Hotel dei Gonzaga , Mantegna Hotels

D

The room was simple and clean, the location was perfect for the concert we were attending in the piazza sordello, the breakfast was delicious and in a beautifully frescoed room.

This hotel turned out to be a balance of trade-offs. I only chose this 3-star property for its convenient location in the city center and because the 4-star hotel nearby was sold out. When I arrived at the train station in the pouring rain, I was unable to get a taxi to the hotel. I called the hotel and was told there was nothing they could do. I was completely stranded. Finally, I asked if the desk clerk could call the taxi for me. She did, and a car came within two minutes. From then on, everyone at the desk was very helpful, suggesting good restaurants and helping me find my way around Mantova. The room was large but plainly furnished like an old-fashioned hostel, with white painted wooden furniture, but everything was clean. The big plus was the view from a tiny window overlooking the lovely piazza. Oddly, breakfast was served a few hundred meters away at their sister hotel, 4-star Ca' Uberti Palace, which is much nicer but was completely sold out when I had tried to reserve. The breakfast had the standard Italian buffet options, but the dining room was lovely and worth the walk across the piazza in the morning sun. And the conveiwnce to all the sites I wanted to visit was excellent. On balance, the pluses outweigh the minuses, and for the price, I'm glad I stayed there.

The website said there was parking included for a fee. This was not the case as I was charged for parking and told to use a permit that they gave me and to find my own parking spot, being in the center of the city this was difficult. Luckily I found a spot reasonably close to the hotel so I could manage my luggage