CDH Parma and Congressi

This is the worst place we have ever stayed. The hotel itself is nice emough but the service is the worst ever. Where do I even start? The room we had was nice, a poolside upgrade (we are Platinum Elite) and spacious, with decent internet so I could work in the room. Unfortunately, on the third night we were here, the staff put a couple with a small child right next to us who checked in at around 4am, and we had to endure an insane level of banging, crashing, crying, MORE banging, and the loud sound of running water (and then more banging) for an hour, before we finally gave up and asked reception to intervene. All they did was give us keys to a room two doors down where we could get a couple of hours sleep (yeah, right!) before my husband had to get up and go to work, on a complex job. In the morning, despite using a good translation app on my phone, I literally could not make the housekeping staff understand the simple fact that we did not need room service, as I was trying to relax and catch up on some sleep. They wouldn't listen, and insisted very strongly on coming in anyway, to clean a room that didn't need it. We hadn't really used anything because we hadn't slept! The door to the fridge cabinet was busted. There were ants everywhere in our room. After a storm on the third night, the pool needed cleaning, and the level of chlorine used was way too high. It wasn't comfortable to swim in it. At breakfast, every morning, by 9am they had run out of something. On the second morning, a service that was meant to serve a full breakfast until 10am had run out of bacon before 9, and I was told that I "could have some if I wanted it but it would take 15 minutes to cook more" so I was left with the choice of having cold eggs and hot bacon, or lukewarm eggs and no bacon. Part way through the third day, I went to reception and asked to speak to a manager. Nobody was available (!?) and even though I was at the hotel all day, nobody came to speak to me about my concerns. I chased that up around 7pm and was told that the manager had gone home "five minutes ago" and we could either have 50% off for a night with hardly any sleep, or the manager would talk to us in the morning. Nobody was able to explain why it wasn't good enough on the same day I raised my concerns, for him to find me and speak to me. On our last (4th) night, there was a function two doors along, and when it finished at 10.30pm the doors opened right next to our room, and music blared out at full volume. All we wanted from life at that point was a decent night's sleep, after having so little the night before. I don't know who in their right mind would put a noisy family a couple of doors along from where people are trying to sleep because they have work the next day, in the middle of the night. I also don't know in whose mind it is okay to have music blaring from a function at half past ten on a week night when the hotel has people in it who have to go to work in the morning. We were booked to stay here again in a couple of weeks, but we will cancel because it is just too ridiculous to imagine we can sleep properly here, or that management care enough to address any issues. This is, without question, the worst IGH experience we have had in all the years we have been members. Being here is so much of a nightmare, I would rather gouge my own eyeballs out than stay here again.

I stayed at this hotel for work. The walls between the rooms on the first floor practically do not exist. My neighbor was snoring and I could hear him from my bed. I could practically say good night and have a quiet conversation without screaming. It would all have been heard...

一來到 Parma 這一個中部的城市，我們就下榻酒店兼在酒店吃晚餐了。這酒店《Hotel Parma & Congressi》，也是當地的一個會議中心，所以冠名 "Congressi" 。是一間主要接待商務客及團隊旅客的大型酒店。 我們住了一個晚上，half board，也就是所謂的一泊兩食。 《Hotel Parma & Congressi》是一間很大的酒店。單是那巨形的 hotel lobby，已經令大家知道，這是一個有個巨形 ballroom，可以辦大宴會，辦大型展覽。如其名 "Congressi" 是一間有會議 function 的酒店。 不一會，房間就安排好了。一入到睡房，其寬敞的空間，係會立即令人感喜悅的。之不過，酒店房間內的一切，看起來好像很舊，而且有一些塑膠的東西早已經發黃。 不過，單是房間同浴室的空間感已經令人感開心及舒適。那老酒店的舊味道，就沒所謂了。反正，只是住一晚。 雖說只是睡一晚，但也要有質素的睡眠啊。當我們看見兩張方方正正的床，按下去也是硬中帶軟的。而我們疲倦地睡了一個晚上之後，改天一清早，的確是精神奕奕啊。 更令大家精神奕奕的，就是一打開酒店房間的窗，就是陽光充足，兼綠油油的農田，此時，真的想打開窗，感受一下清晨的新鮮空氣。 之後要說的，就是這酒店的餐飲了。首先，我們在晚餐的時段來到。 當我們一進場，大家就被一個切火腿機吸引了。畢竟，我們身在的地方叫 Parma，這一個 Parma Ham 切割機，看起來有點古老，所以，也吸引我們眾團友圍著他來打卡。然後，導遊走過來，快埋位了，晚餐已經準備好。 而是日的晚餐，是比較 light 的，因為，只有一個 course。是日的晚餐，就是雞扒配烤薯。。今餐看起來，份量雖然不多，但沿途都珍饈百味的我們，立即覺得這一餐的份量剛剛好。 此外，雞扒是純瘦的雞胸肉，當我們一刀切入去時，就已經 feel 到這雞肉的嫩滑感。然而，雞肉同烤薯，只是用上了鹽來增強味道，感覺就是既簡單又可口。 餐後，有一份甜品。這是一個大眾化版的 Tiramisu。只有朱古力味，蛋糕味同 cream 味道。雖然不正宗，但勝在沒有咖啡味，也沒有酒味，是老少咸宜的版本。 改日睡醒，一下來，就是豐富的自助早餐時段了。由於 Parma 是一個火腿之都，所以，酒店有好多不同種類的 Ham 可供選擇的啊。 除豐富的 Ham 之外，yogurt 的選擇也是多姿多彩的。連牛奶也有兩種不同的選擇。可以說是，意大利，甚至是整個歐洲，都是乳製品的天堂。 意大利，甚至是整個歐洲，除了是乳製品天堂之外，也是麵包的天堂。而酒店提供的麵包，包括牛角包，選擇多到令人 "包多眼亂"。 然後去到熟食區，雖只有煙肉同炒蛋，但已經足夠美味，可讓我們高興地夾麵包。 最後巡視的是飲品，有咖啡，有果汁之餘，仲有一部水機。水檮的其中一個 option 是 "Frizzante"，也就是有氣的水。而我就裝了一瓶，在路上喝。 熱食的一 part，我就是煙肉炒蛋配牛角包。煙肉，是美式的脆煙肉，感覺上就是美中有不足。而炒蛋就是十分的香了。把煙肉炒蛋夾在牛角包內一起吃，是份外的香口啊。 凍食的一 part，就是 Parma Ham。後來才知道，不是所有有 Parma 生產的 Ham 都是 Parm Ham。而我們吃到的，相信，是真的 Parma Ham，但不是最頂級的。但好味的程度，已經被酒店的所有客人瘋搶。 在意大利，早上當然要飲咖啡啦。一杯濃濃的 Double Espresso，就是整天的精神所需。 縱使這酒店的確是舊了一點，但這一晚的確是睡得好。而且晚餐同早餐又吃得好。Location 方面，就沒所謂了，因為跟團，一出門口就上旅遊巴。如我是一名開車來的自駕遊旅客，這酒店是可以考慮的。