Palazzo Salomone

We love a good luxury hotel because, after a good day of exploring and kicking about, we like to settle in en famille and chill. Palazzo Salomone was a standout for us in our many years of traveling as a family. We took 2 large rooms for 2 adults and 2 kids. They were very different from each other, one in the main building and one across a back courtyard. Both rooms were very clean and well-appointed (as one would expect). The rooms were both 2-levels, with the sleeping area upstairs from the main part taking advantage of the small floor plans of older buildings. The controls in each rooms (heating, lighting, A/C, etc.) were typically Italian: super-modern and a bit confusing, but a little trial and error gets you on the right path. What really makes the difference in properties like this is the staff, and here is where the hotel got 5 stars: We were made to feel 100% at home every minute of the day. The hotel boasts a high-end restaurant basically in the lobby that was crowded most meals, but we were never allowed to feel like we were intruding. Quite the opposite: Cristina made herself our best friend throughout our stay, making sure that our breakfast was amazing and that we had everything we needed. The entire staff was the ideal mix of casual and formal, going above and beyond in every way. It was a superb stay. (Pro tip: We bought 2 puzzles to build while we stayed, and left them behind for others to enjoy when they visit in case of a rainy day. Ask at the front desk…)

My recommendations I think this should be a 4-star hotel. I had a wonderful stay in a junior suite. The hotel is located in the quiet and cosy part of the old town. No traffic noise. I haven't even heard a neighbour.

The bed is comfortable, the staff is very friendly & helped with every question we had or assistance for help from dinner reservations to shopping recommendations. The Nespresso machine in the room worked well. However…the design of the hotel is very modern which looks great…here come the challenges: 1. All the lighting & curtains are controlled by digital panels located inside the doorway & at bedside. But the icons on the panels aren’t intuitive. It took 2 days before we had things memorized. And with all those digital panels, it turns out they don’t control the reading lights above the bed. We finally located that switch below the bedside digital panels. 2. You need an engineering degree to work the shower. Water comes out the ceiling, the walls & the handheld nozzle. Getting the water to come out of the orifice you want literally took 5 minutes to figure out. And the water was cold the entire time you’re standing there trying to get it to work. Meanwhile the only shower feature they were thrilled to show us was the blue button you push to get steam. That never worked. 3. Hope you brought earplugs because the noise from the restaurant is hard to ignore. It ends around 10:30, but if you’re looking for restful quiet, insist on a room in the back of the hotel where restaurant noise might be less obvious. 4. The breakfast was nice. But, be sure you let them know by 10 pm the night before that you plan on eating breakfast. Regarding breakfast, it’s not a buffet. You are served everything & it comes in the order the server chooses. Every morning we said we wanted coffee right away. But, it showed up after the fruit, and the juice & the pastries. It was nice strong coffee when it arrived. When it comes to all the other items, the quality was excellent, but the servings were too big. We have hearty appetites but we didn’t finish more than half of the pastries or ham and cheese. We finally started asking for half servings hoping we would waste less, to no avail. Christina, the server, was extremely nice & was great at remembering who preferred what, from day to day. 5. The location is a good spot on the island for walking around & being very close to the water. But it’s located on a very narrow alley so no cars can park in front. The bellman gets good exercise moving luggage between the hotel & where cars can park long enough to drop off about 1.5 blocks away. We didn’t have a car so parking was not a problem for us, but if you have one, it’s one more detail to navigate. All in all, if we were back in Siracusa we would find a different place to stay.

We had an amazing stay in the junior suite. The hotel has a beautiful contemporary design with lots of attention to detail. Location couldn’t be better to explore the old town. The service and the breakfast were more than excellent.

Surprisingly very nice small hotel in the heart of the town. Great friendly staff. Love Siracusa!

We stayed two nights in this hotel From the moment we arrived it was a shambles We didn’t enjoy driving our car to find the hotel, unless you have a bambino you will struggle to get your car down the alleyways Nothing on the website about valet parking (must be reserved in advance too) and when I ran down the street on our arrival to the hotel entrance in the alley I was told abruptly but reception there is a self service 1.5km down the road Off you go, taxis are no existent in ghettos area so we dragged our bags back to hotel from the car parking 18 mins walk in the sun exactly what I would do for 350€ a night The room configuration as others say sounds so grand and designer modern However having a cafe chair to sit on instead of a sofa downstairs and then always going up to the bed not ideal Navigating the toilet at night is a hazard and you will wake your partner unless you are a mouse As for noise that others mention, we had the top floor suite but also had the rattle of the common area aircon on our wall next tot he bed similar to a pool pump running I guess white noise is good for sleep The aircon works yes but the bed is in the attic and cold air falls so I would say just cool, we had to remove the blanket and sleep with just a sheet Now we get to the service level at this 5 star Staff on entry and exit seem to feel obligated to say Buingiorno while judging and frowning as you come and go, maybe as we aren’t Italian we had a terrace so nice to have a drink though in no way private as looks directly at that neighbouring building and their noisy aircon My husband asked for a wine bottle opener and the staff went to the kitchen (of the 1 Michelin star restaurant ) and came back with a beer bottle opener, that’s all I can offer you So your saying all those wines are opened with some other implement in your Michelin restaurant, of course Italian answer “this is all I can offer you” Th positives The bed is comfortable and the beach is 5 minutes walk