Hotel Gardenia - Palermo, Italy 

I have never stayed in a 2 star hotel before but we were only in Palermo for two nights so I took the risk.The hotel is central. staff friendly and very helpful. The reception area is impressive and when we first arrived I thought I had found a real bargain but it is shared by other hotels of similar or higher grading so I was rather disappointed that the hotel itself is rather dingy and in need of refurbishing.The room was a reasonable size and the balcony an unexpected bonus- not that we used it much. The buffet breakfast was very good with plenty of choice plus tea or coffee. There was a terrible smell coming from somewhere in the bathroom on the second day but as we were only in the room for a short time each day we just kept the door shut and the bathroom window wide open. I was also somewhat aggrieved to be charged 20 euros per day for parking the car when on the website it said that the charge was 10 euros per day. I would not stay there again but in all fairness have to say that you only get what you pay for