Guest User
August 20, 2023
Great location on the water, lovely grounds, there is some splendour and grandeur and even a surprise sideways elevator here - which is a trip! We booked a reasonably priced comfort room for two, which turned out to be in the conference area waay in the back of the hotel - known here as "mountain view" - which on the second floor means a view of some brush and unkempt grounds. Room was clean, but very dated and cluttered with massive furniture, and really needing a reno and basic hotel mod cons like sufficient USB and electrical plugs. Wifi is capped and so-so. Even the pillows seemed deflated. And there was some kind of unnamable pervasive floral scent that had us airing the room out the whole time we were there. I woke up in the night to find great huge centipede on the wall. Yeah. The breakfast was good and on par with what you'd expect in a big hotel. There's a nice big outdoor pool but we didn't try it. The hotel parking is "self" and unattended but ample and easy, especially for Italy. Staff was attentive and helpful, but somehow lacking. We had a messy cleaning cart parked right in front of our room the entire stay, and some common areas and stations inside and outside seemed understaffed and abandoned. Which makes the 5 percent service charge they quietly tack onto your bill at check out really a stretch. Just ask if it's mandatory and you will find it is optional. Maybe the hotel is still suffering the lingering effects of the covid downturn. And maybe the main part of the hotel is in much better spirits. I really wanted to like the Bristol. I really wanted to happily pay the service charge. This stay left me wishing I had seen the Grand Hotel Bristol in better days - it must have been really something.