The Casale 1821 is a well presented hotel along a main road to Ragusa. Driving to get there is not picturesque and the high voltage electricity pylons may put you off at first, but once you are inside the facilities, the casale feels luxurious and very well presented. Rooms are tidy and comfortable, although some of the finishings (e.g. floors and furniture) do not have the 'rustic' and sturdy feel that the building itself shows.
I gave a lower ('OK') rating to the staff not because they did not try to be nice or helpful. In fact, the host Lucio was very nice and did everything he could to make our stay more pleasant. However, we felt that at times there was no one from the hotel to ask questions related to our stay, or to help us out. In a nutshell, we would have liked more presence of the owners or personnel in the core hours.
While the pool and the facilities were nice and functional, we felt that breakfast was below standards and expectations. We expected that such hotel would focus on local produce, freshly home baked cakes, local jams, bread, etc. Moreover, the breakfast room was practically self-service and unattended, and the facilities for hot drinks were not adequate (in particular to make cappuccino).
So overall we had a nice and pleasant stay, but we felt that something can (and I'm sure will) be improved to make it perfect.