Hotel Carmine is on the Piazza Carmine, in Marsala's town center, nearby the medieval monastery or "carmino," which gave the name to the square. Today, the monastery contains a museum and art gallery and is open to the public. Hotel Carmine occupies an old building furnished with Sicilian antiques. Renovated in 2005, the hotel offers 28 rooms, some with the original ceramic-tiled floors, exposed wood-beamed and vaulted ceilings. Guests enjoy a solarium, whirlpool, and the lounge with a fireplace and garden, where breakfast is served during the summer months. Free parking is available in front of the hotel and pets are not allowed.
A short walk from the seafront, Hotel Centrale is a budget option for visitors in the town's historic center. This small hotel offers 11 rooms with air conditioning and free Wi-Fi. Parking is available and guests may use bikes free of charge. The hotel serves a buffet breakfast, and guests can choose half board accommodations. The hotel's restaurant serves regional dishes including a variety of pasta and sea-food dishes, as well as specialties such as stuffed peppers and "cannoli," tubular pastries with creamy ricotta fillings. The salt flats of "Via del Sale" and their famous windmills are only seven miles away.
Family-run Santa Venera Alla Badia is less than two miles from the town center, in a 19th-century country house surrounded by centenary palm and pine trees, multi-colored oleanders, a citrus orchard and an olive grove. Guests relax on the sunny lawn dotted with flower beds, lavender and rosemary bushes. This upscale bed and breakfast offers three rooms furnished with antiques, as well as a lounge area with fireplace, sophisticated decor and family portraits on the walls. The ferry to the isle of Mothia, which boasts Phoenician ruins from the 9th century, is a 15-mile drive from the Santa Venera.
On Marsala's seafront, a short distance from the town center, the New Hotel Palace offers upscale accommodations with an outdoor swimming pool, sea-view terrace, gardens and free bike rentals. Rooms have private bathrooms and air conditioning. "Il Bevero" and "Le 4 Stagioni" are on-site restaurants that serve typical Italian and Sicilian dishes, such as swordfish carpaccio, Lobster spaghetti and "patate prezzemolate," boiled potatoes seasoned with garlic, olive oil, salt and apple vinegar. Chocolate semifreddo, a wide selection of ice creams, and the traditional cassata Siciliana -- a sponge cake moistened with liqueur and filled with candied peel, chocolate and ricotta cheese.
