the main balcony of this apartment is fantastic, partly covered if it rains, partly open, and both bedrooms open on to it providing cross breezes. we used the sofabed in the main lounge room and it was very comfortable. the location is a 5 min walk from the bus stop to the beach in the north of Palermo (20 min journey) which we did twice, its a lovely beach with plenty of public swimming and showers. its also a short bus trip to the central train station (or a 25 min walk) so it is easy to get the train to Cefalu beach also. The apartment area looks a bit rough when you arrive but the people are very pleasant with many children riding bikes/ playing around and the trattoria across the street is delicious. As described, there are about 80 steps to climb, but we soon got used to it, and the size/ location of the apartment made this worthwhile. This was a very good base from which to explore Palermo and the surrounding area.