Having trouble deciding between these 2 - anyone have firsthand experience to share?<BR><BR>Looking forward to your feedback,<BR>Andre

We stayed at the Centrale Palace and liked it very much. The view from the rooftop breakfast spot (outside) was, well, different -- crumbling roofs of surrounding buildings. But the room was large and nice (but quite dark) and the breakfast was superb.

Centrale Palace is 100 yards from the Quattro Canti, whereas the Grand Hotel des Palmes is on Via Roma near the Archeological Museum and Teatro Massimo. One advantage of the latter is that you can walk to the ferry/hydrofoil docks (500 yards) as well as to the airport bus stop in Piazza Castelnuovo (250 yards). From the Centrale Palace, Palermo's Cathedral is about 350 yards away.

Centrale Palace is 50 yards from the Quattro Canti, whereas the Grand Hotel des Palmes is on Via Roma near the Archeological Museum and Teatro Massimo. One advantage of the latter is that you can walk to the ferry/hydrofoil docks (500 yards) as well as to the airport bus stop in Piazza Castelnuovo (250 yards). From the Centrale Palace, Palermo's Cathedral is about 350 yards away.

GAC and Patrick,<BR><BR>Thanks for the feedback!<BR><BR>While both hotels are obviously quite central, which one is in a &quot;better&quot; (more upscale) area? Patrick mentions crumbling buildings around the Centrale... does the Grand &amp; des Palmes have more pleasant surroundings?<BR><BR>Andre

uh-oh, perhaps that comment I made is misleading. It was really very strange. The neighborhood was not bad and from the street most buildings were not only in good shape, but very interesting architecturally. But from the roof-top there were a bunch of buildings that had caved-in roofs. We couldn't figure out what happened below them, because otherwise they seemed to be lived in. To be honest, those crumbling roofs were kind of picturesque. Don't worry about the neighborhood because of what I said.

The Grand Hotel des Palmes is considered to be in the &quot;modern&quot; part of town. Via Roma was established around the turn of the century, as a wider, more &quot;Parisian&quot; alternative to the parallel, narrower and baroque Via Maqueda. The Centrale Palace, by contrast, is in the &quot;old&quot; part of town, around the corner from the Quattro Canti (intersection of Via Maqueda and Corso Vittorio Emanuele), established by the Spaniards in 1600. The Quattro Canti is the very heart of old Palermo. There are a great many atmospheric, decaying baroque buildings here. Across the street is the Church of San Giuseppe dei Teatini, ornate and theatrical. Nearby is lovely Piazza Pretoria with its Florentine grand fountain and the delightful ancient Churches of San Cataldo/La Martorana. Nearby also is the spectacular Cathedral and the Palazzo dei Normanni with its exquisite Capella Palatina, full of Norman-Bizantine mosaics. The Centrale Palace itself was quite worn and old fashioned, before its costly update very recently. The Grand Hotel, by contrast, was originally built in the 1870s as a grand hotel and was considered the very best in downtown Palermo. Some might make that claim today as well (provided you ask for an updated room). You can walk between these hotels in about 15 minutes. I would say that the Grand Hotel is the better property, but the Centrale Palace is in a more &quot;atmospheric&quot; location. Logistically, the Grand Hotel is more convenient to public transporation (Port, Airport Bus) and to the Opera House, Teatro Garibaldi in Piazza Castelnuovo, and the wonderful Archeological Museum.

The Quattro Canti is NOT in a bad neighborhood, as Patrick notes. Indeed, there is a great deal of night life during the summer in the numerous outdoor cafes nearby. However, visitors are well advised at night to stick to the illuminated main arteries (such as Via Maqueda and Corso V. Emanuele), and where possible don't linger in the dark, narrow side streets and alleyways which abound in all directions.