O perfil de chodura

Estuvimos en Chine Hotel una noche de febrero con una oferta especial. La habitación estaba bien, pero las ventanas estaban sucias por fuera y en un día soleado se ven las manchas y churretes. Nos quedamos en el ala oeste, que está renovada y modernizada. El curto era viejo con viejo mobiliario, pero tenía tele de pantalla plana y no pegaba con la decoración. No había minibar o frigo, pero había máquina de té y café. El baño tenía bañera y ventana. Usamos el centro de fitness (canijo), la piscina (buena), la sauna, y lo mejor, el jacuzzi al descubierto. El desayuno fue en el edificio principal y fue patético. La habitación parecía sacada de los años 70 u 80, con decoración naranja y marrón. Los croissants estaban descongelados y sin sabor. Había una buena selección de huevos fritos, salchichas, etc... pero pensamos ¿reservaríamos este hotel por su fiestas y banquetes?, ya que parecía tan descuidado, ni antiguo ni nada de eso, simplemente destartalado.

Lo mejor de este hotel es el precio, lo peor es la ubicación. Es más barato que otros hoteles de esta categoría, pero tienes que coger el bus 25 que tarda 20 minutos desde la estación central de Bolonia. Las habitaciones estaban limpias y eran tranquilas. Tenía aire acondicionado, lo cual te salva la vida en agosto y septiembre con más de 30ºC. La sala de desayuno era grande, con un desayuno continental típico, sin huevos cocidos ni salchichas. Tenían brioche fresco, yogur, leche, mermeladas, nocilla, pan, queso, embutidos, fruta, zumo... Aunque el café era de máquina no era malo. No pude probar el centro de fitness con piscina. El vestíbulo del hotel tiene un ordenador con internet gratis. Hay una pequeña zona de bar junto a la habitación de desayuno. La habitación en sí misma tiene tele con algunos canales extranjeros. Hay frigorífico pero no minibar. Gran armario, baño con ducha pero no bañera. En general, buen hotel y puedes ir por 34€ con Airmiles o por 36 en el hotel mismo.

Le principal attrait de cet hôtel est son prix, et son principal inconvénient, sa situation. C'est moins cher que la plupart des hôtels de cette catégorie, mais il faut prendre un bus - numéro 25 - qui met 20 min depuis la gare de Bologne. Les chambres étaient très propres et silencieuses. Il y a la climatisation, ce qui sauve la vie en août et en septembre, quand la température atteint les 30°C et plus. La salle où l'on prend le petit-déjeuner était grande, et on a eu un petit-déjeuner continental typique, pas des oeufs et des saucisses. Il y avait de la brioche fraîche, des yahourts, des céréales, lait, confiture, nutella, pain, fromage, des sandwichs à la viande froide, des fruits et du jus de fruits. Bien que le café provienne d'un distributeur, il n'était pas si mauvais. Je n'ai pas eu l'occasion de tester la salle de gym avec piscine. Dans le hall, il y a un seul ordinateur avec l'accès à Internet gratuit. Il y a un petit bar près de la salle du petit-déjeuner. La chambre elle-même était équipée d'une TV avec quelques chaînes anglaises du satellite (CNN, BBC, je ne me rappelle pas des autres). Il y avait un frigo mais pas de minibar. Grande armoire, salle de bain avec douche mais pas de baignoire. Dans l'ensemble, un bon hôtel, et en réservant avec Airmiles on peut s'en tirer pour £34, ou parfois 36 euros sur le site-même de l'hôtel.

Nous avons sejourne au Chine Hotel une nuit en fevrier avec un tariff special. La chambre etait decente, mais les fenetres etaient sales de l'exterieur, alors pendant une journee ensoleillee nous avons vu toutes ces marques et taches dessus. Nous avons sejourne dans une aile de l'ouest, la partie renovee et modernisee. La chambre elle-meme etait vieille avec des vieux meubles mais il y avait un ecran plat, ce qui n'allait pas avec le decor. Il n'y avait pas de mini-bar ni frigo, mais il y avait une machine a faire du the et cafe. La salle de bains avait une baignoire et une fenetre. Nous avons utilise la salle de fitness (tres petite), la piscine (OK), le sauna et la meilleur partie c'etait le jacuzzi/piscine chauffante exterieure. Le petit dejeuner etait servi dans le batiment principal et etait horrible. La salle avait l'air de sortir tout droit des annees 70 - 80, avec le decor brun et orange. Les croissants etait decongeles, froids et pas apetissants. Il y avait une selection d'oeufs, saucisses etc... assez correcte. On se demandait "Qui reseverait cet hotel pour leurs fetes, banquets?" Vu qu'il avait l'air tellement neglige, meme pas antique ou vintage, mais juste banal et pas bien entretenu.

Very cheap, popular at lunch time with students who were paying with student vouchers. I had lunch alone and didn’t feel awkward at all, although a waiter wouldn’t come to me to take my order for 10 min because he thought I was waiting for someone. Tables were communal style and I saw a group of male office workers joining a table of female students (although they had little luck, there was minimal conversation between them). I had a tagliatelle with ragu, quarter of house red wine and a 1 liter bottler of water and it came to a grand total of 9.50 euros. It wasn’t a lot of food but it was enough to sustain me until dinner and it didn’t make me feel too hot in 30 C weather. Although after this I went inside a National Gallery (less than 5 min walk) to while away the hours as most of the shops and attractions were closed for lunch.

