Hotel Leon d'Oro

All the staff were professional and helpful, the hotel was clean, and bedroom amenities were replenished daily. They even changed the towels and sheets after only two days. Our group of four had a great stay at Hotel Leon d'Oro, which ticked all the boxes for us. Breakfast, included for our four nights, was plentiful, varied, and delicious. We also had dinner at the hotel restaurant one evening and thought the food was great and worth trying. Piazza Erbe is about a 15-minute walk away, with the bus and train stations around seven minutes on foot. We managed the walks easily, though repeating them after a day of sightseeing and another evening out can feel like a lot. Even so, we'd do it all again. The hotel was perfect for us.

The breakfast buffet was ample, but some of it missed the mark: the cherry tomatoes had no flavour, and the scrambled eggs were overcooked to the point of being rubbery. Omelettes and other made-to-order breakfast dishes cost extra, which I've never come across before. The hotel was also extremely warm. They told us there was no air conditioning option because the hotel has one generator and uses it for heating in late autumn and winter. We had to sleep with the windows open, which let in mosquitoes, and I was bitten all over. Five days later, the irritation had almost gone. We booked three nights at the start of November, mainly for the advertised 200-metre distance to the train station. That's probably the straight-line distance, across a very busy dual carriageway with no pedestrian crossings. In reality it was about 800 metres, but that wasn't a big deal. The room was spacious and the bed at least a Super King, and very comfortable. I think this might have been a 4* hotel when built, perhaps in 1990, but I'd rate it 3* by today's standards. The bartender didn't know much about cocktails, so I had to explain things and point out some of the spirits. I don't blame him, just the poor training. One small thing that still struck me was the paper cups for tea and coffee in the room. In 40 years of staying everywhere from top hotels to cheap bed and breakfasts, I've never encountered that. A 4* hotel should have proper cups or mugs. Whoever made that commercial decision made a poor one. A shout-out to Maria at reception, who was helpful before we arrived with suggestions for places to go, and to the lovely, smiley Precious, who welcomed us at breakfast each morning.

I've stayed at Hotel Leon d'oro for years, and it's always good to return because the hotel is spacious and clean. This time, for the first time, I tried the breakfast buffet. It was embarrassingly disgusting. I know that's harsh, but it's true: I've never had a worse hotel breakfast, and there wasn't even one decent item. Even the coffee was awful. The last few times I got breakfast in the room and it was okay. Please do something about the buffet, it's such a pity.

The rooms were great, and so were the staff. You're close to Verona train station, though the main piazza is a 20-minute walk. My room was oddly dusty, which had me sneezing nonstop. It also wasn't soundproof, so I could hear the full conversation from the room next door.