Hotel Elite - Palermo

Average rating:  9.3

Guest type: Mature couple

stayed in May 2008

This was our frist time in Palermo and we did not arrive until very late due to flight delays. Nevertheless we were warmly welcomed and our room was quiet and spacious. The staff were excellent. When I discovered that I had forgotten my driving licence and so had to canel my car hire they immediately provided me with bus and train time tables which allowed us to continjue our holidays. I would cedrtainly stay here again if we return to Palermo

Guest name: Charles FLANAGAN, United Kingdom

Average rating:  8.8

Guest type: Young couple

stayed in May 2008

The Elite is well situated in Palermo. It sits on the fifth floor of a building with different hotels on every floor- a pretty typical Italian set-up where the concept of "hotel" and "pensione" seem to be rarely differentiated. The rooms are very large and come and the bathrooms are nice. Parking is a nice feature of the hotel, as it is secure and located beneath the hotel. The staff (except as noted below) were exceptionally helpful and knowledgeable. Some our tour guides, all are good English speakers. They can arrange for a wide variety of services for your. Also, there is little street noise. All the comments about elevator issues are out-dated. There are two modern elevators that work well within the building. However, we experienced a variety of issues that other customers should be aware of. The hotel is non-smoking, but the employees smoke constantly in the office. The smell of cigarettes is completely overwhelming and bleeds into every room. We woke up at 8am to a strong smell of disgusting smoke. When confronted, the front desk did nothing and it continued the next day. Second, the rooms are advertised with A/C, but our A/C unit did not function. Due to the smoking issue, I cannot recommend the hotel to non-smokers who strongly dislike smoke. If you don't mind a little smell, then this is a good choice. However, maybe the family owners will take note of this comment and correct their staff...

Guest name: AF, USA

Average rating:  9.0

Guest type: Not Specified

stayed in May 2008

HAVING A PARKING IS REALLY ESSENTIAL

Guest name: Claudine PONS, France

Average rating:  7.8

Guest type: Mature couple

stayed in Apr 2008

The girls in reception did a very good job welcoming us when we first arrived.(I had a headache as it was the first day of our holiday and we had been travelling for the best part of twenty-four hours, so it was nice that both girls were cheerful, patient and efficient). We chose the hotel mainly because of the location - we were arriving at Palermo airport and the hotel is easily found taking 10-15 mins on foot if you get off the airport bus at the Teatro Politeama stop (several people usually get off here) which is about a kilometre before the terminus at Palermo bus and train stations. If you do need to get to/from the main bus/railway station allow youself a good 25-30 mins to walk the 1km to/from the hotel as the pavements are usually crowdwed; the evening receptionist reacted in amazement when we told him how long it took us - he said he only needed "5 mins - 10 at the most" - well he must have flown rather than walked! It's a good idea if you know the street number(136) for the hotel as Via Mariano Stabile extends on both sides of the main thoroughfare. The room was fine - it was at the back of the hotel so there was not too much noise from traffic during the night. The lift is useful as the rooms are on the 5th floor. Breakfast was fine except for the fact that the coffee and tea were always tepid rather than warm. We thought this was just somthing that happened on the first morning, but we were in the hotel for 4 days and despite asking for the breakfast drinks to be served hot, we never succeeded. We were satisfied with our choice of location for our first accommodation in Sicily and we think it's fine for one or two nights for new arrivals in the city, but for longer stays we think it's a little overpriced for what you get.

Guest name: Kieran Lundy, United Kingdom

Average rating:  7.0

Guest type: Family with older children

stayed in Apr 2008

The big plus point for Hotel Elite is the services offered by the associated travel agency. The excursions offered were excellent. The hotel staff made us feel very welcome. The only real disappointment of the hotel was that breakfast was very basic.

Guest name: AB, United Kingdom

Average rating:  7.9

Guest type: Group

stayed in Mar 2008

Stayed 3 nights. Elite very good value for money.

Guest name: SO, Ireland

Average rating:  3.4

Guest type: Not Specified

stayed in Mar 2008

They change us to another hotel (our reservation was confirmed). The building was in reparatión (soon in the morning began to work and it was too noise) We pay a lot of money for this reservation

Guest name: AC, Spain

Average rating:  8.0

Guest type: Mature couple

stayed in Nov 2007

You can walk with modest luggage from the airport bus stop. Navigation was tricky - beware maps printed with North not at top of page. Excellent pizzas nearby at Lo Sparviero, recommended by reception, available late at night. The hotel is exactly as it describes itself. It is quiet enough and very clean. There's a little lounge area you can read in. Breakfast is OK - good coffee. We wondered about staying in one of the "Grand" hotels instead but are happy we didnt. Palermo is a nice experience if you like Southern Italian towns, which we do. The Galleria Regionale is worth persevering to find - in a back street not far from Piazza Marina. Evening at Teatro Massimo a marvelous experience.

