Royal Hotel Carlton - Bologna, Italy 

Well, the Royal Carlton is home away from home. I spend about 20 days per month in this hotel. So I know the staff very well, and they are all great!! The location is perfect - quite, close to the train station (but not in the bad area), and easy walk to the historic center. They recently put in a new fitness center, which is absolutely top of the line! Amazing! The restaurant is fantastic. I usually hate hotel food, but this restaurant is great!! Bar is also wonderful. Very attentive service, great snack, and nice atomsphere. The hotel is slightly outdated with the decor (to say the least), but it is still tasteful, and clean. Rooms are large. TV is fabulous. If your traveling for holiday, you probably won't care much about this, but since I basically live there, I'm happy to have full sky tv (many many channels in English too if you want). Over all I just love this hotel. It is my home away from home (as sad as that is), and a great place to stay. Oh ... and Paris Hilton rode in the elevator with me once when she was staying there - that was fun star sighting. Don't read another review - stay at this hotel!

I had read the reviews and knew the hotel catered basically to business clientele. This is true and you may feel like you are invisible but sometimes you need corporate lovely. The rooms are ample, clean, with a large marble bath, a big screen tv, and the breakfast is very satisfactory. Book this hotel only if you've had it with the small, cramped, charming rooms with a view. This one is very close (5 minute walk) to the train station, quiet, and a good respite from the fray, almost like an isolation tank. It could be anywhere. It was just what we needed in the middle of our trip. No surprises here, a ten minute walk to the historic city center. It is what it is. And we loved Bologna.