Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
for a double without a bathroom,
130 with bathroom—the location on
a lively street near the university is superb, and the centuries-old
palazzo
is full of
character. The lobby and staircase, with well-worn stone flooring and vaulted ceil-
ings, are deceivingly grand; the bright, no-frills, functional rooms are far simpler.
The bathrooms don't seem to have been updated for a couple of decades, so the
worn fixtures and half-size bathtubs can pose a bit of a challenge.
ACCOMMODATIONS NEAR SAN DOMENICO
€€
-
€€€
€
80 to
€
5
(Via de' Mattuiani, 1-2, off Via Garibaldi;
%
051-584305; www.hoteltouring.it)
lies on the edge of the
centro storico
near
San Domenico. The stylish rooms are nicely fitted out with shiny hardwood or
faux-marble ceramic floors, sleek contemporary furnishings, rich upholstery, and
(in almost all) air-conditioning (a few have ceiling fans). Most bathrooms are
striking, many with gilt-framed mirrors on the white tile walls, deep sinks (dou-
ble sinks in a few units), and roomy showers. Some rooms are quite large indeed,
and many on the third and fourth floors have large balconies. The eight non-
smoking rooms come with minibars. The roof terrace affords wonderful 360-
degree views, and in 2004 they added a small Jacuzzi up there so you can better
enjoy them. Double rooms start around
Quiet
Hotel Touring
€
99 (jumping up to
€
235 during trade
fairs). They also rent an apartment starting at
€
150.
ACCOMMODATIONS WORTH THE SPLURGE
Dottor Mauro Orsi, an elegant man of bow ties and a toothy smile, runs a small
local hotel empire of ultrarefined inns at surprisingly reasonable rates:
Bologna
Art Hotels
(
%
051-7457335; www.bolognahotels.it).
A premium is placed on
service at each hotel, from free bikes and Internet access to free 2-hour city walk-
ing tours for guests every Sunday (as well as a private guide on call the rest of the
week who will craft thematic tours to your specifications)—all of which make the
slightly high prices more reasonable than they first appear.
€€€
-
€€€€
A loyal cadre of travelers have come to love the cheapest of the
quartet, the 34-room
Orologio
(Via IV Novembre, 10;
%
051-7457411),
which
overlooks a small pedestrian street off Piazza Maggiore on the clock-tower side of
the town hall (
orologio
means “clock”--hence the name). Aside from this wonder-
ful location, two of the attractions are the lounge, with its comfy couches, free
snacks, and free Internet terminal, and the adjacent breakfast room with its gen-
erous morning buffet. The rooms—doubles for
€
170 to
€
212 (up to
€
320 dur-
ing trade fairs)—are often small but nicely done, with patterned silk walls and old
photos of Bologna, wrought-iron bed frames or inlaid wood headboards, hand-
some contemporary furnishings, and well-equipped marble-clad modern bath-
rooms. The suites, while not very large, have two rooms with extra touches like
ceiling stuccoes in the bathrooms or marble column capitals serving as end tables.
5
€€€€
Rates start just
€
10 higher—doubles for
€
180 to
€
212 (up to
€
320
during trade fairs)—at the
Dei Commercianti
(Via Pignattari, 11;
%
051-
7457511).
The lovely structure facing the flank of San Petronius was built in the
12th century as the city's first seat of government, and a recent renovation took full
advantage of this antiquity, showing off original beams and flooring in cutaway
555
