Victoria - Verona, Italy     

We were the guests of the Cystic Fibrosis Research Foundation of Italy that is based in Verona. They chose this as the best hotel with a great location in Verona for us. The hotel was created by connecting three 13th century buildings according to our hosts. It is 8 Via Adua. Signs leading to the different hotels are marked at major intersections in town pointing the direction to go. Our taxi ride from the airport was about 15 minutes and cost 24 Euros. At the end of our stay, we left by train. The taxi ride to the train station is about 10 minutes and 10 Euros. The building is not remarkable in a city filled with ancient, charming buildings. The front street is narrow with onlooking shuttered windows on both sides for 3-4 stories up. The lobby is spacious with marble floors and comfortable seating on two floors. The desk personnel are courteous and speak English well, often with an Irish accent. It is a hotel run in an older style so that keys are to be turned in when you leave your room. The staff seemed to memorize our faces immediately. We noted security cameras in key places in the public areas. There were two small elevators to the upper floors but some areas of the hotel are not easily accessed except by going up or down stairs. Our room was 205, an exceptionally large room with high ceilings and an enormous and enormously comfortable king sized bed. Other furnishings were also massive. The two windows shut out all the considerable street noise. Flowers from our hosts were waiting for us already placed in a vase with water by the hotel staff. Looking out the shutters one of the three mornings we were there, I exchanged smiles with the resident woman across the way. Linens and pillows were all on the luxurious side. The carpet was kind to feet after a long day's walking. The daily service in the room was excellent. The room was gently and effectively air conditioned although it did not get hot enough during our stay to really test the system. There was a computer in the room that required a USB flash drive that contained a security code. Once on, the computer ran Windows XP in Italian. The keyboard is Italian, so Americans like us may have some trouble typing. The charge was 4.95 Euros per hour or 19.95 Euros per day but the connection was blazingly fast. I was able to connect my laptop to the ethernet socket using our own cable and also use the web without difficulty. Oddly, there was no clock in the room that we could discover, but asking for a wake up call was painless and the automated wake up call was on time. There was a large television that we did not use along with satellite box, DVD player and VCR. We did not try any of those things. Obviously, the hotel has been well maintained with updates of the plumbing and electricity over the years. There was a small keyed safe hidden in a cabinet. The key, we assume was the smaller key on the room's key chain that we handed in each time we went out. We did not use the safe. The bathroom was surfaced with marble and had a small jetted tub and combination shower along with low flush toilet and bidet. There were three large closets. There was no iron in the room and no hint whether ironing was available from the hotel, so our travel iron came in handy. All plugs were European with 220V service; our adapter from Brookstone worked quite well for both the laptop and the iron. The water from the tap tasted very good and gave no ill effects. Each morning, we were treated to an extensive buffet breakfast of various breads, pastries, whole fresh fruit, freshly made fruit salad (kiwi, banana, strawberry, pears the days we were ther), various cereals, cheeses, salami, ham and mortadella. There was another table of food that appeared to be entirely organic foods. Coffee, tea, cappucino were offered as were at least three types of juices. Despite the enormous number of choices, there was also a menu of additional items cooked to order for additional charges. Interestingly, in the middle of the buffet room, there was a window into the floor that showed a Roman mosaic floor. These types of windows are frequent throughout the ancient city. Check in was 3 PM, but they let us in at 2. Check out was noon and we were out at 11:50 or so. There was a cafe and bar in the hotel that we did not try. There were numerous restaurants, pizzerias, gelaterias etc within just a few minutes walk. The Plaza Erbe is very close as is the Via Mazzini, the famous pedestrian only walkway between the Plaza Erbe and Plaza Bra where the Arena and Symphony are located. Overall, it is simply a wonderful hotel. We would definitely stay here again.

We booked a room in this hotel at the last minute and got a great rate for a superior room. The room was enormous and luxurious - not to mention the spa bath and giant bathroom. This hotel is perfectly located for exploring Verona and even has parking!