San Paolo Palace Hotel

The outside is okay, but the inside could use a renovation and a thorough cleaning. Staff friendly and a good breakfast.

The hotel in general is fine but the location is terrible and it is not recommended at all to leave the hotel especially at night if you don't want to have an unpleasant experience at the very least.

Beware and Avoid — Unsafe Area, Misleading Listings, Zero Accountability I feel compelled to share our experience because no traveler should ever go through what we did at the San Paolo Palace Hotel in Palermo. What you see online is not what you get in reality — not even close. From the moment we arrived, the shock was immediate. The hotel is located in a very low income, industrial zone, surrounded by dark, dirty streets with almost no lighting. At night, the area becomes genuinely unsafe. Homeless individuals sleep around and directly in front of the hotel entrance, and walking anywhere felt dangerous. We never expected to feel trapped on a hotel property, but that’s exactly how it felt. We had booked 10 nights, but after enduring 5 nights of this environment, we made the difficult decision to leave early. Our safety simply wasn’t worth the risk. Unfortunately, the nightmare didn’t end there. When we requested a refund for the unused 5 nights, the hotel director refused outright. Because we booked through Expedia, the refund requires the hotel’s authorization — and they denied it without hesitation. I spoke directly with staff and the director onsite, and the response was cold, dismissive, and unhelpful. So we were billed for 5 unused nights and out about $750!!! unacceptable. To make matters worse, this hotel is owned by the ANBSC group — the Italian government agency responsible for managing properties seized from organized crime. You would expect a public institution to uphold transparency, accountability, and basic respect for travelers. Instead, the director could not provide any contact for someone higher up, leaving us with no avenue to escalate the issue. We emailed the city’s board and the ANBSC group itself — no response from anyone. We had to change our entire travel itinerary and even our flights just to leave Palermo early. The hotel closes its gates at night “for safety,” which says everything you need to know about the surrounding area. You have many homeless sitting in front of the gate. Although the nightly rate may seem reasonable, it is absolutely not worth compromising your safety. I felt stuck, unable to walk freely, constantly uneasy, and completely unsupported by the hotel. Unexpected situations can happen during travel — but what defines a hotel is how it treats its guests when things go wrong. In this case, they simply do not care. Beware before booking. Do your due diligence. This hotel refused to accommodate, refused to refund, and refused to acknowledge legitimate safety concerns. We will never return, and we strongly advise others to avoid this property. Still no response from any of their authorities nor reconsideration from the hotel Director. Says a lot about how they treat their guests.