Guest name: Robert Whiteley, United Kingdom

Average rating:  10.0

Guest type: Young couple

stayed in Sep 2007

This hotel is affordable, quiet, clean and conveinently located. I recommend this hotel.

Guest name: AI, USA

Average rating:  7.1

Guest type: Mature couple

stayed in Sep 2007

A little eccentric in decor - our room had a painted mural of a Palermo scene - but comfortable and with competant, friendly staff. Simple but good. The hotel is in Palermo New Town, some distance from most attractions, and is on the 4th & 5th floor of a tower block and may not be suitable for children

Guest name: Tony Masters, United Kingdom

Average rating:  8.2

Guest type: Group

stayed in Sep 2007

The hotel is located on the 5th floor of the bldg and is on 2 floors. (Unusal for me). Parking was free and the employees were very helpful with the parking and getting the car. Rooms were spacious and clean and it was a good location.

Guest name: GM, USA

Average rating:  8.1

Guest type: Mature couple

stayed in Sep 2007

Useful for airport bus

Guest name: AF, United Kingdom

Average rating:  9.3

Guest type: Young couple

stayed in Aug 2007

I stayed in Palermo for 4 days with my girlfriend. Hotel Elite is located right downtown in the middle of everything. The employees were super nice and all spoke decent English with a good knowledge of the city. They even helped my change my airline tickets with alitalia. A decent European-style breakfast is served each morning. They will even iron your shirts, 2 euro/shirt. I very clean and nice place to stay at for a traveling couple!

Guest name: CG, USA

Average rating:  8.1

Guest type: 

stayed in Aug 2007

Very friendly and helpful. Good location. Would stay again.

Guest name: SB, United Kingdom

Average rating:  8.4

Guest type: Young couple

stayed in Aug 2007

El hotel es genial,pequeñito y entrañable, los empleados muy agradables y nos ayudaron mucho cuando los de alitalia nos perdieron las maletas (terrible compañía).Cada habitación está pintada con un decorado de palermo distinto y son muy acogedoras.En pleno centro.Totalmente recomendable

Guest name: EG, Spain

Average rating:  8.2

Guest type: Family with older children

stayed in Jun 2007

very good location and good price-value ratio

Guest name: WM, Germany

Average rating:  7.6

Guest type: Group

stayed in May 2007

Hotel staff was very friendly and helpful.

Guest name: Vincent Price, USA

Average rating:  7.9

Guest type: Gay Couple

stayed in May 2007

Nice hotel but the breakfast is not what you'd expect for the price of the hotel.

Guest name: FM, United Kingdom

Average rating:  8.2

Guest type: Mature couple

stayed in May 2007

The staff was kind, courteous and helpful. The location in the city center area is ideal. We will definitely stay here again.

Guest name: JM, Italy

Average rating:  9.3

Guest type: Mature couple

stayed in Mar 2007

We were very pleased with our stay. We had only planned to stay for one night but found the accommadations and location to be exactly what we wanted. The only negative is the entrance and elevator. We weren't sure we were in the right place and had to ask the desk clerk in the Hotel next door how to use the elevator.

Guest name: MF, USA

Average rating:  8.2

Guest type: Single traveller

stayed in Dec 2006

L'hotel offre camere confortevoli e ben arredate con bagno spazioso; da sottolineare la disponibilità di tv satellitare (Sky). Discreta la colazione. Molto buona la posizione in pieno centro, soprattutto per chi viaggia per turismo. Buona anche la possibilità di parcheggio, anche se un po' scomodo da raggiungere. Servizio reception molto cortese e disponibile.

Guest name: FC, Italy

Average rating:  8.7

Guest type: Not Specified

stayed in May 2006

This is essentially a hotel for corporate business travellers and for others with very specific personal interests that draw them to the commercial centre of Palermo. And that is why we selected it - because of its proximity to the Teatro Massimo where we were attending an opera performance (a personal achievement for me - I've been wanting to go to something at that beautiful house for some 25 years, but it's been closed for most of that time. It was a pity that the opera was not Italian - it was Vanessa by the American composer Samuel Barber!) The hotel occupies upper floors in a modern commercial block and is sandwiched, vertically, between other hotels. Restaurants (we arrived late and went to Trattoria a'Cuccagna just round the corner on the first night) and major tourist attractions are within easy walking distance. The reception staff and those who got us our breakfast were friendly and efficient. We would certainly stay there again if we return to Palermo (which we well might - we liked the city a lot). If arriving at the hotel from the airport by bus (departures every 30 minutes; cost €5), get off at the Teatro Politeama Garibaldi stop and walk down the Via Ruggero Settimo.

