Brufani Palace Hotel - Perugia, Italy 

I booked this hotel through the Leading Hotels of the World, and that should have been my first warning. The Leading Hotels of the World travel agent did not function as a leading travel agent when problems arose during my stay.. What were the problems? Upon arrival, I was shown to a series of dirty rooms when I had booked a deluxe room in an already overpriced and old hotel. The room that I eventually took after being told that there were no more to see was dirty, in need of redecorating, and had thick layers of black mould growing in the bathroom. The next morning I asked for the bathroom to be thoroughly cleaned. They managed to removal all visible mould. Why was this not done before the room was let out? Why is there mould growing in a 5 star hotel. Surely everyone knows that this is a health hazard? I could still smell the damp and the smell of the mould spores. I spent another couple of nights in the same room. I discovered another wing to the room when I saw another guest going up the stairs of what looked like a newer part of the hotel. I asked a very nice hotel manager who fortunately for me was working at the front desk, if I could change rooms. She found me a comparatively nicer room in the new wing with the balconly that I had paid for. I was eventually moved to the room that I had actually been paying for all along. Why was I not placed in this room from the beginning? My only guess is that they wanted to charge over the top for a room that they would not place me in and then re-rent it out. In any case, it is unacceptable that I payed for a higher standard room and was not placed into it. Also, not even in a 1 star hotel, should anyone have to spend a night in a room with mould growing. The hotel eventually gave me 50% off for the nights that I had stayed in the other room, but to be honest, I should not have had to pay anything for these nights since it was their mistake, and because of the experience with the mould. The hotel staff are very polite. They try to provide a good service. THe hotel is unfortunately the only so called 5 star hotel in Perugia, but it is not truly a 5 star hotel. Even in the newer part of the hotel which is where I was moved to, it is not cleaned to a 5 star standard. I found someone else's hair on the floor after I had moved in. I made a complaint and the assistant manager really made an effort to ensure tha the room was cleaned every day after that. I was paying a lot per night for the room, and don't expect to have to worry about these things at those rates. The LEADING HOTELS OF THE WORLD was a rip-off. When I called them to complain about the problems they didn't want to know. I had paid them a premium for their services, and yet everything that they promised me turned out to be promised without them knowing anything about the hotel. They do not represent leading hotels of the world, and my advice to anyone considering booking through them is DON'T. Other problems - I am still trying to resolve the issue regarding the payment made to Telecom Italia for internet service. It only works at the hotel. Do not pay for long periods, because it may not be usable outside of the hotel. Telecom Italia are dishonest and will nto return the money that you have paid even if their service doesn't work throughout Italy.

We stayed here as part of our honeymoon and couldn't be more pleased. In short, this place is in the best location, the staff are great, the rooms are lovely (in a grand Italian way) and the pool was a really good considering the hotel is in the centre of a very old town centre. The pool is underground and looks like it's in a cave/cellar... I really liked it! If you can afford it, this is a great hotel