Sicily - advice on lodging/tactics for seeing Villa Romana and Valley of the Temples

Generally I don’t like the idea of leaving my car with luggage in the trunk in a public open air unguarded lot, like the one at the Villa del Casale. I also don’t like hotel one nighters, as the check in/check out process, with the unpacking and repacking associated with it, is time consuming, therefore in your shoes I would do the following.

Find a hotel in the quaint town of nearby Piazza Armerina. I would not stay at a hotel at 450€ a night just because it’s at the Villa and makes me save 10 min drive.
Drive to the hotel first and drop off the bags at the hotel (unless the room is already available for check in at noon).
After dropping bags, head to the Villa, just minutes away. Visit the Villa in the afternoon.
Return to Piazza Armerina and enjoy the evening there.
Next morning drive to the Valley of the Temples for a day trip (less than 1.5 hour drive) visit the valley for the day. If you want you can also take a glimpse to Agrigento, if time permits.
At the end of the day (or after dinner, if you want to eat in Agrigento) return to the hotel in Piazza Armerina.
Next morning drive to Palermo.

The above plan minimize the time consuming hotel changes, and also avoids leaving luggage in the trunk in an unguarded parking lot.

In Agrigento we stayed at Villa San Marco. From it, we were able to walk to the temples via a path through an olive grove. The B&B is down a dirt road about a mile from the archeological museum.

It had a reasonable dinner option when we stayed there in September 2018, so we didn’t even need to go into town for dinners.

En route from the Catania area to Agrigento we stopped at Villa del Casale. I parked in a spot that was heavily trafficked to reduce the chances of somebody breaking into the vehicle and not being noticed.

• Love the Piazza Armerina idea, am looking at options for that now.

• thank you @jaimeelsabio, I had checked Villa San Marco based on recs here and unfortunately it's already booked :(

I like Roberto's plan. I think that expensive hotel is in Agrigento rather than near the Villa. There are some nice agriturismos that are near the Villa. I don't recall the name but our tour stayed in one. It doesn't take all day to see the temples, and I agree that it doesn't seem necessary to spend the night within the archeological park. A few hours is plenty of time for a thorough visit. If you did want to stay somewhere between Piazza Armerina and Agrigento the likeliest candidate would be Gela. It's a pretty good sized town on the coast that we passed through en route between the two.

We did as you plan, drove to Villa Romana and then on to Agrigento where we had a lovely stay at B&B Terrazze di Montelusa: http://www.terrazzedimontelusa.it/ Francesco is a charming host, rooftop terrace views are beautiful and breakfast is wonderful. That afternoon we explored Agrigento and had a good dinner. Next day we visited the Turkish Steps and went to a nice beach recommended by Francesco. We saved the Valley of Temples until dusk which was magical…and a highlight of our trip! En route to Palermo we stopped in Monreale to see the gorgeous cathedral, then dropped the car on arrival. You neither need nor want a car in Palermo. Bottom line is that you can comfortably and affordably stay two nights in Agrigento. If B&B Terrazze di Montelusa is booked up for your dates, suggest that you ask Francesco for a recommendation. Hope you have a great trip!

On the outskirts of Piazza Armerina we stayed in a lovely B&B with a superb view of the hill town, especially at night: La Casa sulla Collina d'Oro. https://www.booking.com/Share-fuXO6ZS

Great hosts, great breakfast. Nowhere near 850 euro!

Very short drive to the Villa Romana.

We ate at a casual restaurant in the center of Piazza Armerina called La Locanda.

I would definitely do a night in the two separate locations. It’s a fair drive between each, and the breathing room around that sightseeing is helpful. This is just one of those complexities that Sicily presents, so if you have the time then great. As much as I’m anti-one-nighters, it makes sense here.

I stayed two nights on the outskirts of Piazza Armerina and did Agrigento as a day trip, which I regretted. Doing a night in each would have been the way to go. If you’re looking for something extra around Piazza Armerina, I enjoyed the Greek ruins at Morgantina. Mostly forgotten, overgrown, and with zero information it was nonetheless very beautiful and evocative. Worth the side trip.

We stayed two nights at B&B L’Angelica in Piazza Amerina and never regretted it. If Ettore Canfora is still running it, he may still offer optional dinner. By all means, get the dinner. Ettore used to own a restaurant (pre-Covid), and the meals we had were unforgettable. Just be careful, about when you are full the antipasti will end and the pasta and mains will start. Make that your base and enjoy life.