We spent 7 nights here and while the staff is wonderful and hotel pleasant and clean there is one MAJOR drawback - the awful hotel restaurant, Al Capone. In spite of the high price level at the hotel, breakfast seemed made up of stuff bought en masse at the cheapest budget store in town. Everything lowest quality. Selection tiny and did not change once the whole week. The coffee was almost undrinkable. The special "egg service" was a complete joke - omelette was so soggy it was practically wet. Nothing warm except sometimes a type of "bacon".
Having read about the chef and the exquisite Sicilian dishes he supposedly makes, we decided to give a chance to lunch and dinner at the restaurant when we were too tired to taxi downtown (10 Euro each way, too far to walk with small child). Every dish in the menu sounds exciting, always some sort of emulsion of this on a bed of that with safran and urchin and licorice etc. Yet, what you get on the table is what I imagine "Italian night" was like in Romania in the 1980s. Bland, soggy sop. Duck like chewy, dry liver. Spaghetti would've been same if you bought Barilla at the supermarked and boiled it in your tea kettle. "Welcome from chef" was left-over ham from breakfast. Just disrespect for fresh, Italian cuisine.
Cefalu has amazing, unpretentious restaurants (La Botte and Mandralisca are incredible and cost half of hotel restaurant) but with such an expensive hotel you also want to be able to dine in. Unfortunately, not possible.