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OUR PERFECT PALERMO APARTMENT RENTAL

By Unknown - 8:12 PM

The Sicily trip, among food and gorgeous-ness, also provided my first vacation apartment rental experience. With a pretty nonexistent hostel scene and six of us to share costs, it made perfect sense to find a comfortable place to spend the long weekend. After hours of browsing, we ended up going with Apartment Politeama from Sun Sea Love and let me tell you, BLOWN AWAY!

We found the apartment through FlipKey, an apartment rental service associated with TripAdvisor. When we saw the location, # of people accommodated, and price, we truly thought it was too good to be true. So, we filled out the "Interested?" form and received a quick reply from Daniela, our liaison. She described the apartment layout and said we could arrange the beds as we liked.

The apartment is situated on the main square, Piazza Castelnuovo, in Palermo, Sicily. On the third floor of the building, it provided a spectacular view and location, and had WiFi. What more can young travelers ask for? Daniela, that's who. She provided us with endless information and sat with us for at least an hour circling things on the map and waiting for our unprepared selves to sort out the cash payment.

Upon walking into the apartment building, our jaws immediately dropped. There was a carved ceiling and wall inserts with statues. The elevator was straight out of an early 20th century movie, where we had to shut a door and then a gate before going up or down. Then the apartment boasted starch white walls, brightened up by a red staircase. On the first floor is a living area and the balcony. For our case, however, it was a sofa bed that slept two and two twin roll-aways. The ceilings were ~25 feet high and had this unique look where you couldn't tell where the walls ended and the ceiling began (clearly I'm not architect or designer). Upstairs, there was another small sitting area with a television, speakers, small dining table, updated kitchen and bathroom, and the bedroom.

On the kitchen table sat a welcome basket filled with Italian cake, shortbread cookies, a Sicilian white wine, noodles, and pasta sauce, which we blew through by day two, so it was much appreciated. Also included was the map, which is always helpful and really provides entertaining moments when discovering which of your friends are directionally challenged.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="902"] Panoramic view off Politeama's balcony[/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="1064"] The apartment was stocked with all the important goods, like wine glasses and a wine opener (ok, all kinds of cooking and dining supplies were there, too).[/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="1064"] We even had a little mechanical problem when our air conditioner started leaking water. I emailed the property manager and wouldn't you know, within three hours - on Easter weekend, we had two Italian men and one humungous language barrier solving the problem.[/caption]

I wanted to take photos of the apartment myself - truly, I did. It was too gorgeous not to. However, our suitcases soon exploded and our wine bottles littered the room faster than you can say Apartment Politeama, so there went that opportunity. Good thing there are some nifty photos online to share with you.




[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="640"] sitting area, dining table, and kitchen tucked behind that wall[/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="320"] staircase[/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="293"] bathroom[/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="640"] upstairs bedroom (wouldn't be a Euro apartment without some nude art now would it?)[/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="640"] kitchen[/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="640"] the building[/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="640"] building entrance[/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="640"] living room[/caption]

Overall, I really loved renting an apartment. It was so nice to have the cooking alternative (yes, I do realize you can do this in some hostels, too, but not with any privacy or cleaning on your own terms). The one thing I missed about being in a hostel (or hotel for that matter) was the front desk/concierge service. It's so nice to just tell someone where you want to go and they direct you immediately there.


Have you ever rented an apartment for vacation?


*I was in no way compensated for this post. I dont know how people manage that crap, but that would have made this actually too good to be true. This apartment was just a mega travel win that I wanted to share.

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22 comments

  1. Cat of Sunshine and SiestasApril 8, 2013 at 11:56 PM

    Love your disclaimer. Loads.

    ReplyDelete
  2. LyndsyApril 9, 2013 at 6:51 AM

    That apartment looks awesome! I'm curious as to what the cost was split between your group? Those TripAdvisor rentals always seem to have too good to be true prices. You lucked out on this one. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sara LouiseApril 9, 2013 at 7:51 AM

    It looks perfect for a mini-break! I've never stayed in a holiday apartment, but it's definitely something I'd consider .

