This was my second stay at Margherita's place and she was, if anything, even more gracious, helpful, and friendly this time than last. The description "Cozy, central, and cheap" fits perfectly. It's basic -- shared bathroom, functional but not fancy furniture, straightforward breakfast, etc -- but the location is really good. This time I woke up Sunday morning to find that there was no water. I tried various things but eventually rang Margherita (7am) who had some advice, which unfortunately did not work. We rang again and she came promptly and in surprisingly good spirits for 8am Sunday. She got out a ladder, climbed into the attic, and fixed the problem immediately. The reality is, stuff happens, sometimes on Sundays when it cannot be repaired immediately. I take this episode as a positive example of Margheria's devotion to customer service.
A bigger issue for me is the noise on Saturday nights. This happened last time as well but for some reason (jet lag?) it bothered me more this time. On Saturday nights the denizens of Palermo delight in driving around the central station in loud cars and motorbikes, playing music that is deafening even on the 4th floor and must be damaging at ground level. This woke me at 3am and was basically over by 4am, but I could not get back to sleep -- got up to take a shower and found the problem with the water. Martherita can't do anything about the noise either, and it's probably only on Saturday nights, but prospective guests should be aware of it. Peronally, I will certainly come back, but probably not on Saturday nights!