Meetings, conferences, gala dinners and weddings of up to 100 guests can be organized at the Grand Hotel et Des Palmes, a historic hotel on Via Roma in central Palermo, Sicily, and one of the city's gathering places since 1874. Four event settings, from a winter garden designed by Ernesto Basile to an open-air terrace over the city, sit inside the hotel, with bedrooms on the floors above.
Seminars and company events
The Giardino d'Inverno is the main meeting room, with natural light and pianos, used for meetings, conferences and private gatherings. The Sala Palmette is a smaller room for private meetings and board sessions. A business center offers high-speed internet and a 135-inch full HD LED wall for presentations. The event coordinators can arrange interpreters, hostesses and equipment rental, which helps for international delegations or incentive groups visiting Sicily, and the hotel describes its meeting rooms as fitted with current technology for meetings, incentives and conferences.
Weddings and receptions
Weddings of up to 100 guests are held in the Giardino d'Inverno. The hotel provides floral design, custom menus with a tasting beforehand, a wedding cake by its pastry chef, guest transfers and live music, coordinated by a dedicated wedding curator. The Salone degli Specchi and the Ouverture Terrace extend the day with a reception or a cocktail hour, and the Richard Wagner Suite is offered to couples.
Rooms and capacities
Giardino d'Inverno: meetings, conferences and weddings of up to 100 guests, under a wooden ceiling by Basile. Salone degli Specchi: the former ballroom of the Ingham family, used for gala dinners, receptions and private events. Ouverture Terrace: open air, overlooking Palermo, for cocktail receptions and private parties. Sala Palmette: a small room for private events and exclusive meetings. The hotel does not publish capacities for the last three rooms, so ask for them with your dates.
Accommodation
Guests stay in the hotel itself, which makes it practical to keep a delegation or wedding party in one place in the historic center. The best-known room is the Richard Wagner Suite, with a grand piano that belonged to the composer and a Jacuzzi bathroom. A fitness room of 160 square meters is on the sixth floor. The total number of bedrooms is not given on the event pages.
Catering
Event menus are designed to order, with tastings for weddings. In the winter season the Salone degli Specchi works as the Des Palmes Neobistrot, and the Sensus Mixology Bar and the Ouverture Terrace serve drinks. In-room dining is available.
History and setting
The building was a residence of the Ingham family before becoming a hotel, and it has been part of Palermo's social life for well over a century. Richard Wagner completed Parsifal during his stay here. Ernesto Basile, the Palermo architect of the Art Nouveau period, designed the winter garden and its wooden ceiling.
Getting there
The address is Via Roma 398, 90139 Palermo. Palermo Centrale railway station lies at the southern end of Via Roma, and Palermo Falcone Borsellino airport serves the city.
