The location of the hotel is excellent (a few blocks both from Station Brignole and Piazza Ferrari) on bustling via XX of September. This means that there is a little traffic noise even though the window is double glaze, but the area is safe and nice. The building is quite old and quiet and though there is only one (very old) elevator, we never had to wait much for it. The room, as expected in a two star, is nothing luxurious, but we found it reasonable sized (for Italy), clean, and comfortable except maybe the bathroom which was clean but a bit dated and in need of some improvement. Two pluses were the safe box and the Wireless connection which was inexpensive. The staff (which seem to rotate a lot since we met at least 5 different persons in 2 days) was helpful and efficient.

We loved this hotel! It is now, a couple of weeks later, difficult to say if it was because the hotel was so great or because we were so tired when we got there...but this was a great experience. This hotel occupies the fourth floor of a centrally located building, as specified in many other reviews here. The elevator is magnificent. (See previous review.) Our experience with the staff was 100% positive. We only met one very nice man, who was there at 9 pm when we checked in, at 11 pm when we returned from dinner, and again at breakfast early the next morning. We were on a road trip, and he was exceptionally helpful with finding basically non-existent parking. He recommended a great restaurant just a 5 minute walk away...Trattoria Bedin. We were the only tourists there...an all local, family run, very inexpensive, practically hidden near the entrance to a tunnel, wonderfully friendly and delicious place. We had a wonderful meal, went back to the hotel, and slept soundly on the unbelievably hard bed. If there was noise (and we kept the windows open), it didn't disturb our sleep. The hotel is walking distance to all the sights, as mentioned in many other reviews. We loved the Christopher Columbus House, which was a great 30 minute history lesson for our 13-year-old son, as well as the neighboring Torri di Porta Soprana. Climb the spiral stairway and there is a wonderful view over the rooftop gardens of the old city to the port. If we ever get a chance to return to Genoa, I know two things for sure: I will not drive (the Genovese are crazy with their thousands of motor scooters!!!) and we will definitely stay at the Soana.

We chose the Soana based on the reviews here and we were not disappointed. The room was nice with a very high, painted ceiling and en-suite bathroom. They provided us with a cot for the baby as per requested, although it was a bit unstable. Our only problem was the street noise - probably just an average Saturday night in Genoa, with people shouting outside and street sweepers working at dawn. However, the noise levels were really not that high - perhaps the same as traffic noise in any large city. That said, we were very satisfied. Breakfast was also nice, and we parked our car at a nearby subterranean parking lot for a discounted price. All in all, it was a nice experience.

There are over 100 hotels in Genova. I booked this one because they advertise "Wireless internet in all rooms". Because I travel for a living and NEED internet access, I always phone the hotel before I book to make sure they really have internet and that it's working. When I phoned Hotel Soana a week before my arrival, they confirmed WiFi in the rooms and quoted the rates. However, when I arrived on Saturday, the desk clerk admitted that the WiFi wasn't working and hadn't been since the previous Wednesday. Since the internet access at Reception was working, they hadn't even bothered to try to fix the WiFi for their guests during those 4 days. I hesitatingly agreed to honor my reservation and stay through the weekend; the hotel agreed to get the internet access checked out on Monday morning. However, Monday morning I was told that they weren't going to have it fixed and that I was "free to leave". As I checked out, I told the indifferent manager that it appears that they don't care about their guests or their reputation. He informed me that things like a mini-bar and WiFi are "just frills" and don't have anything to do with renting the room.