I stayed one night at the Orientale in late June. The hotel is really close to the train station / airport bus drop off. I had booked it over the phone - in 'phrasebook Italian' as the owner did not appear to speak any English - so wasn't sure that I would actually have a room when I got there! But they were expecting me so it obviously worked.

The entrance to the hotel is through a huge wooden door into an internal courtyard, and then you walk up this amazing wide staircase to the hotel entrance on the 1st floor. Except I walked past it and ended on the top floor thinking I had come to the wrong place!

I had booked a single room with bathroom, which was a bit pokey to be honest, but as I was only staying one night and leaving early the next morning it was OK. They showed me a nicer room, with street view, which was cheaper, but it didn't have its own bathroom so I stuck with the pokey one. (It did have aircon though). I spoke to a fellow guest who had paid more for a room which opened onto the courtyard - he was staying for a few days - so it's worth paying more if you are staying for longer.

Breakfast is at the cafe up the road - you can sit right on the pavement and watch all the locals going up and down Via Maqueda - it's very lively.

It was definitely worth staying here for the staircase - it's a 18th century palazzo I think - kind of faded grandeur. And it's very handy for the station.

This hotel is reasonably good value at €70 per night for a double with bath, and sit-down breakfast of a pastry and coffee at a local café. It is located on the first floor, up a grand marble staircase. The rooms were pleasant, of a medium size and nicely furnished, with air-con and TV, and with large shower stalls (unusual in Italy). The rooms were let down by poor internal soundproofing, with only very thin partitions between rooms and the corridor. There was no street noise, but we were unlucky to get fellow guests across the corridor who constantly fought, and we could hear every word of it. We stayed here twice, but asked for a different room for our next stay and got a quieter one.

The hotel has a certain faded charm, located in a royal palace built in 1760 - the exterior doesn't seem to have been touched since (the courtyard has a certain crumbling charm) but the frescoed drawing room still looks the part. Some of the rooms look down into Ballaro street market, and the hotel is only a few minutes' walk from the main railway station. It's also a comfortable walk to all of the older historic sites in Palermo, and the port is accessible by bus.

You would never go to this hotel from the street, but once you open the door into the courtyard, you are in another century! The hotel is a beautiful old palazzo in a N. African style, it is old-fashioned, clean, good prices, nice breakfast in a local cafe (you get vouchers) and the lady was helpful to us taking photos of us in the hotel, even after we had checked-out and paid. It is also close to the station, we had a hire car but I'd not recommend driving in Palermo. I hope to go there again.

We have stayed the hotel in July 06, and liked it a lot. Nice room, Nice balcony and good location. I defiantly recommend this place -a lot!!