Hotel Orientale

central location, grand historic crumbling beauty, matchless atmophere and helpful staff who brought me tea in bed when i had the flu!

tip is not to stay in rooms on the main street via maqueda and ask for a quiet room over the courtyard or side stret

This hotel (or rather bed and breakfast sans breakfast) made - with very few changes - out of the piano nobile of an elegantly decaying XVIIIth century palazzo is like stepping out of the XXIst century into Lampedusas' Gattopardo or Viscontis' film set: just the courtyard, with the old cars, marble staircase, arcades and stray cats take your breath away. The whole set-up would be difficultly believable in a movie, but it's all there: the dodgy electricity, the grumpy porter watching calcio, the abandoned drawing-room with its' red velours, the long corridors with old copies of long-dead magazines, the ancient porn cinema across the street from the huge crumbling balcony,...

Of course the drains stink after it's rained! Of course there's no wifi! Who cares? Hurry to the Orientale before the "wellness" and "cleanliness as first and only criteria" crowd purchase it, destroy its' soul, and turn it into a spa!

great location and value for money, reflects ambience of Palermo itself-old splendour but needs lots of money and effort to make it shine again, clean room and public bathroom

little bit run down building, first impression not the best, lots of street noise

Character of the place

the breakfast was too poor (only coffee a croissant)

Close to train/bus station. It is rated a one star hotel so expectations should be in line with that. It is an historic building with lots of character.

Long, dark and dusty staircase up to check-in desk.

This is a good place to stay in principle, with friendly staff, however, it is infested with bedbugs. I have numerous painful bites covering my entire body and telltale traces of bugs were present in the hotel (tiny bloodstains on sheets etc.). Do not stay here if susceptible to bedbug bites.

The bedbugs.

This was our second stay at the Hotel Orientale and it was as good as our first. Such a magnificent building and very atmospheric. The rooms are always spotless. For a one star hotel, you cannot beat it, exceptional value for money.

From the outside, it looks terrible, it is great once in side... :)

Make sure you get a room not towards the street

Extremely central, lots of character, very friendly and helpful staff.

good location ,excellent breakfast

We liked the Orientale for its air of faded grandeur. The courtyard of this 18th century building could be from a film set. While the inside of the hotel, located on the first floor, has been quite tastefully updated and features modern bathrooms (ours was spotless), the outside of the building is dilapidated. Arriving here at night could be quite intimidating.

Very central location--ot far from main train station and inter city bus stops.Convenient for visiting many of the main tourist sites in Palermo.

Timeless classic building, great ambiance

Little too noisey from below streets