Hotel Biondi

The Hotel is extremely tired, the manager is an italian version of Basil Forte (Fawlty Towers UK Comedy). We arrived and the temperature outside was extremely hot; but no a/c permitted (by law!), this message was delivered to us by the manager whose attitude was appalling; anyone would think that he was the customer. The room was a good size, but had a large amount of blown plaster suggesting damp and had a very unpleasant musty smell; it probably last decorated in the 70/80's. There was no sound proofing in the rooms; at one point their where 80 16-18 american students and wow did they know how to party; only problem was all of the other residents where not so keen so that just added to an extremely poor experience. The dinner in the restaurant for an Italian hotel was dismal; the food was cold, lots of course, but lower standard that what you would get at school, the breakfast was a continental breakfast, but the eggs where always cold and everything else was just stale ie the croissant; cakes, bread rolls, the hot beverages again disappointing, the coffee was only half a cup and although their where two machines, the guests where not trusted to press a button, so you ended up in a queue that could take up to 15 minutes to get your coffee; which again was sub-standard and not worth the wait; everyday you ended up being a scrum with some of the other guests for a banana. I ended up walking into the centre to a pretty little cafe for breakfast which served amazing coffee and croissants for less than 5 euro. There saving grace is a team members specifically Sarah, the nigh barman and the young dark haired girl on reception, they where bubbly and very keen to assist. It is very well located; just a short walk from Montecatini centre and also the funicular railway, which are so good and the view from the top of Montecatini Verde is spectacular. The train station again is close by and you can explore Florence in one direction and Luka and Pisa in the other direct; the trains are every half hour and extremely reasonably priced. I would not recommend this hotel, but I would recommend Montecatini, be conscious that not all facilities are made available if you visit outside the season, worth bearing this in mind when booking.

On the positive side hotel is clean, well located and well staffed. The negative is hotel is tired and in need of refurbishment. Decor is worn, minor damage anf the only power points are those for bedside lamps. Another problem is hotel appears to do a lot of business with large groups. These groups are not considerate of other guests e.g. mobs at breakfast, late night noise disturbance.

We went to this hotel on a coach party. Although the staff were very friendly and polite, we did not rate this hotel at all and would not go there again. It did however have a very good indoor pool with sun bathing area at the side. THE ROOM - the air conditioning did not work - it was 38 degrees outside at one point! The shower drainage did not work and there was a danger of it overflowing all over the bathroom floor. Admittedly this was fixed the next day once I had reported it to reception. The flickering bulb however was ignored and we had to put up with it all week. The toilet seat was loose and moved about on the pan - I would have thought the cleaning staff would report this and get it fixed but no, it didn't happen. The balcony only had one chair on it - this was a double room! THE RESTAURANT - Breakfast was ok I guess, with the usual continental style of cheese and ham etc, but the scrambled egg was stone cold every morning although being placed in a warming container. They simply had no idea how to keep it warm. The evening meals were extremely poor. They were boring, unimaginative and sparce - I have seen larger children's portions! We started with some sort of small dish of mush which looked like left overs from the day before which they called an appetiser. This was followed by a choice of either soup or pasta, which I must admit wasn't bad, however the shock came when the main course arrived. It was tiny, Luke warm at the most, sometimes stone cold. The menu said this was accompanied by 'Side dishes of the day' which was lettuce. Just lettuce. Every day. With everything. How they had the nerve to call it 'Salad' when they were bringing it round I have no idea. Hardly anyone ate this as it never went with the dishes they were serving up. There was bread, breadsticks and cracker biscuits on the table but we had to ask for butter every day. The sweet was a slice of dried cake mostly and did not include ice cream or cream to go with the cake. One of our party had chicken one night which was totally inedible and was just skin and bone. She called the manager over who just seemed to laugh it off and did not replace it. There was complimentary wine and water on the table every day but the wine was cheap, low quality stuff that was only really suitable for cooking. A lot of people left this but unfortunately it was wasted as the bottles were opened before you went in. It would have been better to dispense with this and provided a better meal in my opinion. This is certainly not a 4 star hotel and if you are wanting fine dining this is not the place for you! We normally look forward to our evening meals when on holiday but alas it didn't happen this time. Would I recommend this hotel to anyone? No.

