pastries was brought out immediately and plates were cooked to order. Seating for breakfast was in the formal dining room. The restaurant staff were a highlight of our stay—warm and professional.
Final Thoughts about a Stay at the Villa Athena Resort in Agrigento, Sicily
For a property charging nearly $500 per night, we expected the advertised dining experience to be consistently available. The repeated restaurant closures significantly reduced the value we received from the stay. Otherwise, the hotel is gorgeous, the staff professional, the view amazing and deserves its 5-star rating.
If you like staying at a resort to lounge at the pool, this still might be the place for you. The view of the temples from the pool is a sight like no other. Perhaps the best time to visit would be in early fall at the end of the peak season when the hotel’s amenities are fully functional, rather than the winter off-season. While this would come with a higher price point, the luxury amenities might make the stay more worthwhile.
Given the cost of the hotel and the limited evening dining options during our stay, we would personally choose a different accommodation in the Agrigento area on a future visit. Since we would have a private car anyway, there is no real need to stay within walking distance of the temples.
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