Athenaeum Palermo

The room was old and shabby, with a broken toilet that barely flushed unless we tried repeatedly and pushed hard. The bathroom towels were worn and fraying. Sound carried terribly: around 9 am we could hear the neighbors pulling curtains, flushing, and even scrubbing the toilet with a brush. The balcony was dirty, the chairs dusty, and it connected directly to the neighboring room's balcony, which felt unsafe. The location was poor too, with trash piled nearby, and we had to walk at least 20 minutes to find a decent restaurant. Don't be fooled by the spacious lobby. Inside, it felt like a trap, a place you couldn't get out of. As a Chinese proverb says, “In barren lands and wicked waters, there are always cunning people.” This began when my friend came for a trip, booked the wrong dates at another hotel, and we ended up booking this one. The front desk staff were extremely rude and unprofessional. At one point we asked to check out, but they refused and made us stay a night. I'd never experienced discrimination like this, even at four or five-star hotels. When I went to visit my friend, the receptionist demanded my passport for registration and said I could only stay five minutes. When we asked why, she changed the limit to 30 minutes, then 20, while holding my passport and refusing to give it back. We argued from 7 pm until 8 pm. It was exhausting. Later the manager came to mediate when we asked to check out. I told him the experience was very unpleasant, that I couldn't trust them, especially the reception staff, and that I felt discriminated against. After dinner we returned at 23:30, and another receptionist demanded an extra €25, saying he'd changed the booking from a single room to a double and that this was the total fee. But my friend had already booked a double room, and there hadn't been any room change. We checked with him several times and paid reluctantly. The next morning, as we were leaving, the receptionist stopped my friend and demanded another €4 for city tax. It felt like being robbed step by step. You simply can't trust them.

I felt completely scammed. The room smelled awful and bore no resemblance to the clean, modern rooms pictured on the website. The online photos are completely misleading and seem to have nothing to do with the actual hotel. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. Save your money and avoid this dump.

The free underground parking is a great perk, and water and other drinks in the vending machines are fairly priced. The beds were comfortable, the bathroom worked properly, and everything was clean. Breakfast was simple but tasty. It's a nice, basic place that's a bit old, though everything works well. I saw people say it stinks, but I didn't notice any bad odors.

The beds are really comfortable, and it's a nice, very clean place. I'd recommend it for friends or a school trip. The food is very basic, the toilet makes a loud noise when flushed, and you can hear the people next door.