I am here at this moment in time with Newmarket holidays. My room is large, squeaky clean, comfortable bed with white, crisp sheets and pillowcases. The pillows are a little lumpy but have not yet stopped me from sleeping. My bathroom is large and modern. Slight probem with shower head, reported to reception and replaced next day. Cracked toilet seat which has also been reported, but as yet, has not been replaced. Towels are replaced every day. There is s robe and slippers also in the room. Staff are very nice and always smiling and happy. Breakfast consists of cereals, tinned fruit, fresh apples and bananas or fresh apples and oranges. Yougurts, Croissants, Bread rolls, butter, jams ham, cheese, scrambled and boiled eggs, and strangely enough cucumber. Staff member serves teas, coffees, juice etc. Dinner of which you make your choice at breakfast time consists of Chef's appetiser which has been really tasty every night, choice of soup or pasta, roast meat or fish with small amount of saute potatoes and a vegetable plus a bowl of mixed salad which is mixed leaves and tomato. The main course could be a bit hotter but it doesn't warrant a complaint from me. Then a dessert. To my pleasure we've had Tiramasui twice which has been really tasty. The meals do not look much but by the time you've had all of it, you won't be hungry. Fine dining it ain't but it is certainly edible and very tasty. On the table is a basket with bread, bread sticks and crackers. It has been a standing joke that there have only been 3 pieces of bread on a table of 4 people. On the first night we asked for another piece. On the second night we swopped baskets quickly from another table. Last night I wrote a note politely asking for 4 pieces which we got. I have asked for cucumber in our salad tonight. Hopefully they will give us some. There is an a la carte.menu in the foyer of the hotel which youcan also order from but you would pay the appropriate price. The waiters are busy but have time to listen and have a laugh at my attempts to speak their language. They smile every time they serve us. Probably wondering what I'm going to come out with next. There has been no sign of complimentary wine or water on the table as one reviewer said (and complained that the wine was cheap) except for the first night where we were given a glass of sparkling wine. You can of course buy it if you want it. Mr. Biondi is present at dinner, helping to clear tables and generally supervising everything. He smiles a ot and is not the shady character that some reviewers on here have made out. The Birra Moretti is 6 euros for 660 ml. A very good price considering how expensive Tuscany is. The bar and adjoining lounge is very comfortable to sit and have a drink and the decor is very elegant. Is it an old hotel? Yes, but it's beautiful. Do I have a refurbished room? Yes. But I've also seen a room which has.not been refurbished. It is very old fashioned but charming and really clean. Had a look at

The Hotel Biondi is ideally situated for exploring the beautiful Town of Montecatini and the surrounding Tuscan countryside . The rooms were very clean and comfortable with excellent daily servicing .like many Italian city centre hotels they are quite traditional so sometimes mod cons can be a bit lacking I stayed for a week over the new year period and found the staff very welcoming and friendly. The Breakfast room could be a bit chaotic when the hotel was full .But the Scrambled eggs were nice which compensated for the long wait for coffee. I hope one day to return to Montecatini and won't hesitate to book into the Hotel Biondi

Hotel biondi had a lovely pool- quite deep for most of it, and indoors so did not get heat from the sun and was therefore a little cooler than expected, but a good size and lovely to cool off in after a long day of travelling and exploring. Room was large, had good facilities in the bathroom and nice big shower. We had no balcony and room could have been more modernly decorated however no real issues with it. Room was clean and had nice big windows, with view over hotel next door (and a lovely german shepherd dog in a roof garden!). We received a wake up call at 6.30am which we did not ask for. Wi-fi and air con were both good. Service from staff was good and hotel appeared very well staffed, many servers at meal times. Food was okay but not amazing - limited choice, and only veg with evening meal was spinach, which was a little cold. Staff were very helpful and offered alternative pudding, however would’ve been nice to have had the choice in the first place (and no alternative main!). Breakfast had good variety available however croissants and bread were not nice, which was disappointing. Again at evening meal would have been nice to have something other than meat and roast potatoes- would have liked something more Italian. Overall would stay here again, but would probably eat out for all meals.

Great hotel in a convenient location. Older style, with real character and spotlessly clean. Management team and staff were very professional and worked really hard to make our stay comfortable and enjoyable. Food was plentiful and tasty and we really liked the pool area. Thank you for looking after my daughter and I so well.

I have just returned from a weeks stay at the Hotel Biondi (booked via Newmarket holidays) and had a wonderful stay. The room was cleaned every day and was lovely and cool. Very much appreciated with the recent heatwave. The swimming pool is a lovely size with plenty of seating. Breakfast and evening meals were of very good quality with many choices. All of the staff were so lovely and nothing was too much trouble. The ladies on reception spoke amazing English, which put me to shame ! I would definitely recommend this hotel who wants to visit Montecatini.

Great very friendly hotel , great room with a swimming pool, all the staff were very friendly and couldn’t do for us , food was good , would definitely stay there again , it’s in a good location, near a lot of restaurants , it’s also in a great town with lots of things to do