Grand Hotel et Des Palmes

I stayed here in March 2005 and the hotel seems to be in the process of refurbishing. The lobby is beautiful. My room was pleasant but not glamorous. Cable TV with channels in various languages -- Bloomsbury and CNN in English. No bathtub, just a shower, which didn't matter to me. Lots of noise from the street, as room was in a corner on the first floor. Breakfast was good, with mix of hot and cold foods, but I wish they hadn't marked the insipid orange drink as "fresh orange juice." Hotel did not have communal internet... more

Stayed here in Nov 04 and was highly impressed by the helpful staff, beautiful decor, excellent cuisine and world class cocktails. Try the Palemito - a version of the Mohito but using Basil instead of mint and a drop of Tabasco. Hey, the place is a little run down but that's all part of the charm.

The public areas of this hotel have a sort of faded grandeur about them - the bar with the pianist was nice, breakfast was pretty good - but the rooms are a different story. The bathroom in our room had a serious drain problem - well that's what it smelt like - and the room itself was pretty shabby. Not terrible but definitely overpriced

I wouldn't advise anyone to stay here if any other option is available. Rooms were not pleasant - the bathroom was really unpleasant, air conditioning didn't work, the wardrobes were rather smelly, and carpets, walls and ceiling were all badly stained. Breakfast was not good - indifferent staff and low quality food. Lobby was OK, but there's only so far standards can drop before 'faded' becomes 'shabby' - and the lobby is not far from reaching this point, indeed may have already in some parts. And forget customer service if you don't... more

My husband and I stayed here 2 nights in May 2004 as part of a Globus tour. The lobby is old world charming - mostly marble, potted palms, old fashioned registration desk, 2 elevators and a free internet access PC - very slow, but at least we could check email. Desk staff provided good free map of city upon request. Our room on second floor was very large - a small vestibule with refrigerator, large bedroom with king sized bed and large bath with tub (no shower curtain due to window placement resulted in wet floor). It was cool in... more

We just came back from 8 nights in Sicily, starting off at the Des Palmes for 3 nights. Unfortunately, we found most of the staff was not helfull as we had to ask a minimum of 3 times for things that were needed. Like an extra pillow. Or we needed an electrical converter as ours did not work correctly and were told in it would be there in half an hour. We are still waiting for it! Most of the staff do not speak or understand English, which we found discomforting and unusual as the hotel was/is catering to Americans. When we asked a... more

So happy to have stayed at the Grand Hotel et Des Palmes. A building of faded old world elegence with a helpful and charming staff. Wonderful to know that such hotels still exist!

Visited December 2003, Beautiful lobby, Good restaurant and bar. Rooms are badly worn. Heat didn't work. Bathroom shower was difficult to operate. Skip this one if you can find a more modern property.

My husband and I stayed here in May 2003. The hotel definitely needs upgrading. You can tell that this hotel used to be a nice place to stay but it is very outdated including old furnishings. The bathroom was particularly bad with broken tiles etc and we could smell smoke seeping in from the room next to us. The rooms were very large but overall the stay was disappointing. It was also a holiday in Palermo and the city was also very disappointing. I would definitely skip Palermo and spend more time seaside in Cefalu.

Visited during June 2003, outstandingly elegant foyer and other communal areas, preserving much of the rich history of the building. Unfortunately the room was disappointing, appeared dated, in need of an overhaul, with chipped paint on wall, chipped bath, and damaged furniture. No international televison channel, lack of ironing facilities in the rooms, but available at restricted times, and additional cost. Overpriced for the facilities and state of the room.