The main draw of this hotel is its price, the main drawback is location. It’s cheaper than other hotels of this category but you have to take a bus number 25 which takes 20 min from the Bologna Central train station. The rooms were clean and quiet. It had air conditioning, which is a life saver in August and September with 30+C temperature. Breakfast room was big with a typical continental breakfast, no cooked eggs or sausages. They had fresh brioche, joghurt, cereal, milk, jams, nutella, bread, cheese, cold sandwich meats, fruit, juice. Although the coffee was from the machine, it wasn’t that bad. I didn’t have a chance to try out the fitness centre with swimming pool. The hotel lobby has a single computer with free Internet. There is a small bar area next to the breakfast room. The room itself has a TV with some English satellite channels (CNN, BBC, don’t remember others). It has a fridge but no minibar. Large wardrobe, bathroom with shower but no bathtub. Overall, good hotel and you could get it for £34 on Airmiles or 36 euros sometimes on hotel website itself.

I found this restaurant by reading a recommendation on the web. I ate there for dinner around 19:30 on Friday night. There was only one other couple there drinking beer. I had a glass of Barbera wine, tortellini with panna and proscuitto and bottle of water. The total was 22 euros. This restaurant is familly owned and the owner spoke good English. He explained the menu to me and had some recommendations. He has a daily specials menu, which that day was squid and some meat dish which I don’t remember. The restaurant is located on a quiet street, and I took advantage of it by eating outside. The owner played Italian music that I liked which was romantic, pop, and some other people would find cheesy. If I return to Bologna, I would eat there again.

The restaurant business card describes it as, “Gestione famiglia Accarisi. A quiet old-fashioned atmosphere to taste genuine flavours. Cold cuts and a wide variety of typical cheeses together with raw vegetables and early fruits. Cellar rich with selected home wines.”

We went to Osteria “Dall Nonno” with our Italian friends which was recommended to them by their sister. It’s located on a hill, and it was a 15 min drive from the centre of Bologna. It has a large open air dining space and you could eat breathing mountain air and gaze at the stars above you. The restaurant is popular with Italian famillies and large friend groups. I’m not sure if they speak English.

We had assorted salumi (proscuitto, salami, speck, other cold meats), tigelle (Modena bread), crescentine (fried plain bread, my favourite), sottageti, parmiggiano & other cheese, desserts, 1 liter of red wine, 2 bottles of water, and liquor digestives for 4 people and it came to 85 euros. Which is not that expensive for a dinner in Bologna. I truly enjoyed this restaurant. The service was spotty sometimes where we had to search for their attention to order something more.

Best gelato I ever tried. I like creamy, thick and sweet flavours so I went for espresso, pistachio (the best), mascarpone, dolce lece in two visits i’ve made there. The prices are the same as everywhere else: 2 euros for piccolo (2 scoops), 3 euros for 3 scoops and so on, granitas are huge and only 3 euros. Castiglione gelato has organic and natural ingredients. Pistachio is nutty and sweet. It’s known to many locals who go there across the town just to eat the ice-cream. There are no tables to sit inside, just few benches inside and outside. The people working there are very friendly and most of them speak English.

The Fuori Porta Due bed and breakfast is in an old Italian flat on a first floor (one floor above ground). It has a small balcony with a small table and two chairs on which you can take a coffee, breakfast or smoke a cigarette (as smoking is prohibited in buildings in Italy). We stayed in a double bed room and had our own bathroom. The bathroom had a power shower with very strong water flow, and it proved to be refreshing in the mornings or after a long day in Italian sun. The bathroom and the whole flat was immaculate. Although they change the sheets and towels every four days, even though they changed the floor towel every day. Our room was spacious, had a nice bed with a firm mattress and 2 firm pillows, although I was very happy when I found two very soft pillows in the wardrobe and swapped them. The furniture is old and gives a 60’s atmosphere: I felt as though I was in one of the Sophie Loren’s films. The TV was old and had then main Italian channels, no english channels. There was an old radio but we didn’t try it. One main drawback of the B&B is lack of air conditioning. This made our day and nights hot but we used the large fan in the room.

The breakfast was self-serve and they had coffee (both espresso caffetiere and drip-style), cornflakes, long lasting milk (not fresh, to my displeasure), juice, italian biscuits and jam. The cost was 60 euros per night per room. They also had two other rooms one of which had 3 single beds and the other 2 single beds. This B&B would be excellent for a large family or large group of friends who can rent out the whole place. When we stayed there was an old man from Calabria and another man. You shouldn’t sleep in too long as they come in around 9 am to clean up after breakfast and clean the bathrooms. The noise made our sleep impossible after 9:30 am. Overall, I was pleased with the B&B as it made a nice change from hotels. We felt like we were Italian and lived there (we had proper flat keys: 4 of them: one for the outside building door, one for the metal flat door, one for the wooden flat door and one for the room).