Hotel Palace

Nice and quite places to stay

I have quite a few experiences with this place. All of them were unfortunate. The moment we walked in, we were met with unfriendly looks and staff with a complete disregard to manners. We were warned that they were watching us “everywhere” and that there were cameras “everywhere”. The moment we entered the rooms, my jaw dropped (not in a good way). The rooms were advertised with air conditioning, plot twist; it was a complete lie. We were provided with one singular, measly fan that practically blowed hot air. I sighed, feeling disappointed but nothing could prepare me for the vile prison cell that they called their “noble bathrooms”. The bathroom was, and I quote, “the size of my left toe”. The most peculiar thing about said “bathrooms” was the bidet that was ATTACHED to the bath. This essentially means, should one want to clean ⬇️🍑 they would get dirty bum water in the SHOWER!! The next shock happened when a TICK scuttled out of the bathroom! I was appalled. Never in my many years of going to hotels have I had such a monumentally terrible first impression. My next encounter with the people at the front desk was not any better than the first conversation. In fact, one could say the situation got much, much worse…. The reason we went to go talk to the staff was because we found a mouldy cookie under the bed! I repeat a MOULDY COOKIE! This goes to show that no care and attention was put into keeping the rooms as a serene and idyllic sanctuary. We were told, no instructed, to pick the cookie up ourselves! OURSELVES?! Our next egregious encounter was rock bottom. We were threatened to be kicked of the hotel out of the blue. No complaint, no warning, not even a “how was your day” or should I say… “how was unforgettable stay?” Bare in mind, this was at 10pm with 40 school children. This would leave us as temporarily homeless. 🙀😿🙊🙉🤦‍♂️🤷‍♀️🙍‍♂️. Finally, after the “court” (aka the front desk) had decided their verdict, we were given permission to stay. As paying customers they threatened to kick us out of the abysmal asylum. We found strength in the situation and at 10:30 all 40 children were “allowed” to go to their rooms. Throughout the whole trip the same situations occurred on repeat. We were told shut up in multiple languages (English and Italian). For those who don’t know how to say shut up in Italian, do not fear, come to this hotel and “stai zitto” will become familiarised within you. My next issue with the hotel was that we were not at all allowed to speak when we went inside. And I don't mean, use your inside voices. No. I mean that you were not allowed to even mutter a single word. My next problem was that the water machine at breakfast never seemed to work for more than two minutes. Bear in mind, this was in 35 degree weather. We had NO water. My final issue with the trip was the bathtub. I was staying in a room where the bathroom was as big as my suitcase, no joke. The bathtub was practically a measly 50cm squared tub. You couldn't sit in it and if you wanted to stand then you would be confined to about ten centimetres. Then I realised that there was no plug in the shower/ bath. How are you supposed to take a bath if there's no plug? You can't. The lack of plug practically made me want to pull the plug on the whole trip. Overall, DO NOT STAY HERE! AT ALL!!

Good location

The Hotel is in a former palace and this can be seen from its entrance and reception rooms. So close to all the attractions in the centre of Bologna, it couldn’t be better situated. Our room was a good size, bathroom a little dated and a noisy stand-alone air conditioning unit- not particularly effective and tripped the electrics a couple of times! Staff friendly and helpful; good selection for breakfast.

Helpful staff

The staff were very pleasant and it could be an amazing building. My room was stiflingly hot with no aircon. Although on day 3 the staff brought a portable fan to my room. My friends room had aircon apparently. We didn’t have breakfast but it looked like the usual hotel fayre. The hotel really really needs some money spent on it and it would be great. Location….great (15 min from station) Staff…..very pleasant Please please update this hotel to make it a fabulous hotel.

We stayed again for about the 10th time at the Hotel Palace, and again they do not disappoint. Although a bit dated in places, the welcome is warm, rooms comfortable and very clean, and enough breakfast to feed a thousand people. We enjoy coming back each time we are in Bologna, and will be back later this year, and next year, and the year after that...

Closed to main areas, but not expect too much from hotel. But good area and reasonable price

Great location but hotel was outdated and required refurbishment. Single rooms were dark with tiny windows. Communal area needed a bar area.

We booked a superior room directly online and found it to be great value. Central location for exploring Bologna and 24hr front desk with friendly staff. Ask for a map! Breakfast buffet was great with eggs, bacon, hams, cheese, cereal, yoghurt, fruits, croissants, pancakes and cakes. Hot drinks machines available at breakfast, our only recommendation for improvement would be that they could allow access to the hot drinks 24hrs as there are no kettles in the rooms. Room decor was a little dated, but clean and comfortable. In its day it would have been a grand hotel and would look fantastic if it were done up, but then we couldn’t have afforded to stay there! Toiletries were supplied and topped up daily. We couldn’t get the TV to work but didn’t bother asking as we weren’t using it, but one day we came back to find it had been sorted anyway, and an air conditioning unit added to the room, which was appreciated. Some people have mentioned a smell, an open drain in the bathroom did have a bit of an odour sometimes, but we just stood the bin over it! We are used to old buildings and it wasn’t a problem. There was some noise but staying in the centre of a busy city it is to be expected to some extent. We were delighted to stay so centrally, at an affordable place that was clean and welcoming.