Bed bug infestation — stay away
I stayed at Hotel Federico II in Palermo for three nights at the start of an organized Sicily tour in September 2026, and the stay was ruined by bed bugs.
On the third night I found three bed bugs crawling on my pillow (I have photos). My travel companion had been developing unexplained bumps, and the next morning she found bed bugs in her room too. When I reported it, the front desk moved me to another room, but that was the extent of the help: staff told us to spray alcohol on our luggage — which is not an effective way to kill bed bugs — and could not provide access to laundry facilities, a vacuum, or proper cleaning supplies. I had to decontaminate my belongings myself while the rest of the group continued the tour.
The consequences followed me for the rest of the trip: more than 100 bites, severe itching that broke the skin in places, disrupted sleep, and constant anxiety about carrying bed bugs to the next hotel. At least one full day of the vacation was lost to emergency laundry and sorting belongings.
A hotel's most basic duty is a clean, safe bed. Hotel Federico II failed at that, and its response showed no real plan for handling an infestation. I would not stay here again.