Pavia Ostello

I arrived at midnight after getting there very late, and found a note with my name, instructions for everything, and the room card. I really appreciated the care. The prices were good and the rooms comfortable too. Thanks so much for the excellent service 😀

Terrible. Don’t book here, even for a quick stop. My boyfriend planned to stay for his exam, but at the last minute it ended up being online. When we explained and tried to cancel, they immediately charged our credit card. At the same time, they called to check we weren’t coming so they could book someone else into the bed and get paid twice. There was no empathy. The conditions and hygiene were terrible, and the people weren’t friendly.

This was probably the most expensive dorm room I’ve used, and definitely the worst. The rooms were awful, overcrowded, and dirty. It looked like a family operation cramming long-stay Indian and international students, six at a time, into rooms about 4m x 4m with three cupboards, no drawers, and broken appliances. There was one fridge for around 30 people and a tiny washing machine in very poor shape, with nowhere to dry clothes. The representative said hanging clothes on the fence was fine. Late one night, while residents were getting ready for bed, five or six people from the landlord’s family pushed into the rooms without asking, demanded to know who everyone was, and asked for identification. Some of these students had lived there for a while and had already shown their passports to the representatives, as I had before being allowed in. When I asked who they were, one said it was his home and demanded my name and passport while pushing me back into the room. I then insisted the police be called. They heard both sides and sent the group home. It wasn’t their home, they didn’t live there, and it was just one of many properties they owned. I was surprised the police didn’t address the complete lack of social distancing, which was still being followed in all the other Italian accommodation I’d visited. Several residents told me they’d often been left waiting on the road for 40 minutes to an hour for a representative who was supposed to welcome them. I was given a specific entry time too, after several phone calls, but waited 45 minutes. I called the office, and they knew nothing. When the representative finally arrived, he said it was his first day and he knew nothing. He just took my money and copied my ID for the company records. This place is even listed as pilgrim-friendly accommodation, lol. I hope the Francigena removes them immediately. I can verify everything I’ve said through residents whose contact details I have and the police report. Don’t use this hole.

A lot of things are broken, including the toilet seat and shower seals, and there’s no soap. The WiFi is unreliable at best. If you’re walking the Via Francigena, it’s a very long way out of town.