Grand Hotel Filippo

The staff were friendly, helpful, and spoke good English, even when booking.com had cancelled our reservation. It caused no trouble for them. Our room matched the photos and was clean, bright, airy, and well equipped. We were happy to sleep with the window open, so not having air conditioning wasn’t an issue for us. Breakfast was excellent, with plenty of choice, great pastries and bread, and very good scrambled eggs. The hotel is central, has a spacious car park, and offers good walks nearby. We could hear the church bells, but they didn’t seem to ring all night. Some reviews felt harsher than our experience.

Breakfast was short on vegetarian choices. The hotel itself is pleasant and simple, right in a very quiet town. Our room was nice, though it got a little cold at night. They only change the linens if you put a label on the door handle to request it.

This did not feel remotely like a four-star stay. The room had a damp, sewage-like smell and no ventilation. The AC didn’t work, so it stayed above 25 degrees Celsius, and neither the fridge nor the WiFi worked. One plug was half pulled out of the wall. Breakfast was very poor too. I’m not sure when the hotel received its four stars, but it doesn’t seem like anyone has checked that standard in a long time.

The staff were very kind, the room was clean, and the bed was comfortable. There’s plenty of free, secure parking, and the location is easy to find by car. Breakfast came with fresh fruit, sparkling wine, and a coffee machine, in a grand lobby, bar, and breakfast room. Still, I’m not sure I’d give it four stars myself, and it suited us for a short stay of up to three nights. Getting around was difficult for wheelchair users: the entrance has stairs and no ramp, and the lift starts on the first floor. It would be too small for a wheelchair anyway, but you can’t get into the hotel in one to begin with. In the room, there were no sockets by the bed and only one spare outlet under the table. Trying to move the table damaged our charger and broke its cable, so we couldn’t keep devices like a phone with an alarm, tablet, or laptop beside the bed. The kettle worked, but seemed hazardous in case water got into its electrics. The key card failed every day, and we had to go back to reception for a new one. Dinner is served at nearby Restaurant L‘Alexain, about a 10-minute walk away. Parking there is possible, but directions weren’t clear, and before booking we hadn’t been told the breakfast or dinner times and locations, which affected our plans. There wasn’t much to do indoors in bad weather, with no pool or fitness room despite the hotel being in a “wellness” area. Vegetarian savoury breakfast options were limited too: olives one day, then just a bowl of small tomatoes on the others, with no salad or vegetables and no large selection of cheeses or hams. Breakfast is served from 6:30 to 10:00. Dinner at Restaurant L‘Alexain is from 18:30 to 21:30.