Il Piccolo Cavour Charming House B&B

The location seems okay, but a word of warning. The B&B sits right by Piazza della Badia, which from Thursday to Sunday is THE hangout for every teenager in Arezzo. We’re talking roughly 300 kids on the corner of the piazza, screaming joyfully until 4:00 am. And just as they finally wind down, Via Cavour takes over: one of the busiest supply streets for the restaurants and shops in the old town, with deliveries kicking off bright and early at 5:30. A seamless 24 hour relay of noise, beautifully choreographed. In short: we didn’t sleep for two nights. If you land one of the street side rooms (charmingly labelled “deluxe”), pack earplugs. Lots of them. What we liked most: Arezzo! What an absolutely amazing place. The food, the people, the shops, the culture, the history… go there!

The Hotel That Apologizes Professionally Let me start with the air conditioning, which was broken. The next morning we received a lovely standard gift with a standard note reading: “We’re sorry, but we cannot help you now.” I’m fairly convinced this hotel keeps an entire room stocked with pre-packed apology bags, ready to deploy at a moment’s notice. Efficiency! It’s a beautiful old building with a gorgeous open staircase, which shouldn’t be a problem, except the room door had the structural integrity of a sandwich. Combine that with the acoustics of a centuries-old stairwell and you get a genuinely immersive experience: we could hear our neighbours across the hall flushing their toilet. Surround sound, included at no extra charge. The shower was also broken. The so-called “rain shower” tops out at a majestic 1.80 metres, so anyone taller can enjoy a brisk drizzle. The shower door leaked enthusiastically, the water was practically migrating into the bedroom, and the tiles came generously decorated with mould. Now, the breakfast, which several reviewers raved about. It is anything but fresh. The coffee tastes like the average Dutch office vending machine, the fruit was cold and tired, and the toast arrived sealed in plastic. By day two we’d given up and walked around the corner for a proper Italian coffee and a few cornetti. Highly recommend the corner. And finally, the staff. From minute one they were in full apology mode. They are very friendly, and honestly they’re probably just as fed up as we were, but nothing was ever actually taken seriously. A real shame. The signature move? Leaving a bottle of wine outside your door to say sorry for all the things they already know about, but apparently cannot fix (noise, location, acoustics, etc.). Verdict: Go to Arezzo, it’s wonderful. But book a hotel just outside the old city centre.

Fantastic room and owner!

Ottima colazione.

Beliggenhet i en gammel villa/bygård med pene og nyoppussede rom.

Perfekte Lage, total ruhig, prima Frühstück, extrem nette Gastgeber

Nichts

L emplacement L authenticité du bâtiment L accueil

Rien de

Beautifully kept old b and b. Spotless. Easy walking to food and shops. Note there is no elevator. We were in a nice room but up door flights. The host was super accommodating.