This hotel is located about 10 minutes from the leaning tower. We booked this because of the car park. There is a small car park but if you leave the keys with the hotel they will move the car if required to do so. The breakfast was excellent and the staff very accommodating. We had a twin room, and it was on the first floor and very spacious.
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I booked this hotel after seeing another reviewer say that they stayed here as a solo female traveller and found it clean and safe. I would echo this reviewer's comments. I stayed here for five nights, and used Pisa as a base to travel to other places (namely Lucca, Firenze, and Siena) so wanted somewhere within a reasonable walking distance of the train station as I envisioned returning to the hotel when it was dark.
I took the 'Pisa mover' shuttle from the airport to Pisa Centrale station (which cost €5 and took around 5 minutes), and then the walk to Hotel Bologna with my suitcase was in pretty much a straight line through the main square and down paved and well lit streets. It took around 7 minutes to walk from the station to the hotel.
I arrived at Hotel Bologna at around 10:00 and was able to leave my suitcase in a secure room (no charge) whilst I spent the day exploring Pisa. I came back around 18:00, collected my case, and formally checked in (although I could have checked in at 13:30) before heading out for dinner. Staff were mainly young and male, and were pleasant and spoke very good English.
I was allocated room 16 which was on the first floor and overlooked the small car park and a patio area. There was no external noise apart from the odd aeroplane which cannot be helped anywhere in Pisa, although I imagine that (1) people might use the patio for drinks in better/warmer weather which would bother me if they were rowdy; and (2) people in the rooms which overlook the road at the front of the hotel (Via Giuseppe Mazzini) might experience a bit of traffic noise.
The internal walls seemed quite thin and I suspect that the bathroom of the adjoining room was located right next to my bed as it was noisier than expected when they were having a shower and talking in the bathroom. However, luckily, the people next door weren't particularly noisy and showered at a reasonable time, so it didn't bother me per se.
I stayed in a single room (single bed with en-suite) which was definitely big enough for just myself/did not feel cramped. The room was decorated in a more 'traditional Tuscan style' (think greens, reds, and golds) so not particularly 'instagram worthy' but neither am I.
The room and bathroom felt and were kept very clean by housekeeping, as were the bedding and towels.
The bathroom contained a toilet, shower cubicle with sliding doors, bidet, sink with large mirror, tissue dispenser, sanitary bag dispenser, toilet brush, bin with lid, and hairdryer. You receive complimentary shampoo, body wash, intimate wash, vegetable based soap bar, shower cap, and shoe sponge.
In the bedroom there is another bin and a desk and chair with large mirror. Underneath the desk is a mini fridge containing a range of drinks and snacks, which I removed and instead used the fridge to store my own food and drink which I purchased from a Carrefour Express minimart which was a circa 5 minute walk away near the main shopping street.
There is a spare pillow, thick blanket, safe, pair of slippers, and set of drawers in the wardrobe, and the wardrobe itself is a decent size with plenty of hangers. There is a small TV mounted on the wall at the foot of the bed which shows a mix of channels (mainly Italian but also various international news channels). The TV isn't great quality but I spent most of my day out and about so didn't have time to watch it.
The only real negative aspect of the room for me was the lack of accessible plug sockets. There was only one located above the desk which meant that I couldn't charge my phone, DSLR camera battery, and use my hair straighteners at the same time so I had to be conscious about what I was charging and when. You have to have a card in the slot in order for the electricity to work so if you feel okay about leaving something in your room charging when you have breakfast then maybe take a loyalty or library card with you for this purpose (as it doesn't have to be the room card in the slot).
Breakfast was served in the bar/restaurant area from 07:00 and was a fairly standard continental offering, namely toasting machine with various spreads (jam, mixed berries, apricot, maple syrup, honey, and palm oil free chocolate hazelnut spread), mini pancake machine, different types of croissants and cakes, cereal (cornflakes and muesli), a natural yoghurt machine, fruit (prunes, pineapple slices, peach halves, watermelon), cold meats and cheeses, bean to cup coffee machine, and drinks in pitchers (milk, water, and fruit juices). Quality was decent and you shouldn't go hungry.
Overall a clean and comfortable room, comparatively good for the price (at the time of doing my research), and I would stay here again.
I stayed here for a week. It is located 5 minutes walk from the train station and 15 minutes casual stroll from the tower. I would say a perfect location to explore the history and some good local restaurants.
The hotel is clean and the service attentive. Breakfast is varied and plentiful. All in all a good location, a pleasant stay and very reasonably priced.
I was surprised reading some very negative recent reviews as we had an excellent 2-night stay at this hotel. We had treated ourselves to a suite which was charming and we loved the wall decor. The jacuzzi in the bathroom was an added and unexpected treat. Breakfast was very good, staff very helpful (they recommended and booked a restaurant for dinner) and we took advantage of the shuttle service to take us back to the station although we had walked from the station on arrival which only took around 10 minutes with our luggage. The central location makes it easy to explore the city and we were pleased with our choice.
