At the foot of Monte Pellegrino and facing Palermo’s harbour, Villa Igiea is a high-luxury hotel and living landmark rolled into one. Sleeping and dining above the art nouveau foyers and halls that witnessed both the city’s glorious and dark moments for 300 years feels less like staying at a hotel, and more like being an honoured guest at the Sicilian equivalent of Chatsworth House, or Balmoral Castle.
To add to the mystique of the location and building itself, Villa Igiea has an amazing portfolio of activities. My stay is packed with unforgettable experiences, from a cocktail class inside a frescoed cellar led by one of the city’s most talented mixologists, to a bespoke visit to the villa’s iconic art nouveau rooms followed by an al-fresco aperitivo.
Why stay at Villa Igiea?
When I waltzed into Villa Igiea for the first time, I admittedly knew more than most guests about this fabled place – a staple of Sicilian art and architecture I had pored over in art history books during my school days growing up in Palermo. It’s no mean feat, but the physical embodiment lives up to the daydream – the villa is a marvellous hybrid of high-class accommodation and timeless masterpiece.
To stay at Villa Igiea is to have a liaison with history. Palermo’s often unsung art nouveau golden age has created a string of Gatsby-esque villas scattered across town, and Villa Igiea is the finest among them. As a guest, you can visit the Sala Basile and be mesmerised by its enchanting floral stencils painted by Ettore de Maria Bergler, and by the original art nouveau wooden furnishings.
The Sala dates back to the Villa’s restoration by the Florios, Palermo’s most influential family, who inspired Stefania Auci’s The Lions of Sicily. Named after the Greek goddess of health, Hygieia, the existing 19th century villa was meant to become a sanatorium for tuberculosis patients. Instead, deemed too beautiful to host the sick, Villa Igiea eventually opened as a hotel and summer residence for the Florios. Throughout the early 1900s it hosted lavish parties in the style of The Great Gatsby, with nobles and royals from across the globe in attendance. You won’t find any other place in Palermo with the same verve, services, and location as Villa Igiea.
What are the rooms like at Villa Igiea?
No two rooms or suites are the same, as each comes with different Mediterranean-inspired decor and views from your window or balcony. Even the cheapest rooms come with an obscenely comfortable King or Extra King bed, a big TV, fancy branded toiletries, and an old-style wooden wardrobe with slippers and bathrobes.
I pick the Superior Suite with Sea View as the best value for money option. While you could upgrade to a terraced suite for a longer stay, the balconies and sea views from the Superior are ideal for short, weekend stays. All the suites are spacious, with marble bathrooms and an elegant living room worthy of hosting your foreign dignitary of choice for a Prosecco tipple or two.
The spennier options are for deeper pockets, such as the Donna Franca and George V Suites, which come with a whopping price tag in the high thousands per night, but are essentially an entire haute-luxury flat with private balcony, terrace, and even your own personal skipper ready to organise a bespoke boat tour.
What’s the food and drink offer like at Villa Igiea?
You have a good variety of options when it comes to eating and drinking. The hotel has three restaurants and a bar each catering for different occasions. For a bistro-style dinner inside a laid-back seaside bar, Alicetta Bistro is the place to go. If it’s an aperitivo you’re after, Le Terrazze Bar serves classic cocktails alongside small plates that mainly focus on fresh seafood catches and local produce, from deep-fried calamari and prawn crudo to cheese boards.
The Florio Restaurant is the home of finer dining options. A Bible-sized wine menu accompanies the extravagant dishes, ranging from lobster tagliatelle to salt-crusted fish carved table-side. Breakfast is served in the same space, and is available buffet-style and to order. The buffet is a cornucopia of local delicacies, from ricotta-filled buns to savoury cheeses, figs, and prickly pears. It’s hard not to feel at peace with the universe as you sip your first espresso of the day, while sun-kissed and immersed in the oasis-like garden that surrounds the restaurant.
One of the highlights of my stay was the Mixology Masterclass led by chief mixologist Francesco Di Gregorio. Swap your usual cocktails for artworks in a glass, uniquely created for Villa Igiea. Guest or not, anyone can book this 2-hour masterclass (€90 per person) and learn about Sicilian spirits and liqueurs with an enchanting theme, one sip at a time.
What is the service like at Villa Igiea?
Neither late night request for a firmer pillow nor a plea for an extra plate of fresh cannoli in the morning can catch the light-footed staff of Villa Igiea unprepared. The service at this hotel matches the price tag, with housekeeping stopping by to tidy up the room up to four times a day. At night, as you are leisurely dining in the oasis-surrounded restaurant downstairs, the staff is carefully arranging your scendiletto, a soft rug to be placed on the floor directly where your feet will alight in the morning, assorted with slippers. After leaving my chargers plugged with their loose tentacles hanging from the desk, I came back to the room to find the cables had been lovingly untangled. It’s the little touches that make this place so special, and make you feel really tended to during your stay.
Look past the awe-inspiring starched collars guarding the reception, and you’ll find friendly and personable service wherever you go on the villa’s grounds – from the bar to the pool and spa. The concierge team is there to remind you you’re at a 5-star hotel and maybe you don’t want to wear those pink, fluffy Crocs when you check in, but the rest of the staff? They’re there to remind you you’re at home, and to help you personalise your holiday playground.
What are the spa and services like at Villa Igiea?
Fancy a game of tennis first thing in the morning? Followed by a swim in the pool? At Villa Igiea you can make the dream come true, as the hotel has its own spacious outdoor tennis court and a small but dreamy pool, surrounded by the lush palm gardens and with a vista on the Mediterranean.
For your cardio and fitness needs, there’s a dedicated building where you have your modestly-sized 24/7 gym, and the jewel in the crown of Villa Igiea: the Irene Forte spa. A quick 25-minute full-body massage after an intense sightseeing day revitalises my tired muscles, and brings back new clarity and restoration as I step outside of the cool, dark, and lightly pistacchio-scented room, back into the sizzling sun of the Igiea gardens and harbour.
What’s the area like around Villa Igiea?
Acquasanta is one of Palermo’s oldest neighbourhoods. Though there aren’t any urban landmarks outside the villa’s boundaries, it’s worth strolling to the Bagni Minerali, which is five minutes’ walk away. The building marks the spot where curative waters were believed to flow through this very neighbourhood, akin to the fountain of eternal youth.
The hotel also offers a free-of-charge shuttle service to Mondello Beach, where it has its own 40-bed private club where you can lounge and tan without having to worry about the drive, or the often gargantuan task of finding an empty spot for your beach towel.
Why you should you book a stay at Villa Igiea
Modern amenities and luxury meet classic design and history in one of Palermo’s most beautiful buildings. You can count on warmth and attention to detail in the service, a splendid room (whichever you pick, frankly), as well as amazing facilities and activities to fill your days.
DETAILS
Address: Salita Belmonte 43, 90142 Palermo
Price: Classic Room from €400 and Superior Suite from €990, price per night for 2 adults sharing on a B&B basis.
Closest transport: 27 minutes’ drive from Palermo Airport, and 10 minutes’ drive from Palermo Centrale (train station).
Book now: Via Booking.com