Doug Kelner

Any suggestions on hotels in Agrigento and Palermo would be appreciated.

Patrick

First question, will you have a car? A car is frankly a pain in Palermo, but great for Agrigento. It will also make a difference on your hotel. What do you want to spend on a hotel?

Doug Kelner

I will have a car. I'm willing to spend upward to $200 (L400,000) <BR>

Leslie

One of the highlights of the trip was our stay at the Villa Athena in Agrigento. They have a beautiful dining terrace with a spectacular view of the Greek temples that is lit up at night. Get a room with a view, also. <BR> <BR>We tried to get a room in the Hotel della Palma in Palmermo, but it was booked. We stayed at the Cristal Palace. It wasn't terrible, but the Palma seemed so much nicer. <BR>Hope you enjoy Sicily - we found lots of treasures and friendly people! <BR>Leslie

Patrick

Leslie beat me to it. Villa Athena is spectacular, especially the dinner on the terrace under the stars with the illuminated temples in front of you, and yes you need a car. We stayed in town at Palermo, unsure how to even get to where we were with a car, but there are nice places on the western side of town with parking. Will see if I can find more if no one else posts with a good suggestion for you.

doug

Thanks to all for responses. I've tried to contact the villa athena and they are not responding to fax. Can't find a working e-mail address for them. Those I found are not working. Ideas?

Patrick

How long has it been since you faxed them? I find that some smaller Italian hotels only answer faxes about once a week, when their one assigned person who can handle it properly in English is available. Their staff speaks English quite well, but writing it is sometimes another matter. To my knowledge there is no email address for Villa Athena.

Doug

Patrick, Thanks for the response about Italian hotels' response to faxes. I faxed only yesterday. So I guess I should be patient. If I don't hear by the weekend, then I'll get my italian-speaking wife on the phone with them.

Patrick

Good idea. By the way, is your Italian speaking wife available for hire? I'm always hesitant to call for fear that I won't get anyone I can understand.

Marty Michaels

Doug, <BR> <BR>After throwing you off with my Villa Athena missive, perhaps I can offer some recompense! On this most recent trip, we stayed in a wonderful hotel outside Palermo, the Baglio Conca d'Oro. You would need a car to stay here, but it's very handy for driving to Monreale, etc., and there is a bus that stops right outside the hotel that takes you to downtown Palermo in 15 minutes. <BR> <BR>I discovered the hotel on the In Italy Web site (you can see pictures and comments from former guests there--www.initaly.com) but I booked through a different online service, saving some money. If you're interested, I can find that Web site for you. <BR> <BR>About $120 a night, great service, modern, elegant rooms in an old restored paper mill around a lovely courtyard. And the restaurant (check out the photo at In Italy) was amazing and extremely reasonable if you were staying at the hotel (a fantastic 3-course meal was about $50 a couple inclusive). <BR> <BR>I highly recommend this hotel; it's quite new, not in the guide books yet, and has real style and panache (yes, unlike most hotels in Sicily!) I hope that this helps you or someone else traveling to the Palermo area.