Ad Hoc Rooms

Due giorni di vacanza in occasione del compleanno della mia compagna. b&b in pieno centro di fianco il monastero di Santa Caterina, pulito, accogliente, curato nei minimi dettagli. Ogni stanza è a tema, arredato magnificamente. Proprietari squisiti Luca e Natalia sono due splendide persone ci siamo sentiti veramente coccolati, Consigliamo vivamente

We booked a room for one night at Ad Hoc Rooms. Based upon the pictures and reviews, we had high expectations (at the time of booking, they had a rating of 9.5!). Unfortunately, we ended up having our MOST DISAPPOINTING hotel experience. The hosts were DISHONEST. We arrived at the Ad Hoc address (the meeting point we received in our email confirmation) and we learned on the spot with the car parked and our luggage in the street that our apartment was at another location. We had to walk 10min with our luggage through a busy street to reach the 2nd location. We soon realized that they sent us to a different bed and breakfast called Guelio al Massimo Suites&Breakfast. Although we had the option to pay with our credit card in our booking reservation, upon arrival to this unexpected 2nd location, we learned that their machine did not work so we had to pay cash up front. Even though we arrived at 3:30pm, the room was still unavailable as they were still “cleaning” it. When we finally gained access to our room, we were greatly disappointed. The room and bathroom were small (even for European standards), old and suffered from TERRIBLE ventilation. The bathroom was still dirty with hair lining the sink. The AC unit was not functioning properly and was impossible to adjust. The humidity in the room was uncomfortably high throughout the night, surprising given we were in mid-October! As the stay also included a breakfast, they promised to prepare a croissant to go the next morning as we had to leave early. To no surprise, when we left, there was no food to be found. We suspect Ad Hoc Rooms overbooked their rooms and sent us to their “friends” bed and breakfast. We felt fully taken advantage of, as they made us believe our room was the same B&B, but at another location. Instead it was of poor quality, overpriced and the hosts were dishonest. Avoid this place!

Sadly, I can only reiterate that my wife and I had a very similar experience to Matt B.with the exception that we had booked a room for 2 nights. We got off the airplane in Palermo to this message from Natalia (the Hostess with whom I had booked the rooms) "He (the taxi driver) will bring you to our new apartment just 5 minutes from our first building, at the meeting point you'll find my husband Luca, the driver will contact him". This was the last thing you want to hear when you have been travelling all day and expectations of a smooth check-in to a recommended hotel in an excellent location in old town. Long story short, we were delivered to a remodeled but lifeless and secluded 1 room "apartment" in the back of a 3rd floor. It was 6 minutes from the real Ad Hoc establish and outside the formal defined boundary of the pedestrian friendly "old town". Despite our insistence that we wanted to stay at Ad Hoc, Natalia would not make good on our reservation. It was clear to me that this was a "bait and switch" situation, not a booking error, I fear she has gotten greedy after being mentioned in Rick Steve's new guide book. Consider yourself warned, and Matt, I only wish your review had been posted before we booked.

Nice place, perfectly located in the center, very friendly and helpful host, and lovely breakfast (also with vegan options if you ask - the best breakfast during our whole stay in Sicily). We stayed in the "sport" room that was just right for us.

We booked a room here for one night a few days before our visit. We had a very warm welcome, arriving late morning, with drinks and pastries when we arrived. The B&B kindly let us leave our bags until the room was ready. We were met by the husband of the owner. He called his wife to speak to us, as he didn't speak much English. She explained that there were two apartment buildings and that we should return at 1.30 to meet her colleague. At no point did they say that this second building wasn't a part of Ad Hoc. We did this, and were taken by a guy to a building a few streets away to what turned out to be a completely different B&B. This new place was one we had seen online but had not wanted to book. It was considerably cheaper than Ad Hoc. The room we were shown to was at the top of a noisy, tired old house. The room was small, dark and basic. It was under the eaves, so was cramped. It had mismatching furniture and was dusty and depressing. We contacted Ad Hoc's owner and told her it wasn't what we had booked. She explained that there was a congress in the city and other guests had wanted to stay on longer in Ad Hoc. She said repeatedly that we were only staying one night. Presumably, then, the room we booked was no longer available. Instead of letting us know, they tried to put us in another B&B under this original booking. We told her it wasn't acceptable. She said sorry but then also said it wasn't her fault (!). She said this hadn't happened before, but scanning the other reviews, it looks like it has. Through a number of conversations, she said she would help us find an alternative - offering an apartment they also owned, opposite the original B&B, or a place in a B&B of a friend. After some discussion, we walked ourselves over to her friend's B&B, where we paid for a night (that cost more than the room we had booked at Ad Hoc). The original booking was cancelled and the cost refunded. This might be a lovely B&B but unfortunately the behaviour of the owner meant that we never got to find out. Beware if you're booking for a short stay

We stayed here for only 3 nights, but we wished it was longer! Eventhough we first were supposed to stay at a different B&B, they immediately fixed it by getting me in contact with Ad Hoc. They even got us the biggest room, eventhough the B&B was actually fully booked! They handled it nicely and we had a lovely stay. Breakfast was perfect and tips from the host were very helpful. Plus everything we wanted to see was nearby, which was great. We will definitely recommend it to others!

I don’t typically post reviews, but the excellent experience we had warrants some well deserved praise for the operators of this B&B. Ad Hoc is located in the center of old historic Parlermo and walking distance to many sites. If you want to be in the heart of Palermo, Ad Hoc is a great option and excellent value for the money. The balcony off our room overlooking Via dei Giudice, right off of Via Roma, and the rooftop top terrace for breakfast were nice adds. The biggest plus is the personalized attention and assistance we received. Natalia, the hostess, her husband Luca, and father in law Giovanni were so incredibly helpful. Upon arrival, Giovanni hopped in our car to help us navigate to the nearby parking lot and assist with making parking arrangements. Our airline lost our luggage and was unresponsive to my inquiries. Natalia was able to track down our luggage and have it delivered to us. Please note that staying in this B&B does not require a car and most sites can be easily be reached on foot from Ad Hoc. The only reason I rented a car was to facilitate multiple trips visiting family outside of Palermo. Our room, located on the third floor walk-up was spacious, clean and modern. My wife, my son and I welcomed the stairs to help burn off some of those extra calories consumed from all the delicious gelato we ate. Many thanks to the Ad Hoc team for making our Palermo trip wonderful.

The perfect place to stay in Palermo. Really well located it’s only a stones throw away from the centre of town but not so close that you would hear the busy streets. The main terrace at the top of the building is really beautiful and has a wonderful view of the streets below. Our room as well as the whole B&B was really well decorate, with a really fresh feel to the whole place. Breakfast was excellent And finally a really big thank you to Luca who took really great care of us. Would highly recommend!