Giardino del Balio

We were lucky to find this place by accident after we wanted to leave touring Sicily cities. The gated secure resort is situated on a high area and overlooks the ocean on many sides. The place is very clean and the staff were all very kind. You can enjoy the pool area or take a walk to the resort beach. The water at the beach was crystal clear. Bring your snorkel because there are lots of fish and the beach was stunning! You can get food at the beach. The resort has many restaurants or you can choose to eat at the buffet which was also very nice. There are remote bars at many locations. Finding Pollina Resort is what made our trip to Sicily amazing!

This is an old world hotel that does not disappoint in its style and uniqueness. The location is right in the heart of historic Palermo with all the sights within 15 minutes walk in any direction. The breakfast is amazing. The rooftop restaurant is a charming and quiet with a wonderful city panorama with mountain surrounding all around and great for sunsets. The terrace bar is quiet and private with a charming waiter who will remember you. This is a spot for travelers who enjoy an old world experience with charm. If you want to be overlay pampered and think you deserve fantastic luxury - then stay away. You’ll just complain and I don’t want the staff to have to deal with you.

The staff was amazing and very helpful. They moved our room after our first night because the people in the room above us were so loud we could hear everything. The rooms are nice but have some drawbacks: in order to have your windows open to get fresh air at night, the room is flooded with all the uplighting surrounding the hotel. The windows have wooden shutters inside which means in order to block out the light, you must close the windows and then close the wooden shutters. Either turn off the floodlights at night or provide some curtains. The walls are also very thin and you can hear everything in the room next to you. We couldn’t get any of the TV apps to work so only had access to Italian TV. Did a fun (but very long) cooking class. The pool area is interesting but not inviting. It’s in a corner in the main area of the courtyard and faces 2 walls so there is no view. Also not very private. There is no lobby bar or any soft seating to relax anywhere. There is also not a set restaurant at the hotel - you have to do a cooking class or a private chef cooking for you (which would be nice but it’s in the cooking class/breakfast room so you have to experience it while a class is going on beside you). It’s a very pretty hotel but not really designed for the best experience for guests.