Our trip to Pisa to spend a few days enjoying the hospitality of a city we have come to love, always over the years leaving with a heavy heart, wishing we could have spent more time there.
Until we chose to stay in a different hotel, and as with other hotels we have stayed in, we relied upon their local knowledge to arrange a taxi to the Andrea bocelli concert in lajatico.
A very easy to do request one would have thought, and so it was we asked and we were assured time and time again that a taxi would be available for the date and the time requested.
Can you imagine how very disappointed we were to find upon arrival, that this promise made had not been kept. No taxi had been booked, and the expression on the check in girl was priceless, a very negative and unfriendly NO!
I reiterated our request via telephone and email and said to her, how important that request was, and now here we are and you are telling me it’s highly unlikely we can have a taxi?!
Not happy, she had a discussion with her colleague and they suggested we go for a walk, lunch maybe and they would try.
We were upset, our journey was hanging on a thread, it looked like we would not be going to the concert afterall.
An hour later they called, and said they had FOUND a TAXI, and the cost would be an eye watering 350€!
We had expected around 200€ but 350 € was not expected. But we had no choice, they said they would add this to our bill, and as originally requested said taxi would arrive at 5 pm. In time to take us to the concert and allow us time to honour our table reservation in lajatico. At 7 pm.
About half an hour later they called us again, this time to inform us that the driver insists that we pay in cash, and if we don’t have the cash, go and get from a cash machine! At this point we suspected we were being ripped off!
We had no choice.
We arrived back at the hotel to be given our room keycard, the promise of the nicest room in the hotel was not honoured, the room was small, dark tired and the bed linen smelled of vinegar ! The window small, and the view of several windows opposite made privacy impossible, the noise coming from the street also promised little in relaxation, the room had seen better days. But at least we were here, and we were going to the concert, so we went down to the foyer at 4.45pm in readiness of out “Taxi” arriving at 5pm.
What came next was proof that we were being taken advantage of, we were told that the “Taxi” was indeed the hotel shuttle bus! Now there’s a surprise! And those were sharing it with three other guests, ?? One was being dropped off at the airport the other two, traveling to the concert, for a moment I was furious, but then my wife reasoned, well at least the fare will be shared! So we agreed, not that we had any other choice, so we hung around until the others arrived, and eventually left the hotel at 6pm too late I’m guessing to honour our table reservation, unhappy that it meant we would have nothing to eat before the concert, and highly unlikely to get a drink. So we went from the hotel being driven in a bus by a n absolute stupid and aggressive driver, we just about go to the concert in one piece, and returned in a bus driven way beyond its limits, thankfully the concert brilliant, but the journey was white knuckle. As as we arrived at the hotel, the driver asked fir the cash, we paid the full amount, wondering had the other couple done the same, or at least paid half, who knows? We have asked for an explanation and the explanation was “we are not travel agents and market conditions present the option we had no alternative but to accept, and as for contribution from the other couple, no answer, as clearly it’s fair to say cash in hand is a very dishonest way of doing business, or is is it? I will find out after my report goes to the fisa o authorities in Pisa. We were indeed victims of greed, victims of a hotel that clearly care not fir their reputation or the guests that trust them. My advice would be, look at the wonderful choices of hotels in Pisa, even the most basic ones will honour the promise they make, this one does not.
We stayed in this hotel from August 17th - August 19th and booked 1 double and 1 single room.
The hotel is a 4 star only in name. In reality it's a bad 3 star at best.
The only good things about this hotel are the location and the Reception staff.
When we checked in we realized that the safe in the double room was out of batteries, so it didn't work. We asked the Reception to send the maintenance guy, but he said he can only fix it tomorrow.
Kind defeats the purpose when your stay is only 2 days long.
There was a huge long black hair on the room telephone which was not ours (My wife is blond and I am clean shaven).
The air condition was so weak that we had to ask for a ventilator fan to be able to sleep at night.
One of the lights above the mirror in the bathroom didn't work.
The shower's pressure and cold water output is laughable. We needed 20 minutes to wash out the soap from our bodies. I have never experienced such a frustrating shower in my life.
I would really like to drag the General Manager in there and make them take a shower.
Having worked as a Receptionist, Head Receptionist and Duty Manager in multiple hotels for 10 years, I have to ask:
Don't you have Floor Supervisors or Housekeepers who check the rooms before they are given to guests? Don't you check lights, safes, ACs, cleanliness and water before you mark a room as "Ready"?
The hotel seems to be on auto pilot as they are not even responding to bad reviews.
Then comes the breakfast. As soon as we saw the cheese plate we almost threw up in our mouths. Apparently it's not refrigerated properly as all the slices were stuck together and some were melted on the plate.
We were so disgusted that we left the breakfast and did not use it on the second day. I would not recommend this hotel at all.
