Hotel Joli

The staff were lovely, and the hotel is in a great spot. The room, though, was far too hot, and the bed was so firm it became uncomfortable, though I know that part comes down to personal preference. The staff apologized, but local rules meant they couldn't switch on the air conditioning at that time of year. Our only way to cool things down was to leave the balcony door open. Since the balcony connects with the others and the emergency stairway, that made it hard to feel relaxed, even in a very safe city. By 5 a.m., the traffic was extremely loud.

The staff went out of their way to help after we left an item behind in our room. We only noticed it was missing once we were back in our country, but the hotel arranged to send it to us by courier. Great service and accommodation, 5/5.

We enjoyed our time in San Marino, and the hotel itself had an incredible location, amenities and staff. The restaurant service was the part that let us down. We'd booked a preset menu for 25 euro per person. The WhatsApp sample listed three choices for each course, a side and dessert of the day, plus three starters. At dinner there were only two choices per course and no starters at all. The manager told me starters were only available in summer, even though they appeared on the regular menu. Since the price was for a menu with a starter, I expected a reduction, but there wasn't one. We also seemed to get less attention than local diners. We waited longer to be served, and while other tables were offered olive oil and grated cheese, nobody offered them to us. Our stay would've been better without that restaurant experience.

By the time I got to breakfast just before 9, most of the food was gone. After sitting there for half an hour, all that was available was bread, fruit and yogurt. The bed was really uncomfortable, and the pillows were completely flat and very worn. If you can, bring your own.