Best Western Farnese International - Parma, Italy 

I've seen some complaints about this hotel, only some of which are valid. Lets start with the location. Yes, it is out of the way, but the map on trip advisor clearly shows that. For me, the location was perfect. It was a short walk to the Europcar rental office where we rented a car from so we could go on a fabulous ParmaGolosa tour of several regional food factories. Also, the hotel is very close to the park and rugby stadium where my husband was playing a football game. If you want to be in central Parma, don't stay here. If you have a car and want a very reasonably priced hotel, then stay here. Next, the rooms. They are completely refurbished with modern decor. They are designed to save energy so you need to put your room key into to the card slot next to the door. This isn't the first hotel to have this technology in the world, so the person that complained about this in a previous review is somewhat unreasonable. Yes, the bathroom has dark tile, but it's just the style of the property and I rather enjoyed the style. The bed was comfortable and the shower was nice. I agree that the thermostat was a little spastic, but oh well. I only paid 89 per night, including breakfast, so I got a deal. I thought breakfast was plentiful and had a wide variety that I enjoyed. Now on to the hotel restaurant....you can NEVER expect much from a hotel restaurant especially if it's attached to a Best Western. I ate there and my food was fine but overpriced. Oh well, I knew what I was getting into. I suggest going to the Gallo D'Oro in downtown. It was great and fairly well priced. I was disappointed that the fitness room was under construction while I was there. I think that should have been advertised. But overall, I was completely satisfied.

This is one of the worst hotels I've stayed in. If you don't have time to read the full review, please just accept this opinion and book elsewhere. Parma is a large city with a wide choice of hotels that cannot be worse than this. The Best Western Farnese Intnl was the last overnight stop in our 3-night, 1400+mile trans-European road trip with our 3 cats en-route to a permanent relocation from the UK to Italy. We'd spent the previous two nights at Novotels at Lens Noyelles in northern France; and Macon Nord in Burgundy. I've posted reviews of both. So to the Best Western. First - finding it. The online directions map bore absolutely no relation to reality, so after a fruitless 10 min s driving around central Parma at around 5 in the afternoon, I stopped outside another hotel and phoned them on my cell. The following - and all subsequent - conversations - were in Italian. "Hi...this is Mrxxx. I have a booking and I can't find your hotel. I'm currently outside the Hotel ABC" "Oh...that's very near us." Pause for subsequent directions. To no avail. "Er...great. How do I get there ?" Five minutes later, we've arrived and checked-in. The welcome - unlike every single Italian establishment I've ever visited - is impersonal. First problem - the lights don't work. Back down to Reception. "The lights don't work" "They do. You have to put your door entry card in the slot" "What slot ?" "By the door" *Thinks* "Thanks for telling me that when I checked in..." Problems 2, 3 and 4. Room small and gloomy. Heating overpowering. Aircon not working. Bathroom 'modernised' with massive dark tiling. Oh...and one of the things that sold us on this hotel was the website's promise of a special welcome for pets in the form of complimentary food, bedding, toys etc. Did we get them ? Have a wild guess. The restaurant a disgrace. After a fine - but hardly exceptional - Parma Ham starter (and being in Parma itself, not unreasonable to expect something a bit special) my wife had 'home-made' tortellini stuffed with spinach and ricotta. I had a 'taster' of three different kinds of tortellini. The pasta was overcooked and swimming in cooking water. Disgusting. Man sitting behind us complaining loudly that the steak in his Tournedos Rossi was cold and the foie gras topping raw. Breakfast - included in the €119 room price - equally dismal. Boil-your-own eggs; breads, cereals, juice. Not a lot else. Cheerless room. The rotten dinner was overcharged at €60.50. Payment was taken without a smile or an acknowledgement. The front-of-house staff should seek new careers. They're ill-suited to the leisure industry. Waiters/bar staff irritating in a stagey, cliched Italian way. Maybe they feel all women expect to be called 'bella Signora' and that all guests have some bizarre preconception of how Italian waiters should behave. Well, I don't. I just found it transparently artificial and intensely tiresome. And if any guests really do have some fixed idea of 'the Italian waiter' all i can say is, they deserve everything they get. (Aside perhaps from any ill-effects from the food). Please, please stay anywhere but here.