V Villa Igiea, a Rocco Forte hotel

The restored premises were beautiful and made for a lovely stay. I especially enjoyed breakfast, with its authentic Sicilian specialties. The whipped ricotta with honey and pistachios was my favorite, and the eggs carbonara didn’t disappoint. The terrace bar was also a lovely escape for expertly curated cocktails.

A gorgeous hotel in a beautiful location, with service that was amazing at every level. The staff were beyond hospitable. Some of the best service I’ve had in Europe, truly a five star resort.

We’ve just returned from a lovely 5 day stay at Villa Igiea. Waking up to the ocean view was hard to beat, though it isn’t very walkable just outside the hotel. We usually called an Uber or used the hotel shuttle to the city center. It runs every hour from 10a-7:30p and takes about 15-20 mins depending on traffic. I wish it ran later, until 9 or 10pm, since that’s when we usually finish dinner out, but getting around wasn’t too inconvenient. The breakfast buffet and menu are well worth trying. There was a lovely spread of greens, fruit, yogurt, cheeses, and local pastries. The eggs were always perfectly cooked, and I thought the cannoli was the best I had in all of Palermo: very fresh pastry, light, and not too sweet. Service was thoughtful and thorough the whole time. Housekeeping noticed I’d left my glasses in the bathroom and protected them with a microfiber cleaning cloth. They also neatly gathered all the wires we’d left out in the room with velcro tie down straps. PS, there was a lovely orange cat near the bar porch. Wish we’d seen more of him!

The staff are so friendly and professional, anticipating what you need. This hotel takes you back to a time when service was the utmost priority. The sad part is having to leave, because you get used to being treated like loyalty.