Hotel Plaza Opera

We paid over $900 euros for two nights and expected more for that price. Both rooms smelled of sewer gas, and we had to move after the first night because of booking issues, which weren’t the hotel’s fault. The rooms were bare, budget-style spaces, definitely not 4 star. On the second night, the bed had only a duvet with no cover. The “suite” had a sticky, unpleasant concrete floor. While waiting for a hot water issue to be fixed, we took our bottle of wine to the restaurant’s closed patio to have a glass. A woman working there came out, interrogated us about why we were there, and was very rude. We weren’t doing anything wrong, just trying to enjoy some kind of view while we waited for our room. The whole place felt tired and poorly run. I would NEVER recommend it or suggest anyone stay there unless they were desperate.

The morning and daytime front desk clerk was excellent and genuinely helpful. The other front desk staff were only OK and barely helpful, and housekeeping never quite got the room right. The hotel feels a bit run down, and the elevators take ages to reach each floor. The meeting room beside the lobby was always warm, so we had to ask every time for the air conditioning to be turned on. You have to pay just to sit on the roof, even for a few minutes, although the whole roof was empty. That’s ridiculous, and little things like this make a big difference. This is NOT a 4 star hotel on any level. There are better options nearby. I’d suggest choosing elsewhere unless you’re content with a 2 or 3 star hotel that happens to have 4 stars because it has a Spa.

We had recurring hot water and drainage trouble in the shower, and it wasn’t sorted out until our last day. The rooms looked good and were generally laid out well, and the staff were mostly helpful. They also accommodated some special birthday requests. The breakfast was really nice, and the view from the rooftop terrace was incredibly beautiful. The hotel is well placed for walking to Palermo’s main tourist areas, with several excellent restaurants nearby.

The good points were an OK breakfast and a decent location. Staff were OK too, but the rooms weren’t great. We booked the Junior suite, and it was nowhere near a suite. They don’t even provide a bottle of water; you have to buy one. The cleaning wasn’t great either. We chose this thinking it was a 4 Star hotel and would be good, but for the price I was very disappointed. I wouldn’t recommend staying here. Stay away.