B&B Gioia

Only one night. Clean, close to the centre, it has shared bathrooms and showers during the busiest periods... their use is a bit chaotic. Parking available but for a fee until 8pm.

The other excellent reviews are spot-on. Sam greeted us when we arrived shortly after noon and offered us coffee and tea. These beverages, fruit, and slices of homemade cake are available all day. The rooms are large and clean and decorated in a modern style. We stayed for more than a week in early November. Pooya is a wonderful host and provided suggestions for visiting nearby towns, including suggesting whether to use the bus or train, and providing the schedule since these were towns we had not planned to visit. Breakfast included a large variety of breads, rolls, and croissants, hard-boiled eggs, slices of meat and cheese, tomato, cucumber, olives and pickles, apple juice or orange juice prepared with a juicer, cereals with milk, yogurt, dates, prunes, and an almond/walnut/raisin mix, fresh bananas, apples, and pears, and any variety of tea, coffee, or chocolate you could want. We were quite impressed with the spread of food on the countertops each morning. The rolls and croissants were slightly different each morning. There was a large table that could comfortably seat 8 people. We stayed in the bedroom with the private bathroom just outside our door. It was not a problem to come and go to the bathroom with our bathrobes. The bedroom was huge (maybe 20’ by 20’) with a queen-sized bed and a huge “schrank”/armoir for our closet with hangers provided. There were small bedside tables, a small desk and a TV. At night we lowered the rolling shutters so we had complete darkness from outside. The bathroom was also large, with a spa-shower. We enjoyed great hot water and nice towels. The hall was large and well lit. The living room had an office area for Pooya at the end, where he could work during breakfast and be available if any of his guests had questions. The rest of the living room had a large TV, sofa and comfortable chairs, and a coffee table with hard candies. We felt safe walking from the train station to the B&B. We used all three approaches. (1) We came through the train’s tunnel that provides access to the tracks and preferred turning right, then going down the short alley that was used by pedestrians, bicyclers, and a few autos, to Via Pietro Liberi, the street with the B&B. A left turn onto the street took us past apartment houses, the trash bins for the neighborhood, the police station, a hotel, and then to the B&B. (2) A left turn after surfacing from the railroad station’s tunnel took us past more businesses to a busy street. Then a right turn past more businesses and a right onto the B&B’s street, Via Pietro Liberi. The B&B was less than a block away. (3a) From the train station it is possible to go out the front of the station and turn right, walk up the steps to the big street, go right on the big street continuing on the bridge over the tracks and then right again on Via Pietro Liberi to the B&B. With suitcases, this is not a good option. (3b) Once you are settled at the B&B, if you are using the tram to come and go to the tourist sites, there is a tram stop 2 blocks from the B&B. From the B&B turn left and walk the short block to the big street, then turn right and the tram stop is just past the circle/round-about. This was a very comfortable walk. During our week’s stay, we talked with our host and his family more than we usually do at Bed and Breakfast establishments. I think we can say we made new friends. Our conversations covered many topics, and they patiently talked slowly in Italian so we could practice and improve our meager Italian. However, his English is excellent. We would definitely return again. Pooya has a continuing list of places for us to visit!

This was one of the best locations we stayed at on our trip. The hosts were amazing. We had a late arrival and they were very accommodating. The breakfast was beautiful, fresh, and abundant. This was a great value with free parking and a large spacious room.