Sicily in 12 day tour - hotels

April 2026
Palermo- Hotel Ambasciatori
Trapani- Residence la Gancia
Agrigento- Hotel Foresteria Baglio della Luna
Syracuse- Domus Mariae Benessere
Taormina- Hotel Continental (one tour member victim of theft from lobby here)
Catania- Asmundo Gisira Art of Living Boutique
or Duomo Suites and Spa for overflow due to solos.

Yes, I would agree they are in the 3-4 star range. What often puts them apart is that they are in a very historical building, located very centrally, and often have some sort of amazing view related to them. In Catania, those of us with single supplements were walked to a nearby hotel, Duomo Suites, which was actually quite nice although its breakfast was poor. We did get a complimentary spa service of our choice included for free due to the hotel change. All of us really enjoyed the service.

Our guide explained to us that RS Europe starts a Sicily tour every two days. That way they can book the rooms in the hotel for several months at once. This gives the hotels steady clients and I am sure RS gets a good discount.

Edited to add: For my pretour stay in Palermo, I stayed at Ballarooms B&B. Less than 5 minute walk from the train station and the first tour hotel. Bigger room, clean modern, nice breakfast, $80 a night. Must go up a steep flight of stairs to access. I enjoyed my stay there.

Carol do you know details of that hotel lobby theft? I’m curious because I was robbed in a Palermo hotel lobby about 20 years ago….

Might be worth adding, in Italy, the number of stars really does not denote quality, but mostly what features the hotel offers. An elevator all but gets you two stars, a three star adds a desk staffed 16 hours of the day with someone who speaks some language other than Italian. A four star has to have parking.

There are other things on the list, size of the lobby, minibars, laundry service, room safes, etc. but nothing saying anything about noise levels, if the rooms have seen a coat of paint or new flooring in the last century, if the shower has water pressure, or if the beds are lumpy.

Details of hotel lobby theft. We were encouraged at each hotel to drop our luggage off in the lobby on the way to breakfast so that the very small elevators would not be overwhelmed with 28 people all trying to bring their luggage down at once. The assumption ( which turned out to be false) was that the desk clerk would keep an eye on things.

This tour mate dropped off his carryon and backpack and went to breakfast. This particular hotel has little to no security as outside doors are left open so anyone off the street can walk up through the hotel and access the rooftop restaurant. Random people wandering through is normal. Someone stepped in quickly off the street, grabbed his backpack, and continued down through the hotel to the lower exit. The police later found his ID scattered in the Main Street down a few staircases from the hotel. Fortunately, he did not have his passport in his backpack. Unfortunately, he had his phone and wallet. He was traveling with his wife so she had phone and alternate credit cards to continue on. Hotel had no security cameras.

It really made me think about all the times I had left luggage unattended in lobbies. Also a good reminder to keep valuables with you at all times.

Thank you for your answers.