Palermo Hotels

Here is a site I used to do a lot of planning and info gathering for Sicily.

Sicily

I stayed at the Posta Hotel - almost across the street from the Huge main post office and I was able to walk almost all over Palermo from there.

Thanks for the suggestion. I saw this hotel in my search and was wondering about it.

I just stayed at the Bed And Breakfast La Bella Vita: http://www.bblabellavita.it/?lang=en. This is a small place (only four rooms). What a find! Each room is large and has a balcony, the bathrooms are large (with a really nice stall shower), the owners really want to make sure you have a good stay, and it's really cheap (only €55 per room for night for my single; rates vary slightly by season). The neighborhood is perfect; it's between the old city (where the sights are, but a bit gritty to stay in) and the fanciest area (a bit too fancy for my taste, as well as being too far from the sights). It's near the buses to the old section (on via Ruggiero Settimo, a block from the hotel) and from the old section (on via Roma, a block in the other direction) if you don't feel like walking. There are lots of nearby restaurants, and it's only about a 10 minute walk to the port. And the hotel itself is on a traffic-free street, so it's quiet and sitting on the balcony is very pleasant, even though you're in the middle of the city. They offer airport pickup for €35 (€45 for round trip airport service), which is cheaper than a taxi, and got us the added benefit of delightful conversation with the owners on the way in. I would DEFINITELY stay here again. The only potential negative: you can't flush toilet paper (you deposit it in a small basket, like in much of Brazil, Russia, and Turkey, among other places). About a quarter of Sicily's toilets can't handle toilet paper, and this was true here. If you can deal with that (we adjusted quickly), you're set.

I recommend the Lonely Planet Sicily guidebook as a general planning tool for your trip. Our Sicilian-born tour guides may point out its flaws, but it has a lot of info.

I took a group of women last September, and got a great deal at Centrale Palace hotel in Palermo. She's a Grand Old Dam! Absolutely in the center of everything. Absolutely stunning, if a bit dated, but I don't go to Europe to stay at the Holiday Inn!