Cicala Palace

I have very mixed feelings about this hotel. First, its location is excellent hidden away by the Duomo, but very quiet. The room was great with 2 double beds and ample space. And very comfortable. However, the bathroom space is very limited. Not only that it has a marble floor which is very slippery when wet and potentially dangerous. Although it was quite palatial, it somehow lacked character and felt 'cold' in ambience.

Not at all as advertised. It shows up as a 4 star hotel. Instead imagine an old short-term rental studio with a confusing check-in and zero assistance. No front desk, no person to help. We got in and there were 4 packets with 4 different room keys sitting on a desk. Which room was ours? No clue. There were no names on the packets. I tried calling the number listed multiple times but no answer. So we picked a random room. Our family who arrived several hours before us had the same experience. Did we get rooms we paid for? Who knows. The room is really old. Door to the hallway doesn't close all the way with a single questionable lock. Doors to the windows and bathroom also don't close all the way. Only shampoo in the shower (no soap), two single towels. The daytime high was only 70 but without AC the room was really warm and too warm for us to sleep well. Had I booked a short-term rental half the price I would have been OK with all of this. But I booked what I thought was a 4 start hotel. Really disappointed and wishing I had spent half the amount I paid.

Impossible that this is a 4 star anything. There are no amenities with poor to non existent service. The website is flashy but they are totally misrepresenting this ’residence’. It’s essentially a rooming house in a very central location. But there are many others that are central. I would never stay here again nor recommend it. For example, the shower gel came in a small plastic packet that was cheap and awkward to use and they didn’t give us enough for our entire stay. It was impossible to see anyone here. There is no front desk. You need a phone to contact them, so if you’re coming from North America, you better upgrade your plan and buy phone service too. This has been the worst place I’ve stayed in.

A very special place, in an amazing location for a reasonable price.