Grand Hotel Piazza Borsa

The hotel itself is good, but at checkout I was quoted €236 for the minibar, city tax, and bar charges. I knew the total should be under €100, so I asked for a receipt. The man at reception hesitated, said there was a system error, and gave me different figures. The amount came down to €63, which I eventually paid, but only after another attempt. I suspect they may try this especially with people checking out at night. The way it seemed to work was that there were several card terminals, including one that was fake and always showed a declined card. If I’d tried to pay the €236 by card, he could have handed me that terminal, then asked for cash. I think he would have entered just €63 in the register and kept the rest. That’s my impression of what happened. I’ve run into something similar twice in Sicily, once at a bar or restaurant, so be careful when they tell you the amount due.

We went for an anniversary dinner. The service was outstanding, but my swordfish tasted so fishy that I thought it had been sitting around for a while, and my husband’s braciole was tough. The other dishes were very good. We also stopped by one evening for cocktails by the fountain and again had great service.

The night shift front desk staff member was shockingly rude and unprofessional. He got angry and showed attitude when we said we’d booked through booking.com instead of directly with the hotel. There were four of us with two rooms booked, but he claimed we’d reserved one person per room and only let two of us check in to one room. He ruined our night in Palermo. If the hotel has a problem with guests booking through third-party websites, it shouldn’t list itself online. I’d strongly warn anyone considering it to be ready for hostility instead of hospitality.

If you’re staying in the Borsa area for work, this is a nice place for a short visit. The hotel was spotless, the staff gave excellent service, and I liked the classic Italian architecture and interiors. They’ve kept the original character while making the place comfortable, which is a great mix of tradition and comfort.