We arrived at Lido Valdesi to our four pre-booked, pre-paid beds and found two of them already…read morecovered with someone else's belongings. Since we had the reservation, we moved the items aside and set up on our beds. The woman whose things they were then showed up and insisted the beds were hers, despite not having a wristband confirming payment. Things escalated quickly, we ended up face to face in a heated argument, and while I went to find staff, she physically lay down on top of my friend, who was already on the bed, and refused to get up. Staff and security got involved but told us they "couldn't touch her because she's a female," leaving us to resolve it ourselves. My friends spent a good chunk of the morning on edge, worried the women would come back. Despite paying in advance and dealing with a situation staff should have handled, we received nothing beyond a verbal apology , no refund, no gesture of goodwill.
That said, we didn't let it ruin our day, Mondello itself is gorgeous, and once things settled we had an amazing time. But if you're paying for a reserved spot, know that staff may not step in to actually enforce it.