Residenze La Mongolfiera

6/10 The location was the closest and cheapest option to the city centre for us, and we booked through BOOKING based on the price and pictures without checking the reviews, exact location, or extra costs. Parking, for example, was €15 a day. We stayed in September 2016. We arrived late in the evening and Elena gave us a very helpful welcome, explaining a map, bus stops, taxis, and shopping options suited to what we wanted. The room was clean to a decent standard. We hadn't realized leaving a bath towel on the floor wouldn't get us a fresh one, so we had to ask. The room service was unpredictable, and they didn't knock before coming in to clean. If you want to sleep late on holiday, you need to look after that yourself. It wasn't a big issue for us because we cleaned up after ourselves. We could also smell smoke in our non-smoking room, perhaps from next door. Some rooms allow smoking, and Italians smoke everywhere, even in museums, so it wasn't a huge surprise. The hotel was noisy. We could hear people in other rooms, including upstairs, opening wardrobes and using the bathroom. We wondered if the family upstairs had children, since it sounded like they were jumping around much of the time. Maybe on a two or three night stay instead of seven, we wouldn't have noticed so many things. The double room had three single beds, with two pushed together to make a double. The gap between them was so wide that we couldn't sleep close as usual. We tried to fill it with sheets from the third bed, but it still felt like you could hide a body there. We didn't get a good night's sleep all week. A different bed could be requested for an extra €20. Breakfast was the same each day: bread to toast, butter, a little cheese, two kinds of ham, two kinds of pie that may have varied, Kellogg's cereal, and yogurt. You had to ask for coffee or tea, and could only get them during breakfast. There was no coffee table with a kettle in the room. Drinks included water, apple juice, or a berry drink with bits in it that wasn't really juice. There was no fruit or vegetables for vegetarians, vegans, or anyone avoiding gluten. We were fine with bread, cereal, dairy, and meat, but at first we wondered whether Italians ate breakfast at all. Wi-Fi was generally good. During the seven days, we met two people who spoke English very well, two who understood our questions, and one who tried hard to understand and was very helpful. We picked up a few Italian phrases and managed with what we had and the service we received. The wooden windows were a nice touch, and the room was pitch black at night and early morning. The air conditioning was a big plus when it was 32°C outside with no humidity at the beginning of September. If needed, you could use a computer for free and get help from reception printing tickets. There was a small safe in the wardrobe for passports, money, and other valuables.