Via Butera 35/47, Palermo, Italy | (937) 315-4602
Beautiful terrace restaurant overlooking Palermo and the sea
Sleek, modern guest rooms with attention to design
Gorgeous spa with sauna, steam bath, whirlpool, and various treatments
Free breakfast and Wi-Fi
On-site fitness center
Room service
Valet parking, though extra charge applied
Meeting room for business travelers
A bit of a walk to the historic city center
Neighborhood can feel sketchy, with rundown buildings and poor street lighting
Wi-Fi not always consistent
The 33-room Hotel Porta Felice is a boutique hotel built into an old Sicilian palace on the outskirts of the historic city center of Palermo. Completely refurbished, the property has a sleek, modern design, large rooms, and a beautiful wellness center in which visitors can indulge in massages and a variety of treatments. Guests are served a free breakfast on the rooftop terrace each morning, and the restaurant is also open for dinner. While the facilities are pleasant, the area surrounding the hotel can be a mixed bag, as some guests have complained about rundown buildings and poor street lighting at night.
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Scene
Elegant, contemporary interiors, with a surrounding area that's more urban and varied
Along a quiet, narrow street, the renovated Porta Felice is noticeably different from many of its older structural neighbors, with some guests having safety concerns about the surrounding area. Inside, Hotel Porta Felice has a contemporary, elegant feel with white floral wallpaper, metal wall sconces, and angular, cool-colored furniture. Some design choices border on silly -- like the florescent lights in the hallways that shine behind a stencil image of two hanging wall lamps -- but generally the hotel's style is reserved, as is its tempo. Drawing mostly tourists, the property is fairly subdued during the day.
Location
About a 15-minute walk to the historic city center and train station
Not far from the sea, the Porta Felice is on the outskirts of the historic city center. Attractions such as the Gallaria D'Arte Moderna or Piazza Pretoria require a 10- to 15-minute walk. The central train station is also about a 15-minute walk southwest, while reaching the airport requires about a 40-minute drive west. For those who want to be in the center of all the action, this hotel is not ideal, but guests looking for a quieter respite that’s still reasonably close to famous sights might enjoy the Porta Felice.
Rooms
Large, modern rooms with inventive contrasts; some have balconies
The modern rooms at the Porta Felice are large and lovely. The smooth black leather headboards, desks, and bedside tables offer a subtle, inventive contrast to the black wood closets and walls. The beds are simply adorned in white sheets, but bright red chairs add a vibrant flare to what otherwise would be a sterile space. Bathrooms, which come with tubs, showers, and hotel-branded soap products, are large with white and gray marble tiling. Many spaces come with balconies that lack chairs, though there's space for them. Views can vary as well, but most look out on the neighborhood.
A Superior room will get you an extra twin bed, while a suite offers a warmer color scheme and separate bedroom and living area. Each room comes with a fairly small flat-screen TV, a minibar, and free, sometimes shoddy Wi-Fi.
Features
A beautiful, relaxing spa and a sunlit terrace are the primary perks.
The hotel serves free breakfast from its rooftop restaurant, a large white space that’s mostly covered but still remains open, airy, and sunlit. Dinner is served there as well. While buildings block views of the water, guests can still take in the neighborhood and surrounding mountains.
The Porta Felice also has a marble and pink stone spa that offers beauty and body treatments, a sauna, a steam room, a whirlpool, and more. The facility isn’t that large but is well-designed, with a mix of soft track lighting and natural light. Attached to the spa is a small fitness room with a treadmill, an elliptical, and a few weight machines. The machines are surprisingly old for the shiny hotel, but everything is functional. For business travelers, the Porta Felice also has a high-tech meeting room that seats 25 people.
