This is another sub=Motel 6 hotel used by Cosmos Tours for its "Splendors of Italy" adventure. We stayed October 14, 2007. The only bellhop had a vision problem and mixed up the luggage for 44 people. As soon as you opened the room door, you were hit with the stale smell of urine. Oh, and did I mention the mold on the bathroom ceiling! The bed was as hard as a slab of concrete. We were on the lst floor and heard the steet noises. There was a motor running all night in the backyard . It stopped every two minutes and then ran for another ten. The night manager at the desk was surly! Only bright spot -- a decent breakfast. Rating: Awful - 1.0!

Getting there and getting around: The hotel is located approximately 10 minutes walking distance from old town. It is a pleasant walk through what appeared to be a safe and clean neighborhood. Restaurants and bars are located within 5 minutes of the hotel. It is also located relatively close to the Siena train station-I opted for the 20 minute uphill walk from the train station to the hotel (note: there is a blind curve along this route, at which point there is no sidewalk. Therefore, I would recommend a taxi cab for what I recall to have been quoted at about 7-8 Euros) Appearance: The exterior of the hotel is pleasant and accurately depicted on the hotel's website, as is the lobby: http://www.hotelitaliasiena.com/Hotel_Italia_Home.html. The "superior" room that I booked (Double Room for Single Use) was more than adequate; clean, well appointed and airy, with large windows that opened to a wide street. The bathroom had a good selection of soaps and gels, and the room came with a pretty well-stocked mini-bar and a comfortable bed. I heard little street noise in the room with the windows closed. The best description that I can provide is that it is slightly nicer than the rooms typically found in 3 star Italian hotels and, for the price that I paid (55 Euros in December), was much better than what I expected. Note that some rooms have balconies and those rooms should be requested. The one balcony room that I observed was very bright and airy and had a perfectly acceptable, if not particularly interesting, view of a small yard in the back of the property. I would also note that the "standard" single rooms should be avoided. The one standard single room that I observed (45 Euros per night if booked online) was cramped and had a bad view of a wall and electrical boxes. The breakfast room was large and bright, with a good selection of cold food (meats, cheeses, great bread and cereal). The hotel also maintains a small and pleasant bar, but I really could not figure out its open hours. The Staff: Nice, well informed regarding local attractions, and helpful with each of my numerous requests (including helping me program my European cell phone for 5 or 10 minutes without even a grumble). The hotel does appear to be a stop for tour groups. This presented no problems for me and did not detract from my experience but, since some people find this to be a turn-off, I figured I should mention it. All in all, the Hotel Italia was a great place to stay for the price: Well located, well priced, and well maintained.

My girlfried and I stayed here originally booked in for 7 days. We left a day early. The girls that worked the breakfast were fabulous and very accomodating, also too were the chamber maids. Very friendly and tired to make conversation even with the language difficulties. It was the 2 men that worked the front desk that we found very rude, impolite and not willing to help with any questions we had on were to eat, directions, or to explain a charge on our bill we did not understand. It seemed to us that because we were canadians that did not speak Italian they could not be bothered with us. There was a younger gentleman that worked one of the nights we were there and was most helpful, but not the two older men. We would have left earlier but we could not make othere arrangements. As soon as we could we left. We were all over Italy and stayed at a total of 5 hotels on this trip and several other hotels in life time and never encountered such rudeness and been treated with such disrespect.

I have to agreed with another viewer. This boutique hotel is the best one in the Cosmos Budget Tour. Hotel is small but room was ample, clean, lovely with nice size bathroom. Breakfast was also the best one among the 4 hotels we stayed during the tour. Fresh , yes FRESH danish pastry, and lot of Salami, ham etc...and very good Fresh Bread... Once we arrived, we walked out and followed the signs. It's about 15 minutes walk and stroll pleasantly, we got to The Palio !!! Itwas so great . If you ask us if we would stay here again, the answer is "absolutely".