    ReplyDelete
  4. Nicole (@TreasureTromp)April 9, 2013 at 9:09 AM

    that looks amazing! I'm always a little nervous using sites like that but it looks like you got a great place!

    ReplyDelete
  5. ifs ands & buttsApril 9, 2013 at 2:09 PM

    Oh putting down a deposit without any actual in Website booking or confirmation before was terrifying. I paid through Paypal to protect myself.

    ReplyDelete
  6. ifs ands & buttsApril 9, 2013 at 2:10 PM

    It ended up at 22€ per person, per night after splitting the cleaning fee, too. Cheaper and way better than so many hostels!

    ReplyDelete
  7. HeatherApril 9, 2013 at 3:46 PM

    This looks amazing! I've only done the holiday apartment thing once, but it was well worth it! Ours even came with optional breakfast/dinner (for a little more of course) but it was such a convenience! I'll definitely keep this in mind whenever I get to Sicily. :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. SetarraApril 9, 2013 at 3:49 PM

    Wow, great gamble gurl! And they responded within 24 hours of a maintenance request?! I used to work in leasing and that my dear is great service despite the language barrier :) Glad you had a great time!

    ReplyDelete
  9. CaitlynApril 9, 2013 at 10:53 PM

    Sounds awesome! Those double-fenced elevators are one of those things that just scream Europe to me, just like individual passenger compartments on trains :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. bevchenApril 10, 2013 at 10:53 AM

    I literally JUST stayed in an apartment for the first time in Berlin!! (I have stayed in holiday cottages before though as a child) It wasn't as impressive as yours, but good enough ;-) We only actually cooked at the apartment once, but it was nice to have the option. And we had breakfast there every day.

    ReplyDelete
  11. KatrinApril 10, 2013 at 2:38 PM

    Oh wow, that apartment is really beautiful! Glad you found it! I have rented an apartment on a trip before. My friends and I went to the Croatian island Krk and we were also lucky to find a beautiful and not very expensive apartment!

    ReplyDelete
  12. ifs ands & buttsApril 10, 2013 at 3:21 PM

    It's so nice to be able to have group dinners instead of eating out all the time - I'm sure the island apartment was fantastic!

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  13. ifs ands & buttsApril 10, 2013 at 3:23 PM

    I also enjoyed the privacy of it all, too. We could make a ruckous and no one could complain!

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  14. ifs ands & buttsApril 10, 2013 at 3:24 PM

    For some reason I felt like I was on the Titanic in those elevators, which is strange.

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  15. JannaApril 15, 2013 at 8:18 AM

    So neat! I have never rented an apartment or been to a hostel. Well, technically the hotel we stayed at in Amsterdam had a hostel attached and naked people would walk through the halls to the bathroom that the hostel stayers shared, but yeah...Haha

    ReplyDelete
  16. Life Lessons of a Military WifeApril 17, 2013 at 1:27 PM

    How neat! I just got back from Palermo too! We were a few blocks away from you in a nice B&B that had similar architecture....just gorgeous.....and cheap, and the owner was fantastic.

    When we travel 4 or more we also like apartments. I like the security and feedback system on airbnb.com. Give them a try too. You can also pay by credit card, and many times I find vouchers to handle the small fee airbnb charges and the cleaning fee if there is one.

    I'd love to hear about the rest of your trip! We boarded a cruise there, so were only there one day, but I'd love to go back!

    ReplyDelete
  17. ifs ands & buttsApril 22, 2013 at 4:39 PM

    Hahahaha only in Amstersdam ;)

    ReplyDelete
  18. ifs ands & buttsApril 22, 2013 at 9:23 PM

    I actually just used Airbnb in Munich and it worked out FABULOUSLY, too. Where all did you cruise to? I still need to post about Palermo, but Cefalu was my favorite part so that's why that's still there :)

    ReplyDelete
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  22. مظلاتOctober 21, 2015 at 3:49 AM

    Verify with zoning laws to locate out if you are allowed to erect this style of
    fence. Some styles interlock, making assembly simpler, less costly and less
    time consuming. For such gorgeous and graceful animals,
    deer sure can be troublesome to human beings.

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