Best Western Hotel Maggiore - Bologna, Italy     

Un hotel piccolo, tranquillo e funzionale. Su TripAdvisor lo classificano come uno a una stella, ma ci deve essere uno sbaglio. Le strutture erano ottime e includevano un bagno privato completamente ristrutturato con una doccia che era la migliore che abbiamo avuto durante il nostro viaggio di quattro settimane in Europa; l’accesso a internet dalla camera e dall’atrio era gratuito; il personale era premuroso. Si trova dal lato della città vicino all’aeroporto, rendendolo comodo per coloro che viaggiano in aereo. Per arrivare in centro bisogna prendere un taxi o un autobus (o fare una lunga passeggiata), ma questi ultimi sono diretti e passano di frequente; la fermata si trova a un isolato dall'albergo. Nelle vicinanze ci sono molti ristoranti discreti.

I stayed at Hotel Best Western Maggiore in early April as I traveled from Bologna to the Republic of San Marino. The hotel is a very nice real 3-star hotel on the outskirts of Bologna center. I had a three person room comprised of two single beds and a sofa bed. The room had two wardrobe closets, a flat screen TV, a large bathroom, and a minibar refrigerater. The room was very clean. The beds we had were hard mattresses for those that like this style (I do). Breakfast was buffet style and offered eggs, bacon, sliced ham meats cheese, cereals, fruits, and breads and rolls. All three front desk personnel I dealt with during the weekend were friendly, readily answered my questions, and basically made my stay enjoyable. The hotel is off the main road but easy to find as there is a large sign with an arrow for Hotel Maggiore. When you arrive at the airport, take the BLQ Aerobus (5 euros per person) and exit at the Ospedale (hospital) Maggiore stop, which is the first stop on the Aerobus line. The stop is about 500 yards past the hotel. The other option is to take an airport taxi but I don't know the cost of the trip (between 10 and 20 minutes depending on traffic). I would not walk as there are spots between the airport and the hotel without sidewalks. There are about four eating establishments within a 5 to 10 minute walk from the hotel. The hotel does not serve dinners. The hotel is about 20 minutes from the Bologna train station which you can access from buses 91 or 39. The bus stop for 91 is left of the hotel (along the main road) about 200 yards (stop Prati di Caprara) and the buses begin running at 0549. The bus stop for 39 is about 700 yards (stop Saffi) to the right of the hotel (along the main road) and the buses begin running at 0524. Returning to the hotel from the main train station take either bus 38 or 91. You can purchase bus tickets (1euro per ticket) from the front desk of the hotel or the tobbaco shop across from bus stop Prati di Caprara before 8pm. Validate the tickets when you board the bus. There is also a ticket machine at the Ospedale Maggiore bus stop. You can purchase your Aerobus tickets from the machine or the bus driver. To get to San Marino take the train from Bologna to Rimini (about 1.5 hours and a oneway ticket costs about 6 euro). The trains run about every 30 minutes. Exit the train station in Rimini and walk straight across the street. In front of the coffee shop is the Omnibus San Marino bus stop. You can purchase your bus ticket from the driver for about 4 euro. The bus ride is about 45 minutes. You can find bus schedules at [-]omniway.sm. Note the weekend times are different from the weekday times, but basically the bus runs every 2 hours from each location. As a travel example from the hotel: take the 0549 bus 91 to the train station, the 0638 train to Rimini, and the 0830 bus to San Marino. I will stay at Best Western Maggiore again if I return to Bologna.