Marco Polo - Caldogno, Italy 

We were looking for a hotel near Vicenza for the train and for sightseeing and to Nove for pottery shopping. This fit the bill perfectly. The price was very reasonable and the rooms, while small, were very neat and very clean. The family went out of their way to help us in any way possible and made us feel very welcome. The highlight of our stay was dinner in their restaurant where all of the food is made from scratch. It is Tuscan with a Florentine accent. The main attraction for this small restaurant is the beef steak which (we found out after we had eaten there) is considered a gourmet dish. The food was simple, based on what was available locally with lovely bright green olive oil to pour over and to dip. We were offered two different kinds of pasta to start and then after dinner we were offered small cookies, candies and sweet wine.

Hotels around Vicenza are tricky, especially if you have a car. We chose the Marco Polo on the strength of one effusive review and because it appeared accessible to both Vicenza and to the sights of the Veneto WITH parking on-site. All true, but in rainy November it was a gloomy place. Our chief complaint was the intense stench of cigarette smoke--and no non-smoking rooms in the hotel. The simple two-bed room (one double bed and a child-sized single) was clean, the breakfast was more than satisfactory, and the price was right, but everything reeked of stale tobacco, to the point of making it hard to sleep, hard to breathe. The English-speaking proprietors were very, very nice and knowledgeably steered us to terrific local restaurants as well as the sights we wanted to see, but without a change in policy I wouldn't go back. If smoke doesn't bother you you're well situated here for a tour of the Veneto--with great pizza right across the street.