Guest name: Gareth Hadley, United Kingdom

Average rating:  7.6

Guest type: Mature couple

stayed in Oct 2006

This is a reasonable price/performance hotel in Palermo. What impressed us, a Japanese couple, were the brightness of the room illumination and the charming paintings on the walls everywhere. Their services and its location are excellent.

Guest name: Kazutaka Nagano, Japan

Average rating:  8.8

Guest type: Group

stayed in Oct 2006

We loved this hotel! It wasn't fancy, but the rooms were clean, the showers were hot and the staff was friendly and efficient. The hotel can arrange tours of the area and can even provide a car rental, a fact I wish we had known prior to our arrival. We arrived by cab, which is the best way to find the hotel if you've never visited Palermo before. The breakfast provided was above average, but typically Sicilian with pastries, fruit and really good coffee. We loved the surrounding area and Palermo in general. The hotel is within walking distance of many areas of interest. If you have a car, they provide a parking garage.

Guest name: Randell Tarin, USA

Average rating:  10.0

Guest type: Mature couple

stayed in Oct 2006

A very central Hotel, the receptionists all spoke excellent English. The 101 Bus will take you very close to the hotel from the station, this will save you 15 Euros. Could not fault this hotel.

Guest name: Jeffrey Benham, United Kingdom

Average rating:  7.8

Guest type: Single traveller

stayed in Sep 2006

I paid a price of 45 EURO for transfer from the hotel to the airport : this is an extreme high price (much to high!!) : the policy should be that a normal price should be paid (about 25 EURO).

Guest name: Nick BOCKEN, Belgium

Average rating:  8.4

Guest type: Single traveller

stayed in Aug 2006

ottima posizione, centrale ma tranquilla. Essenziale, ma pulito e confortevole. Personale disponibile e gentile. Ottimo rapporto qualità-prezzo.

Guest name: Mario Curcio, Italy

Average rating:  7.8

Guest type: Young couple

stayed in Jul 2006

As the air condition was down, they had booked us in to another hotel nearby, same category ***. Professional service! Palermo is caotic but wonderful, the hotel is very central.

Guest name: EI, Italy

Average rating:  10.0

Guest type: Young couple

stayed in Jun 2006

Friendly, convenient,helpful. Would return!

Guest name: CC, Australia

Average rating:  7.2

Guest type: Group

stayed in Jun 2006

The hotel is situated near center and many attractions (Teatro Massimo etc). The staff was very friendly and english speaking. And also as we had a rented car- it was great that the hotel had their own garage. It's a good place to stay while visiting Palermo.

Guest name: VP, Estonia

Average rating:  8.6

Guest type: Mature couple

stayed in Jun 2006

Hotel Elite is unpretentious, and well placed for visiting the various sites in Palermo. The staff is charming and helpful.

Guest name: Grant Taplin, France

Average rating:  8.4

Guest type: Heterosexual Couple

stayed in May 2006

Angenehmes Hotel in zentraler Stadtlage Freundliches Personal individuell eingerichtete Zimmer. Würden wieder dort buchen.

Guest name: Frank Wiemer, Germany

Average rating:  6.1

Guest type: Heterosexual Couple

stayed in May 2006

The location is excellent to visit Palermo. The staff is very friendly and helpfull. For 10 Euro/Day you get a car parking in the building (this is very important in Palermo). Breakfast is OK. The building is noisy but Parlermo is anyway a very noisy town.... For a short stay is a good choise.

Guest name: MZ, Switzerland

Average rating:  9.4

Guest type: Single leisure traveller

stayed in May 2006

First rate service and very spacious room balanced out a mixture of rather drab decor and homely kitch.Lift rather too small and often full. Clearer sign to go to the 5th floor on arrival at ground level would have been helpful.

Guest name: Gilian Roy, United Kingdom

Average rating:  9.9

Guest type: Heterosexual Couple

stayed in Apr 2006

This was quite a find in Palermo. The price was very reasonable, and we had an excellent experience. Their breakfast was one of the best we had in Italy - very good capuccino & red orange juice, pastries, yogurt, fruit. We told them we were on our honeymoon (luna di miele) and they even brought us some champagne that night! We did have some trouble finding the hotel, as we drove there and were very confused by the maze of one-way streets. Obviously driving in Palermo is not recommended. But they parked our car in a garage for a reasonable rate and we didn't have to worry about it again until we left.

