Balarm - Hostel and Bar

The hostel is centrally located, and lidl is just around the corner!
It has a spacious common area including a kitchen.
The kitchen area does not have comfortable seats, and Wi-Fi is low to average, hence it is not suitable for working (emails only).
Generally, the place is kept clean and tidy.
Some of the showers do not have hot water and the water flow is inconsistent.
The beds were okay. Though there are too many beds within a limited space.
The staff is friendly.
Price/value ratio: 6.5/10

This place was a scam. When we arrived, there were some people who were staying in our dorm who seemed to be living there. They had clearly been staying there for a while, and had what looked to be drug paraphernalia lying around. They were extremely rude, having loud conversations while people were sleeping, and even waking everyone in the dorm up at 6 in the morning. The staff seemed to think they were fine and this was normal, and did not offer to give us a refund for the night. Aside from that, the facilities were disgusting, there was mold in the showers and the reviews we found after said they had bed bugs. We got out of there so fast, and ended up at ostello bello which was HEAVENLY in comparison.

Very good location, only 8 mins walk to the train station. There’s no bunk beds so you won’t be affected by people moving in their beds. It’s generally clean and comfortable. They have a big kitchen too.

I have never taken the time to leave a bad review before but this is the WORST HOSTEL EVER. I have stayed in over 15 hostels and have nothing bad to say about any other ones I have stayed in compared to this one. Staying with Balarm was a nightmare. When we showed up at 10 pm to check in we were told the all female dorm (the dorm we paid to stay in) was full and we would have to stay in the mixed dorm. The worker told us there were no men in our room so we were fine with it. The next morning, multiple men arrived in our room and when asking the front desk staff they said there was nothing they could do since it is a mixed dorm even though they lied and told us there were only girls that would be staying there. We then called the owner (he hung up multiple times and told us to text him) where he repeatedly told us there is nothing they can do and they could give us a refund for our second night if we want to leave (we booked this hostel 2 months in advance and didn’t have a backup plan as nothing like this has ever happened before). After texting the owner back and forth for around 15 minutes, he said his manager can deal with it and BLOCKED us. We decided to bite the bullet and stay in a hotel the second night we were supposed to stay in Balarm because we had such a miserable experience. After talking to a worker when getting our refund for the second night, we learned that this has happened before and it isn’t uncommon.

A fine hostel experience! The location is fantastic, being situated a short distance from the train/bus station and in the centre of historic Palermo.
My friend and I stayed in the eight bed female dorm and it was clean, quiet, and comfortable enough. There was ample storage with spacious cupboards as well as the option to lock more precious belongings in locked cabinets. Towels were provided and there were bedside tables for each bunkbed which were appreciated. The keycode to unlock and open the bedroom door beeped loudly which may bother light sleepers. We would have liked for there to have been a mirror in the room as well as wall hooks near the beds and in the showers to be able to hang clothes/towels/etc. Perhaps this is something the hostel can consider adding.
The showers had hot water and the washrooms were clean, although the kitchen was too dirty for us to want to do any cooking.
The staff were friendly and helpful, providing suggestions and answering questions we had about where to go for breakfast, etc.
There is a Lidl (grocery store) less than a five minute walk away which is convenient to buy cheap water, snacks, fresh fruit and vege, etc.
Overall, we felt safe and secure and our basic needs were taken care of. We were very happy to stay here considering the location and all-in-all, general comfort. Thank you, Balarm Hostel!

It's really unfortunate when the overall experience of a holiday gets destroyed by one person, that definitely should not work with people, like in this case at the reception. It's really sad to see how because of people like that many (not me) become racists. L know for example some landlords don't like to rent their apartments to people from India, Pakistan and that region. That's really sad. I have friends from India and they are good people. So if you go to this hostel and you have any issue with her, (the others at the reception are nice) please don't become racist. No matter how frustrated you are. She's just a girl with problems. Still it's really frustrating when your holiday gets effected by it. I hope they find another person for this job. But that's not up to me. I'll never go to this hostel for sure. Sorry guys. I really liked everything and everyone else.

Worst experience in 15 years of traveling. I was freezing, not able to sleep because all the blankets were gone, finally in the morning the reception was open and I got one. Didn't want to make a big deal out of it. Just asked if I can use one of their lockers for 12 hours, which they have plenty of and I'll forget about the night. The girl at the reception didn't even try to understand, talked over me, called me a liar, made up lies about me. Too bad, this hostel could have so much potential…
I think at some point the hostel will realise, it's better to fire one person, who is definitely mentally ill and become the amazing hostel they could be. Better ratings and a better vibe will follow automatically.

It is located in the center of Palermo, a few steps from the train station, the Ballarò and Vucciria market, very welcoming and youthful. The staff were very friendly and helpful. I recommend it and next year I will be back.