Parking Hotel Giardino

Stayed a weekend in this hotel for work and I enjoyed rooms a bit 'dated but always tidy and clean for breakfast really organizes well and with a wide choice from sweet or savory

This place was a disgrace with virtually no redeeming features. It was dirty and rundown. Plugs were hanging out of the walls with their wires visible and there was an unpleasant smell of stale, strong tobacco smoke throughout. The bathroom door in my room not only had no lock, but where it should have been there was simply a hole in the door. The owner, who is at least 15 years past retirement age, makes Basil Fawlty look like Mary Poppins! When I first arrived he yelled at me in Italian for parking in a marked parking space outside the hotel then, when he directed me to a parking space in an area of adjacent scrubland he went apoplectic when I parked one side of a car already there when he wanted me to go the other side. I can only say it’s a good job I didn’t understand what he was saying. There is a bar advertised, but it remained closed throughout our stay. No matter, we did not want to spend more time than was absolutely necessary in this appalling dump. The breakfast was barely adequate, mainly sweet offerings gathered round an old hotplate sitting sadly unused in the middle of the breakfast fare. I opened only to find all the inner workings removed. Why leave it there? When we arrived for breakfast, there was someone sitting in the breakfast room smoking so we went outside to some tables and chairs overlooking the scrubland where our car was parked only to find the chairs wet from a leaking air conditioner. Finally, and here’s a real red flag, some six weeks before our due arrival I stated getting a series of emails purportedly from the hotel asking for payment. I checked with booking.com and, after three attempts, they responded stating do not pay it there is some suspicious activity on the hotel’s account and advising me to change my password. Fast forward to the day after I left the property (I honestly can’t call it a hotel) and I got an email from the owner. It was foul and abusive saying that there was nothing wrong with his internet connection and that he has two-tier ID so could anything possibly go wrong. He clearly doesn’t understand what being hacked is all about! By the same token, don’t use the wifi. If you want a trip back to the underbelly of 1950’s Italy then fine, otherwise do not go near this place.

Hotel found by “accident” thanks to the Internet and was really a pleasant discovery. Great for visiting Livorno, close to the port and close to Mascagni terrace. The structure is a bit dated but equipped with every comfort starting from the parking that for customers is free, in the room there is a mini bar with water available (which not everyone offers). Breakfast varies both sweet and savory and that you can do as early as 6 am. Complete all owners very kind and helpful. We hope to return soon!