San Paolo Palace Hotel

I stayed here with my boyfriend for a holiday – overall, a good stay!
The view from the window was absolutely stunning – one of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen!
The rooms definitely need renovation.
The air conditioning worked great and kept the room nice and cool.
Breakfast was quite boring with limited options, but the food was tasty. The biggest downside – no real glasses, only plastic cups.
The elevators were a disaster – extremely slow, the slowest I’ve ever experienced.
Reception staff were very kind and helpful – big plus for that!
My biggest complaint is about cleanliness in the room – the housekeeping was really poor.

An old hotel on the outskirts of the city that offers good value for money, especially for those travelling by car. Palermo is a large and bustling city, but the hotel's free parking is easily accessible before the city centre gets busy. The hotel's breakfast is served on the 14th floor, which is a bit difficult to reach by lift at breakfast time, but the breakfast itself is tasty and extensive, including scrambled eggs and fried bacon. The hotel is clearly old and looks a bit shabby from the outside, but at least our room was very clean and functional, with adjustable air conditioning. The hotel is located east of Palermo city centre and next to a large truck terminal, but it is still quite easy to walk to Palermo city centre or even take the bus from here. We actually drove longer distances outside Palermo with our rental car and walked or took the bus to the centre. The swimming pool is located on the roof, but it was exceptionally small sized. I would recommend this hotel to those travelling by car as it offers good value for money (but don't expect the latest luxury).

After reading some of the reviews of the hotel, I was dreading checking in. Yes, the hotel is a bit out of the way, in quite a run down area but Ubers and taxis were reasonably cheap.
Our room was lovely, clean, massive bed and had everything that we needed.
The public spaces were clean and comfortable, the pool area was clean but there was a definite lack of sunbeds and we didn't swim because of the bathing cap rule. We was going to try and get away with using the shower cap from the bathroom, but bottled out.
Being non smokers we found the smoking in public places a bit of a pain, but it's the laws of the country so we sucked them up. Pardon the pun.
The food in the restaurant was gorgeous, we ate there every night. Breakfast was a bit of a let down but we didn't go hungry. Plenty of drinks variety in the bar, but struggled to summon up an orange juice
Overall the staff were very nice, especially in the restaurant. A couple on reception and in the bar needed lessons on smiling.
My only big complaint, and one that the hotel probably can't control is the horrendously loud music coming from a bar down the road on Saturday night. If you're a light sleeper or need quiet to nod off, take your earplugs....

A good place to eat and to sleep.

The design is absolutely 20th century, as is much of the room aesthetic, which ends up feeling quaintly nostalgic. Waking up with a view of the sea at sunrise is a definite perk.

As for the stay, everything went relatively well, except that those who wanted to enjoy the pool in this heat would have to deal with a lifeguard who was perhaps a horrible, pretentious lifeguard with no respect for the tourists who were staying at the hotel, so for anyone who wanted to swim, choose another hotel.
He forced us to get out of the water, claiming that the buoy wasn't for tourists but for him, and so we had to go buy a buoy outside.
Here's what I can say about it. However, the people in other departments are very pleasant.

This hotel is perfect, clean and welcoming. The reviews do not do it justice at all. The rooms are spacious modern and spotless with brilliant air conditioning. The staff are very friendly and helpful, even answered our questions about local transport. I wouldn't bother with the restaurant because of prices, but breakfast was spot on. Didn't get the chance to use the pool, but seems like a good place to relax. Clearly the rooms have been upgraded since previous reviews, but as of June 2025, it is a perfect hotel.

Good hotel, large room and bathroom, clean and well-maintained. A good, adequate breakfast, a nice bar.
Free, easy parking directly on the hotel grounds.
The reception at the hotel was friendly and welcoming.
The hotel is a bit outside of the city center, but it's about a 45-minute walk away, which we were aware of and isn't a criticism. It's by the sea, though.
We would come again.