Viola Palace Hotel

The receptionist, Maria Francesca, was pleasant and apologized, but she couldn't do much to help and her shift ended at 2 pm. She said she'd emailed the company that booked my accommodation to report the air conditioning wasn't working. Nobody had told me. I felt conned, especially since I have asthma and needed air conditioning in August's high temperatures. The place looked nothing like the booking description: there was no air conditioning, and the view was of rundown buildings. I couldn't stay there with my children, so we left and found somewhere else rather than let it spoil our holiday. I also noticed the hotel doesn't have a website. This was booked through my easy jet holiday package, and I'd tell people to stay elsewhere to avoid disappointment.

The rabbit was nice and fresh, but I can't say the same for breakfast. I checked the food that night while it was left out, and in the morning it hadn't moved, not even the bread or meat. The shower was old, the bedding reminded me of my grandma's, the staff didn't speak English, and nobody was there at night. The area looked like downtown Bagdad. I've stayed in better places in Stoke on Trent on a rainy day. If a 1980s experience and food poisoning sound appealing, this is the place.

The Wi-Fi didn't work, and the elevators were small. The stairwell had no lighting at night, and after just one night I was grateful not to have to stay longer. We sweated all night because there was no air conditioning. When it was time to leave, we couldn't find a taxi service willing to pick us up, so we had to walk to a bus station.

The concierge was helpful, but the rooms were a bit scruffy and the shower didn't work well. Breakfast was fine, and the Wi-Fi was patchy in the rooms. There was no access to the solarium, which I can only assume is just the roof. The hotel parking lot was full because of a conference, so we had to park under the motorway out the back. I wouldn't call this a 4 star hotel, more like a scruffy 3 at best.