Carletta's Aparta-Suite & Spa

Carletta's Aparta-Suite & Spa occupies the first floor of a small early twentieth-century building at corso Alberto Amedeo 8, the antique dealers' street in Palermo, fifty metres from piazza Indipendenza and eighty from Porta Nuova. This is the point where the pedestrian zone of the old town and the Arab-Norman itinerary begin: the walls of the Palazzo dei Normanni are seventy metres away, the entrance to the palace and the Cappella Palatina four hundred, the Cathedral half a kilometre, the Quattro Canti nine hundred metres. Via Vittorio Emanuele, where the pedestrian walk that reaches the seafront in two kilometres starts, is one hundred metres away.

The property consists of two self-contained suites, each for two people, and can be booked as a single suite or as the whole house. Both have a private terrace, underfloor heating and central cooling, and in both the furniture was designed and built to measure, with the original vaults kept and the terrazzo floor remade in the same style. There is no lift in the building, and the house says so: anyone who finds stairs difficult should take that into account.

The wellness part is the reason this house exists, and it is shared with nobody: it is private, inside the suite. The SPA Suite measures 25 square metres plus twenty of terrace and contains a square hydromassage plunge pool two metres on each side with a small waterfall, clad in travertine marble along with its access steps, a made-to-measure sauna with a glazed corner that seats up to four, and a steam room for two, finished in resin, with two travertine seats side by side and the shower inside it, with a ceiling rose head and a telescopic hand shower. The bed folds vertically out of sight and leaves a sofa. The Aparta-Suite measures 32 square metres plus twelve of terrace, has a kitchenette fitted with an induction hob, microwave, fridge and freezer, and in the living area a hydromassage tub for two beside a resin aquarium tub with an integrated shower, meant for alternating hot and cold water. There is no outdoor pool and the property does not claim one.

On the access rules the sources do not say the same thing, and it is worth knowing. The booking portal states that children are not allowed, and that is the figure this page is based on. The official website, however, publishes no age rule: on the contrary, in its introduction it writes that the property is ideal for two couples, groups of four or families who want to visit Palermo. That is not a declared age threshold, it is a sales line, but it is enough to advise anyone travelling with a minor to ask for written confirmation before booking. In any case the property publishes no figure: neither source gives a minimum age in years. On pets the website says nothing.

Check-in is automated, with a different numeric code for each guest. The shared amenities include wifi, a 42-inch smart TV, minibar, kettle and coffee machine, bathrobes, towels and toiletries. It suits a couple who want to sleep inside the old town and have a sauna and steam room in the house without sharing them with other guests. It suits less anyone looking for hotel services, a pool or a lift.