Locanda San Paolo

The place was clean, with a small fridge, and the staff were pleasant and helpful. The location worked well, with easy parking close by, though there was no breakfast. I wasn't comfortable with the required online pre-registration through some third-party service, since I didn't want to send passport copies to an unknown company. I told them I'd rather check in normally in person, and that was no problem.

The room was clean and nice, and the location was definitely good. But the shower had no water pressure, which made washing my long, thick hair pretty difficult. Breakfast came from the café next to the hotel and needs work. I could have a croissant or toast with coffee, and choose either juice or water, not both. That was all. No fruit, eggs, or fresh vegetables like hotels or guesthouses usually offer.

Once we got into the room, it was spacious and thankfully very cool. The rooms sit around what seemed to be an open-air central courtyard, though I didn't have time to explore the hotel. It's centrally placed for seeing Monza. We were only there for one night, and finding the entrance took us 15 minutes. It's an inconspicuous door between two cafés. Reception is open until midday, then again from 18:00 to 20:00, so arriving at 16:00 in 36-degree heat meant waiting a while.

Carla was wonderful, very friendly and helpful. Her English is pretty good too, which will be a relief for visitors who don't speak Italian. The hotel is near lots of sights and restaurants, and the train station is a short walk away. Lake Como is under an hour by train and costs around 8 euros round trip from Monza, definitely worth going. Milan is close by train as well. A tip about money: the bigger restaurants and shops take cards, while smaller places may only accept cash. Have some euros on hand or use an ATM, including a Visa or MasterCard cash advance. Local banks won't exchange dollars for euros.