Hotel Biondi

The Hotel is extremely tired, the manager is an italian version of Basil Forte (Fawlty Towers UK Comedy). We arrived and the temperature outside was extremely hot; but no a/c permitted (by law!), this message was delivered to us by the manager whose attitude was appalling; anyone would think that he was the customer. The room was a good size, but had a large amount of blown plaster suggesting damp and had a very unpleasant musty smell; it probably last decorated in the 70/80's. There was no sound proofing in the rooms; at one point their where 80 16-18 american students and wow did they know how to party; only problem was all of the other residents where not so keen so that just added to an extremely poor experience. The dinner in the restaurant for an Italian hotel was dismal; the food was cold, lots of course, but lower standard that what you would get at school, the breakfast was a continental breakfast, but the eggs where always cold and everything else was just stale ie the croissant; cakes, bread rolls, the hot beverages again disappointing, the coffee was only half a cup and although their where two machines, the guests where not trusted to press a button, so you ended up in a queue that could take up to 15 minutes to get your coffee; which again was sub-standard and not worth the wait; everyday you ended up being a scrum with some of the other guests for a banana. I ended up walking into the centre to a pretty little cafe for breakfast which served amazing coffee and croissants for less than 5 euro. There saving grace is a team members specifically Sarah, the nigh barman and the young dark haired girl on reception, they where bubbly and very keen to assist. It is very well located; just a short walk from Montecatini centre and also the funicular railway, which are so good and the view from the top of Montecatini Verde is spectacular. The train station again is close by and you can explore Florence in one direction and Luka and Pisa in the other direct; the trains are every half hour and extremely reasonably priced. I would not recommend this hotel, but I would recommend Montecatini, be conscious that not all facilities are made available if you visit outside the season, worth bearing this in mind when booking.

On the positive side hotel is clean, well located and well staffed. The negative is hotel is tired and in need of refurbishment. Decor is worn, minor damage anf the only power points are those for bedside lamps. Another problem is hotel appears to do a lot of business with large groups. These groups are not considerate of other guests e.g. mobs at breakfast, late night noise disturbance.