I really enjoyed our stay at Terrazza Chiarell. it was a pleasure to deal with Luciano and his daughter Giulia.
They kept in touch and were very easy to communicate with.
A great one-bedroom apartment for two people!
The apartment building seemed very secure and well-maintained.
The street seems mostly residential.
The terrace, up a winding staircase, is very special - and has an amazingly huge sun umbrella. Laundry dries quickly in the sunshine.
The water pressure and temperature were both good.
The kitchen could be used for full cooking (we really only used it for coffee and breakfast). Fresh-squeezed juice of very fresh blood oranges is terrific.
I liked the timber ceiling as well as the window into the interior courtyard.
The apartment is very well located for walking in Palermo.
It is a 10-minute walk from the Prestia e Comandè airport bus stop on Via Roma or a 15-minute walk to the Stazione Centrale for trains or buses out of town for day trips (Cefalù, Segesta). The 389 AMAT bus stop for Monreale is about 15 minutes from the apartment as well.
The Ballarò market is very close and the Capo market is not far either. Both were fascinating local markets for beautiful fruits and vegetables, cheese, fish, olives, and so on. Lots of very local Sicilian produce. I found them definitely worth a morning visit.
There are many services (caffes, mini-markets for water, etc) along the often pedestrian-only Via Maqueda or Via Vittorio Emanuele.
I found a Vodafone store to get a local SIM card at Via Principe di Belmonte.
The Cathedral (evening roof tours may be available), the Palazzo dei Normanni (and Capella Palatina), plus a number of historic churches and museums are all within a short walk. Apparently the view from the roofs of Chiesa del Santissimo Salvatore is very good.
There is a Co-op supermarket (many organic options) at Piazzetta Francesco Bagnasco or a more no-frills Lidl supermarket at Via Roma 59 - either one is within 15 minutes walk (in different directions) from this apartment.
We found three interesting nearby restaurants offering Sicilian specialties - if you like the menu then do book ahead for PerciaSacchi (incredible pizza and great service) or La Galleria (lots of seafood but also vegetable options), plus Bisso (no reservations but a very cool experience. I wanted to try their breakfast but didn’t get back there).
Palermo is a busy tourist city so do be prepared for some noise on the weekends. It seemed to generally end by the legal midnight limit.
If one really needed to sleep earlier, the main room seems more insulated and has a sofa bed.
There is so much to see in Palermo! Enjoy your stay in Luciano’s Terrazza Chiarelli!