Hotel Sporting  - Rimini, Italy 

Arrived at this hotel after a long hot train journey from Bologna but found the "welcome" to be almost as cool as the air-con. No help with the luggage was offered and no information regarding the facilities, restaurant etc. was forthcoming. We thought that there may be a brochure or the like in our room concerning the hotel and locality but found nothing. This state of affairs continued throughout our stay, we never did eat in the restaurant ( apart from breakfast ) we were never sure of the menu or indeed wether we had to book or merely turn up. ( not a real problem as there are countless eating places almost on the doorstep. There was a discount to use the beach facilities but again, had we not asked, we would not have found this out either. While the staff were perfectly friendly and helpful when asked, it seems a shame that one has to request information rather than it being offered. Having said all that though, the hotel was nicely furnished and clean, ( though it's puzzling that a four star hotel with a spacious bathroom, should have a shower that would normally have graced a motorway stopover, in the land of marble and ceramics this plastic pod was "a washout". I don't wish to give the impression that our stay was a complete downer though as the grounds and public areas were first class,the breakfasts were fine, the air-con was a life saver, and the position of the hotel couldn't have been better. And, a nice touch this, a bottle of wine was delivered to our room on my birthday, ( the date of which must have been gleaned from my passport ). So good, but not great.