Montecarlo Palace

For the price, this is a good choice if you’re stopping for one night before a train or flight. The room was small but clean, with air conditioning, and the location is great. One tip: get breakfast at Anita's nearby, not at the place directly opposite.

Handy if you’ve got a packed schedule or need to be near palermo central station. The rooms are small, but enough if you mainly need somewhere to sleep. It’s a 5 mins walk to the station, 10 mins to the historic market, and 10-15 to palermo center.

We booked for three nights but left after one, only because we couldn’t find anything else available that night. The cover photo’s solid "9" rating is misleading. The mattress was practically nonexistent and very uncomfortable, and there was barely any room to move around the bed. The TV sat in a corner and got in the way of reaching the bathroom or getting into the right side of the bed. The bathroom seat was awkward to use because it was so close to the furniture. The shower tray was blocked, and the room, sheets, bedspread and towels were all dirty and worn. The bathroom also had hair and used products left in it. The room was meant to be soundproof, but we heard everything, even the door at the bottom of the stairs opening, with people coming and going constantly. Reception was inside a slot machine room that smelled of smoke as soon as you walked in. Avoid.

We lasted until 10 AM on the second day of a four-day booking, then checked out and asked for a refund for the remaining two nights. The staff said the manager would get in touch, but he never did. The two receptionists were kind, but couldn’t handle anything themselves and kept referring matters to this manager who was never there. The third staff member was unsettling, to put it mildly. Our first room was incredibly small, and after we complained they moved us into another one that felt like a tomb. The rooms overall are tiny, the window was useless and gave no view, and the bathroom seemed impossibly small. One lamp didn’t work, and the other had no wall outlet. Housekeeping was poor, and all the other room doors showed obvious signs of forced entry. The front door didn’t open properly, so every time we came in we worried about breaking the key. The slot machine hall smelled of smoke and had the usual clientele for that kind of place. The area felt quite seedy. Avoid staying here.