There are a few positives worth mentioning before describing the negatives. Positives: The apartments we rented were spacious as described. The second star was for Vera, who did provide useful information about restaurants, markets, and local sites to see. She also arranged taxi service for us to and from the Palermo airport, and made a dinner reservation on the night of our late arrival. Negatives: 1. Noise: The apartment is located on a small narrow street one floor above street level. There is non-stop street noise, day and night. Loud motorcycles (unmuffled) and automobiles drive by day and night. There are about 5 large "dumpster" trash bins outside the front door (across the small street). Trash was collected after midnight on several nights, making very loud truck noises and noises of compacting trash and glass. In addition, likely in preparation for Easter, there was loud drumming after 11 PM. We kept the windows and shutters closed, but the noise interfered with sleep at night and with normal conversation during the day (for the short periods of time we spentin the apartment). 2. Smell. There was a noxious smell in the kitchen of apartment F. It smelled to me like sewage or a dead animal. The smell was bad enough to cause us to avoid eating in the apartment, and indeed to choose to spend as little time there as possible. It was disappointing that Vera did not mention this problem in her pre-arrival communication with us, or upon our arrival. Only when I notified her later did she acknowledge that she was aware of the smell. She brought in a plumber on the day before we left, but he was unable to remove the odor. 3. Neighborhood. Whenever we mentioned where we were staying we were met with eye rolling, and often admonishments that it was not safe for us to walk alone at night. This caused us to feel unsafe in the area, and to curtail some of our plans and routes to dinner. When checking us in, Vera even indicated that some of the people we encountered in the neighborhood might look rough, but that typically they would leave us alone. 4. Furnishings. The furnishings were primitive at best. Based on the photos, I did not expect elegant furniture, but the reality was still disappointing. The worst were the beds: thin foam mattresses on wooden slabs very low to the ground. This is the first time I have chosen to stay in an Air B and B property, and I doubt that I will do so ever again. We chose this property for its size and we fully expected that to get this much space for the price, there would be some compromises. However, the combination of the noise and the noxious smell made this the most unpleasant place I have ever stayed during my travels. So unless your idea of a good time is to live with constant noise and the smell of sewage, I recommend avoiding...