Hotel Carignano

Our room was spacious and had a huge, comfortable balcony, and the pool was very nice. We enjoyed using it. They made an effort to get the room ready early after we arrived ahead of schedule following a very hot day of cycling. But there were a lot of problems during our stay. My daughter had scraped her knee in a fall on the ride. It was obvious, but nobody asked if either of us needed anything. Several hotels we stayed at afterward did ask about it. We were also never told about the bicycle storage room. We only noticed it at checkout, when we saw other guests taking their bikes out, even though staff knew we’d arrived by bike. We ate at the restaurant because of my daughter’s knee. We were the only customers. The dinner was nice but very overpriced, and we had much better meals in Lucca for less. They brought the bill quickly without asking about dessert or coffee. We ordered dessert anyway, ate it, paid, and left. Breakfast had a lot of choice and wasn’t bad, but even when it was busy, the eggs and hot food weren’t kept warm. Our eggs arrived at room temperature, and the coffee wasn’t great. It was the worst coffee among several hotels we visited, including others in the same region. The AC worked but didn’t cool the room, so keeping cool felt like a matter of survival. At first we thought it was just the outdoor heat, but the AC worked wonderfully at other regional hotels, even on hotter days. There were also very few outlets for charging devices, and they weren’t standard EU plugs. We had to take turns unplugging the fridge because that was the only outlet that worked. The hotel is about 3 km from Lucca, which isn’t the city center, despite what some replies to other reviews suggest. A taxi costs 20-30 euros, so that gives you an idea of the distance. If you don’t have your own or a rental car and expect to be close to things, I wouldn’t stay here. It wasn’t a problem for us on bikes, but it’s worth knowing. The hotel’s marketing about peaceful surroundings with fruit trees, vineyards, and olive groves was misleading. Those things are there, but quite far away and not accessible from the hotel unless you’re willing to jump fences and trespass in a neighbor’s garden. There’s little green space at the hotel beyond the area around the pool, and only a few fruit trees. After my daughter’s fall, we spent much of the first and second day in our room with the “don’t disturb” sign on the door. There was plenty of time when it wasn’t up, but nobody asked if we wanted fresh towels or the bin emptied. Other hotels did this, even ones where we paid less. We do not recommend this hotel. I usually give places another chance, and I tend to review only when I have nothing negative to say. This stay was bad enough that it felt unfair to future guests to keep quiet. As things stand, it’s a place to avoid. It has potential, and I hope management fixes these issues. Check later reviews for signs of improvement before booking.

The rooms were very comfortable and clean, and the staff were polite and helpful. Dinner was excellent. Sara was our server and did a lovely job explaining the different tasty dishes. She was very friendly. Unfortunately, they don’t have a room for tomorrow, and we’d like to stay longer.

We stayed here on the first day of the Via Francigena cycling tour, which is now in its second year. The rooms were fine, breakfast was good, and there was a storage room for our bikes. Perfect.

The rooms were decent, and the pool was lovely. The restaurant, though, served the worst meal I’ve ever had in one. There were flies and ants in the dining area, the food was horrible, and at checkout we found extra items on the bill that we hadn’t ordered or had.