The resort is very well located if you want to stay in the Italian Maldives where the sea deserves its nickname. It is not on the front beach but there is a free shuttle that brings you to one of the lido. Personally, we'd rather have gone by car to another beach between Lido Sabbioso e Lido Bora Bora where the beach is far better than any others. it is about a mile away from the resort.
About the food at the resort, let's say that is not that exceptional as I could have read in previous comments, it is good but not more. My family in-law is from Sicily and I get used to eat very good Italian food. Perhaps they change from one chef to another.
The buffet is pretty big but you might not have the opportunity to taste some of their specialties. For example, if you want to eat some cornetti fulfilled with cream, you'd rather be among the first that gets breakfast otherwise you will never have some. The same about some specialties that are on a daily basis put in the buffet. The dessert are mainly fruits and I should say almost only fruits. The sweet desserts such as pastries will be reserved for some specific dinners and in a very limited quantity. So bad because Italy has so many sweet specialties that worth to be eaten. About the children's corner, there were no variety for food at all, not even once some fish. Just remember that most of the hosts are Italian and so the food is. Do not expect sometime to time an alternative dish. However, it is great for a full-immersion.
The rooms were quite nice. The resort is pretty new and so are the room. The AC is well-placed because the air do not get blown directly on the bed which allows you to benefit from cool air but not freezing while sleeping. The mattresses are not comfy. You will probably feel back pain after a week sleeping there. Moreover the Spa and so the massages are not high level. They are not expensive but the quality is not there. At the fitness center, only one apparel worked well and there were no AC working. So I gave up making some exercise there. Watch out of the mosquitos! The resort should implement a anti-mosquitos program before the season starts.
About the animation, we did not expect big evening animation, but there were truly ridiculous, even the last evening where the lights of the water show were down and so the show appeared to be in the dark.
About the kid club, there were only 2 animators when there were more numerous the previous year. Therefore, it was difficult to take care of children of 5 years old at the same time as 10 or 11 years old from both gender by the way.
Down the road, I believe (some of the host came for the second consecutive year and testimony of their disappointment this year) that the Management wanted to cut the costs this year which had consequences on the overall services and quality of the resort. I was disappointed because I expected more from what I read, however, the fares are good enough, and my family experience was good in general because we moved and visit different places over there. Special thanks to Giorgio and Jean-Pietro that were very kindly and helpful: Giorgio always had a special attention to us.

If you are looking for burger and chips this is not the hotel for you , if however you are looking for a true Italian holiday this hotel has it all . The food is delicious and we found the staff very friendly, we speak very poor Italian and yet our pathetic attempt was warmly received and we were made to feel very welcome. This is a hotel mainly used by Italian holidaymakers and we were the only English staying at the time , in fact we didn’t hear another English voice in the 10 days we stayed in Ugento , bliss !
The rooms were spotless and clean towels everyday , mosquitoes are a problem so be prepared although we were able to buy stuff easily.
Loved the food and drank too much lovely local wine , the lunch bag was a really nice touch if like us you are off out exploring every day .
We had a wonderful holiday and fell in love with this beautiful as of yet unspoilt part of Italy definitely had the holiday blues on returning home .

We booked Eden Resort Country & Spa, Ugento Italy a few months ago, through voyage prive, for June 2018. As my partner is not a big drinker, we choose the “light all-inclusive option, as I think for the full all inclusive it was another few hundred pounds each.

We arrived at 1am after flight delays etc and the 1.5-hour journey from the airport to the hotel (cost 100 euros, one way) we were looking forward to a nice cup of tea, but there are no tea/coffee making facilities in the room. We were entitled to a “welcome drink” which we didn’t get, but I would have thought surely, they would have had the forsight to just leave us a bottle of water. Luckily, we had a bottle with us so it wasn’t a major problem. The room itself was very modern and clean as was the bathroom. The hot water was only just about warm for the first two nights and then they must have turned up the temperature as it was fine after that. There are no mattress protectors under the sheet, which again would be beneficial to them as those mattresses won’t stay clean for too long. The TV in the rooms only show Italian programmes, nothing in English.

The resort itself was beautiful and as a previous review mentioned, and has so much more potential. While we were there, they seemed to be getting ready for the summer season. One review mentioned algae in the pool, but the pool was spotless. The pool bar was full of cobwebs, but after a few days they cleaned it up and put a young guy there serving ice tea etc. They were putting on evening lights, which they hadn’t done in the first few days we were there, so your holiday could depend on what time of year you go. There was no evening entertainment, just recorded piano music, which drove us mad. Mosquitoes were also a nuisance so take your sprays.
There is a light all inclusive option, or a full all-inclusive option and this is where the problems started. So, the light all-inclusive option, only includes some cheap tasting wine at meal times. If we wanted water in jugs at mealtimes that was free, but if we wanted bottled water to take to the pool, there is a charge for that. There is a very very small bar there, with a couple of bottles of spirits, but we would have had to pay for them anyway. The bar seemed closed most of the time. The light A.I. option does not include transfers to the beach in the hotel courtesy bus. That will cost another 80 euros. For both A.I. options, you get your 3 meals a day and that’s it. There is no afternoon tea, or someone providing snacks throughout the day, you just get your 3 meals a day. There isn’t a 24- hour service, in fact, there isn’t a telephone in the room. A couple we met on the full A.I. were very angry to find out they would have to pay for the ice-creams they had eaten during their stay. They aren’t included in the all-inclusive option. I never tried the spa, but I saw the newly polished nails from one of the guests, she wasn’t impressed, and I am glad I didn’t waste my money.

The food was average. Breakfast consisted off a choice of 2 cereals, a few yogurt options, one choice of bread for toast, a plate of cheese and ham or a choice of around 10/12 pastries. Did I forgot to mention fruit, slices of melon and watermelon. There are no eggs, bacon, sausages, pancakes. Quite often there was never any cold milk out and you had to go searching for someone to help. Very disappointed as I love eggs for breakfast. You pre-order your lunch and main meals and to be honest we had no idea what we were ordering. Although there was a translation Italian to English on the menu, it was very vague. The side dishes were pretty much the same every day and the same for lunch/dinner, although they did vary the odd thing. If you are a dessert lover, forget it. One choice of deserts in the evening and I noticed if they didn’t all get eaten in one night, you had the leftovers the next night as well.

As for the staff, they speak very little English, as I speak very little Italian, but if I was managing the hotel, surely you would have someone on shift who can translate. After all, you are paying for a service. Although the staff may smile, we didn’t find them particularly friendly. Possibly the language barrier, I don’t know. The caretaker Muhammad was great though and he was the only person that sat down with us and talked to us.

Under the right management this could be a thriving business and we did see the manager on several occasions, who I would have thought would have mingled with guests, but unfortunately not. Maybe they need to re-think their policies and question why the hotel is half empty. The potential is there.

This is an honest review of our experience but as they seem to be getting ready for summer, I guess it is quite possible they could now start producing snacks during the day, or open the bar, I don’t know, but I would suggest to check your booking and check your All-inclusive options and what exactly you are getting for your money. To me it seemed very little.