Hotel Lugano Torretta

The decor is a bit dated, but the location is excellent. It's very close to the train station and super convenient for getting to the island.

The hotel isn't far from the train station; it's within walking distance, and public transport is also convenient. Although the room is small, the overall facilities are pretty good, and the breakfast is simple but decent.

Check-in time was right on the dot. I arrived an hour early and was able to get into my room exactly on time. The twin room had a spacious bathroom, which was a nice plus. Overall, it wasn't bad.

This hotel is terrible! Everything about it was absolutely awful! It doesn't deserve even one star, let alone four! **Location:** It's located behind the Venedig Mestre train station in Venice. You have to go through an underpass that's dark, smelly, and covered in urine. Parts of the ground are badly damaged, making it very inconvenient with luggage. It's especially scary at night! 😱 **Front Desk Staff:** The two staff members I encountered were both indifferent, and their foreign language skills were poor. They also lied through their teeth! During check-in, they didn't mention at all that the entire building's air conditioning system was broken and wouldn't be fixed until June/July. Such a critical issue wasn't prominently displayed on the booking platform, nor was it proactively communicated during check-in! Changing hotels on a Saturday night wasn't an option. After a tiring day exploring Venice, and having dinner, I simply didn't have the energy to deal with moving rooms. The room was uninhabitable, but the hotel staff refused to issue a full refund. **Room:** The room temperature was 30 degrees Celsius. In early April, the maximum daytime temperature in Venice is around 18 degrees, and at night, it's about 10 degrees! When I brought up the issue with the front desk, I was informed that all rooms had the same problem, and they couldn't switch my room because the hotel was fully booked! Only after I insisted repeatedly did they reluctantly bring me a fan, but the room was hot and stuffy, so the fan didn't do much good. Opening the window let in mosquitoes and moths. I could also hear the traffic noise from the street! After complaining to my booking platform, Trip.com, the hotel miraculously "found" another room for me, but it was also a scorching 27 degrees Celsius. I couldn't sleep the entire night! The soundproofing of the room was also terrible; I could clearly hear the baby crying in the next room, and also the sound of toilets flushing and showers running in other rooms! **Breakfast:** The restaurant staff were quite pleasant. However, the breakfast selection was limited, and the quality was poor! It couldn't compare to the breakfast at other four-star hotels!

The location is quite convenient, about a 10-15 minute walk to the train station, and there are bus stops nearby. There's no kettle, and all drinks in the mini-fridge, including a 500ml bottle of mineral water, cost 1.5 euros. The tray only has two glass cups, with no free coffee or tea for brewing. Even though I never use them, their absence makes the hotel seem cheap. The only saving grace was that the restaurant staff downstairs were very nice and willing to fill my thermos with hot water. There was only toilet paper, no facial tissues. This is the stingiest four-star hotel I've ever stayed in. I had already paid the full room rate, but upon check-in, they insisted on scanning my passport and credit card together for their records. Luckily, I had covered my security code beforehand. I don't understand why this rundown place needed to keep a credit card on file, probably for those overpriced drinks in the fridge? I'd been traveling for ten days, and all other hotels only required an additional city tax payment. This old-fashioned place was the only one that insisted on a credit card deposit.