Guest name: John Macera, USA

Average rating:  8.0

Guest type: Group of friends

stayed in Apr 2006

We payed in cash an had trouble to get the exact change - they don't had any change in the hotel and didn't do anything to help us in this issue. Nontheless, the hotel is quite Ok.

Guest name: MB, Germany

Average rating:  8.6

Guest type: Heterosexual Couple

stayed in Feb 2006

Soggiorno molto gradito. Unico appunto : capisco che per gli stranieri la colazione può sembrare un pò scarsa.

Guest name: Anna Maria Ingino, Italy

Average rating:  9.8

Guest type: Heterosexual Couple

stayed in Oct 2005

Location was excellent. I would recommend this hotel and would stay here again

Guest name: Dolores Eagan, USA

Average rating:  9.9

Guest type: Single leisure traveller

stayed in Nov 2005

Manager Giacomo was enthusiastic and his staff very friendly, with good English ability. Room was spacious, with air conditioning, satellite TV and recently renovated bathroom. Windows face relatively quiet alleys or courtyards. Generous breakfast buffet included. Nice neighborhood with shops and restaurants, easy access to public transportation, and a short walk in opposite directions to the Teatro Massimo and Teatro Politeamo. It was a great place to live for a week and a terrific value.

Guest name: David Sundstrom, USA

Average rating:  9.9

Guest type: Family Group

stayed in Nov 2005

The photographs that are shown in the page are worse than the real ones. Very good hotel in a great location. The rooms are nicer than in the photos. The hotel is full of fresc paints in the walls.

Guest name: ET, Spain

Average rating:  8.2

Guest type: Heterosexual Couple

stayed in Oct 2005

Excellent central location between Il Teatro Massimo and Piazza Castelnuovo / Politeama - 5 minutes walking distance from where Politeama where the airport bus drops you off. Holtel is situated in a side street off Via Mariano Stabile with several other hotels. The reception is on the 5th floor. The entrance to the lift area on the fround floor is a bit off putting as it is shared with other hotels/businesses - fairly typical of a small hotel in Palermo. Staff are friendly and helpful and speak some English. The rooms are clean, fairly spacious and adequate for a city break. The hotel is good value for money and within walking distance of the many tourist attractions Palermo has to offer.

Guest name: Yvonne Bell, United Kingdom

Average rating:  7.4

Guest type: Family Group

stayed in Jun 2005

The hotel is actually on the, I think 8th floor of a buidling that contains other hotels, and presumably residences and businesses. The hotel did not have many windows and those windows did not have great views. But it was in reasonably good condition and seemed to have been renovated recently. Our hot water service broke and we were immediately provided with a new room. The staff member seemed a little upset at first when we told him but I think that was more due to language barriers as it took a while to convey that the hot water system had broken that moment and not several hours ago. The staff were generally young and friendly and quite helpful. The breakfast was a bit disappointing and really only consisted of a pastry each. The website also listed that the hotel had parking facilities, which they did in the basement, however they charged an additional cost of about 10-12 Euro a day for the parking which was not listed on the website. Also the parking was not easily accessed, so one could not come and go easily by car. In fact other hotel resident's cars were sometimes parked in front and had to be moved before I could access my car, and on one occassion I was asked to move and re-park another resident's car as the staff member on duty did not have a driver's license. I would rate this hotel as being 2 and half stars - it was quite acceptable but was not the best value for money hotel I stayed it.

Guest name: Madeleine Aikenhead, Australia

Average rating:  7.1

Guest type: Single corporate traveller

stayed in Aug 2005

Claim that the credit card reader was out of order, had to go to a atm mashine to get money to pay. Stafs english poor

Guest name: HS, Norway

Average rating:  8.2

Guest type: Family Group

stayed in Apr 2005

I thought this was a fairly comfortable hotel. It appears fairly new and well maintained. The location is central, but not necessarily quiet. The walls are not quite soundproof and one is easily woken up by loud neighbours in the other rooms. Breakfast was not substantial considering the price of the rooms, but it is Italy, and one should not have high expectations when it comes to breakfast. The rooms were very clean and the bathroom was well stocked. I would go back to this hotel again if I visited Sicily again.

Guest name: Elizabeth Augustine, United Kingdom