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and include enough wooden armoires and other homey touches to make them
cozy. Some rooms even sleep four ( 95) or five ( 105) people.
5 9
- €€
(Via delle Zecca, 2, off Via Ugo Bassi 2
blocks west of Piazza Maggiore; % 05l-225114; werterg@tin.it) offers one of
Bologna's best values: It's cheap, central, and clean, and has all the amenities you
need plus the occasional touch of class in the form of a chandelier hanging from
decorative ceiling moldings. An ancient cage elevator deposits you at the door on
the third floor of an old apartment house in the amiable company of an interest-
ing mix of travelers from all over the world. The rooms—
The attractive Centrale
78 for a double with-
out bathroom, 96 with; skip the overpriced 8 extra for breakfast—have been
redone with crisp modern furnishings and either pleasant pastel or brocaded deep
blue fabrics. The bathrooms can be small but are newly tiled with large sinks and
showers. Most rooms are unusually spacious for Italy, and several have three and
four beds or futon-chairs, making this an especially affordable stopover for fami-
lies. (I like room 18, with a big window overlooking a brick tower and church
dome.)
€€€
If you prefer your hotels a bit less creaky and more modern, the gracious
(Via d'Azeglio, 9, just a few steps south of Piazza Maggiore; % 051-
226322; www.hotelroma.biz) offers many of the amenities you'd expect in larger
hotels. Those include a cozy lobby bar, adequate though not outstanding in-house
restaurant, efficient English-speaking staff, porters to carry your bags, and a
garage—all for 150 per double. What really makes this hotel worth seeking out,
though, are its unusually comfortable rooms. They're large and bright (albeit
dominated by overwrought floral patterns), with brass beds that are often king-
size, roomy armchairs, long tables, and most with dressing-room foyers between
the bathrooms and bedrooms. The green-tiled bathrooms were redone several
years ago and tend to be huge, with bidets and luxuriously deep tubs—though
you'll have to hold the shower nozzle yourself, and there's rarely a curtain. Ask for
one of the top-floor rooms with terrace (rooms 301-303, 306-309, 422-425,
and 428-429).
ACCOMMODATIONS NEAR THE UNIVERISTY
- €€
5
Roma
The plain but comfortable Rossini (Via Bibiena, 11, off Piazza G. Verdi,
between Via Zamboni and Via San Vitale; % 051-237716; www.albergorossini.
com) will fill the bill, if not thrill, for basic comfort at a good price. Its location
in the heart of the university district is what draws many guests and visiting academ-
ics. The rooms aren't much more than functional, right down to the no-nonsense
small bathrooms, but at least they tend to be large, with very firm beds, and
they're cheap: Doubles without bathroom cost
80
to 110; breakfast is an extra 3. Regular renovations have kept the place up-to-
date, with TVs in all but one room, and air-conditioning in the eight top-floor
rooms. The lobby bar is a fun place to sip wine and listen to intellectual chatter.
45 to
75, with bathroom
- €€
If you're looking for a high level of comfort and service, don't even
consider the Accademia (Via delle Belle Arti, 6; % 051-232318; www.hotel
accademia.com; no credit cards). On the other hand, it's cheap—
65 to
100
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