Review: Indipendenza Casa Vacanza Palermo
First off, the location is awesome and very central, just at the south-western tip of the old town of Palermo. You can reach the most important sights on foot, and should you need any kind of transportation, Piazza Indipendenza and Palazzo Reale-Orleans are your bus and train stations. If you arrive at Palermo Airport (Punta Raisi), you can take the train directly to Palazzo Reale-Orleans; on the way back, we even got a lift from the organizers. In addition, the eastern side of Sicily, e.g. the city of Catania, is only a three-hour train ride away. So as far as location and transportation go, this apartment is hard to beat. Moreover, Daniele’s team will give you a map and tell you about some of their favourite picks in town, namely excellent restaurants and pubs, but also the must-see sights. The team member that we met, Tommaso, speaks English well and will answer all your questions.
Daniele renovated and expanded this apartment. Thus, you get a makeshift second floor bedroom in addition to a decently-sized living room with a kitchenette. The bathroom has a shower, a roughly functional washing machine, a bidet (nice touch) and of course sink and toilet. The building is a charming, if a little run-down, old-town house, which you can tell by the wooden logs holding together the ceiling. Since the logs are a bit tired, they are reinforced by steel beams that give the apartment an adventurous flair, but also a hazard to bump your head on when going upstairs to the bedroom, same as the very low door to the bathroom.
The team promises a lot for the guests, and although my wife and I were very pleased with our stay, we feel that some honesty is also paramount here.
- Upon arrival, we had to sit in front of the house for an hour since our hosts were running late. We had communicated our time of arrival, but when we actually got there, the hosts had simply switched off their phones and left us with no clue.
- Basic necessities like garbage bags, laundry detergent, cooking oil or pepper were not supplied; not enough toilet paper, either. It was nice to receive some jam, coffee pads, milk, digestives and a bottle of water for free, though.
- On our day-before-last, one member of Daniele’s team let himself in, surprising my wife and me in a rather indecent manner. This could have been avoided easily with better communication. While Tommaso replied to WhatsApp texts in a relatively timely fashion, there is obviously some difficulty in communication among the team members.
- The small boiler that supplies the flat with warm water and heat in the winter is not easy to operate at first glance. It crashes (?) regularly and needs to be reset manually. Also, you need to be aware of extra fees if you use the AC or the heating a bit more intensely.
- The renovations and expansions to the apartment aren’t always sound. The stairs feel a bit rickety and one of the steps broke during our visit. Also, you shouldn’t look too closely at the corners of the bathroom.
I do believe that Daniele and his team are continually improving the flat and the service, so that future guests might get a more streamlined experience. My wife and I simply loved Palermo and the laid-back Sicilian lifestyle and would recommend this apartment to young travellers and - with the above caveats - to families, too.