My husband and I just returned from a short break to Pisa. We stayed at Leonardo Hotel, great location, about 10 minutes walk to the Leaning tower, lots of good restaurants within 2 minutes walk. The room is decent, bathroom is OK. I would not count on the included continental breakfast, it's not good. Coffee and crossant are terrible.

At first glance, not so bad. But then we saw the room. No toilet paper, musty smell and bed bugs ! Not kidding. My friend awoke covered in bed bug bites on her legs. It was loud all night. Not a "people having fun" kind of loud, but a "boys in the hood" kind of loud. My flight was at 6am so I needed a cab around 4 am. None want to come, even though I informed the hotel the evening before. After waiting 30 minutes, the desk clerk suggested that I walk to the end of the alley and wait for the cab or he would leave. He wouldn't come down the alley to the hotel door to get me. It was very scary and I am a seasoned traveler. Thankfully, I only had to be there one night and the rest of my Italian adventure was wonderful. Hope they make some changes b/c the location was good.

The best thing about this hotel is its location, right next to the University, which was handy for our conference. The hotel is typical of Tuscan and Umbrian privately-owned small hotels – small rooms, even smaller bathrooms, and rooms often without daylight. We have stayed in a number of these and been quite happy. You get what you pay for – that is, reasonable accommodation, helpful and friendly staff, and a central town location. The big exception in the case of the Hotel Leonardo is that the splendid staff is let down by the owners who have not installed an adequate water heating system. On the admission of the staff, the boiler is too small and water pressure too weak. I stayed for 5 nights and every morning the shower was tepid to cold, and without much pressure. Colleagues staying at the same hotel made similar complaints – although some complained the water was too hot. One morning the shower was so cold I had to go down to reception and complain before taking a shower. Fortunately, someone had vacated a bathroom on the third floor – where I could shower (with cold to tepid water). The excuse was that the hotel was full! Lesson: avoid this hotel, at least when weather is cold.! If, however, you want to chance your luck – water-wise – opt for the recently decorated rooms in the extension and avoid the first floor rooms. Even then, considerable dexterity is required manoeuvring round the bathroom, even more so in the shower where you will not find a soap dish or anywhere to place your shampoo and so forth. Apart from the location, plus points are the daily, fresh-laundered towels, and the free internet access on the sole machine in the lounge off the foyer. To comply with Italian legislation, you have to provide your name and record your time on the net in a notebook provided. Breakfast is OK, but nothing to write home about. Avoid the coffee in the urn, which is disgusting. Annoyingly, you have to pay another 1.50 euro for an expresso or cappuccino, both of which are good. Altogether, these drawbacks do not make this hotel good value at 115 euro per night. Takes about 20 minutes by taxi to and from Pisa airport. From the airport, you can take the regular train service to Pisa Centrale railway station for 1.10 euro each way, but then you wouild need to get a bus or taxi to the hotel. Leave plenty of time to get back to the airport, particularly if you want to go by taxi. The hotel tried calling us a taxi for some time on a Sunday without luck, even though the taxi strike had ended (The drivers object to the municipio wishing to issue another 50 licenses!) The alternative (bus) is unreliable on a Sunday ; ie it did not show up. I noticed that guests arriving with a car were able to pack outside the hotel in the narrow street. Restaurants: Even ignoring the tourist areas round the leaning tower, the restaurants in Pisa are not good. The best I found nearby was the family-run Trattoria della Mescate on via Cavalca, 2, off Piazza della Vettovaglie. Try the dark green ravioli filled with branzino; good wine, although they often do not stock bottls/vintages on their list but substitute excellent alternatives. Other OK restaurants nearby I visited were I Miel Sapori, on via della Faggiola, near Piazza dei Cavalieri and Osteria della Cavalieri (BTW, do not look for Al Ristoro dei Vecchi Macelli, which is frequently mentioned in guidebooks. It no longer exists. Failing to contact the restaurant by phone, I personally visited the premises only to find a private house.) I also visited Il Campano, also on via Cavalca, but found the taglialini and tartufo disappointingly greasy, and the beef for secondo just warm; although the marscopone with chocolate for dolce was great. On balance, I would not recommend Il Campano despite its inviting decoration/atmosphere. Lucca is half an hour away on the train.

War Anfang März in diesem Hotel. Sehr zentral und hat eine ruhige Umgebung, sehr freundliche Angestellte, einfache aber saubere Zimmer. Würde wiederkommen.

Sehr zentral in Pisas Hauptstadt gelegen und man kann überall bequem zu Fuß hinlaufen. Die Angestellten sind sehr freundlich und alle, die tagsüber an der Rezeption arbeiten, sprechen auch Englisch. Das Frühstückszimmer ist recht klein und man muss für einen Tisch manchmal warten. Einige Zimmer sind recht klein, aber komfortabel. Das Leonardo hat die Heizung auch im Herbst und Frühjahr an, was nicht immer der Fall in Italien ist.