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Gubbio option – central and lovely
(Haha, only after my trip I found out that I have stayed in a hotel group twice during my central Italy travels – the other one was the Collegio Gentile in Fabriano, Marche).
When I arrived in Gubbio, I was a bit exhausted from the road traffic, it was late afternoon (around 7 pm) and I only wanted a bed without much searching. I found Piazza 40 Martiri, parked the car and set out to look what was nearby. Luckily, Hotel Gattapone was near and also looked nice. Obviously April is not a very popular month for travellers – during the 3 nights I stayed here I was twice the only guest and had many nice and interesting chats with the night porter.
The room was big and faced the lovely terrace (photo 5), but due to the cloudy and cold weather I didn’t sit outside (well, next time). I especially liked the bathroom, as it had heated floor tiles, which came handy after my daily walks in the crisp weather. I also didn’t freeze, as the room heating was excellent and I could also use spare thick blankets. TV and minibar are available. No coffee/tea making facility though.
Breakfast was more than the typical Italian croissants – selections of cheese and cold cuts were available, as well as cereals, orange juice and joghurt. The coffee was freshly made and very delicious (but then again I was in Italy…).
The hotel has 16 rooms and two suites on 3 floors (elevator available). It is prepared for handicapped (see bathroom photo), but then I tried to imagine how people in wheelchairs would be able to manage the steep streets which often even have tiny stairs. I liked my stay here very much, because the staff was very friendly and helpful and I got so many interesting tips for sightseeing and background information from “my” night porter. And the whole ambience was cosy as well.
Although the hotel is located in a dead end side street and is quiet, the bell clock of Palazzo dei Consoli has a very strange rhythm – it rings every 15 minutes and tells the hour as well (4:15 p.m. for example is one ring for the 15 minutes, followed by 16 rings for the hour) – so if you are not used to this, bring earplugs.
I paid 70 Euro per night for my double room with single occupancy (April 2008).
Location of Hotel Gattapone on Google Maps.
© Ingrid Denne, March 2009 (just in case, RS or others come along and think they can steal texts).
