Hotel Antares - Verona

Smelly unwelcoming

I accompanied my parents and sister during the Labor Day holidays for a prolonged weekend in Italy.The trip was nice but somewhat shadowed by my experience with this hotel.

The hotel itself is on the main road of Villafranca di Verona.It is virtually in the middle of an industrial zone so don't expect anything than car dealerships,furniture saloons and plumbing shops.I walked over 45 minutes in the direction of the town but I didn't reach the center,it's too far away.There are almost no pavements so you have to hike along to road so be careful.You'll only find one Greek restaurant but it didn't seem anything special.Near the hotel is a some kind of a museum with planes and cars but I never caught it during the working hours.There is a warehouse/supermarket maybe 15 minutes from the hotel if you want to buy some beverages,food or supplies since the vending machines only offer the smallest bottles with higher prices.So,no night life from here by foot,I don't know about taxis,I haven't seen any.Be prepared to see empty streets with hardly anyone there,only cars passing by.So,if you don't want to sit in your room or the half-empty cafe,try to find a taxi to take you to Verona or somewhere else...If you have your own car,you are not far away from the Gardaland theme park,Safari park or Verona so it could be a fabulous vacation...

The hotel building looks nice with a pool I didn't try.The chicken farms and hotel horse stables (horseback riding is available for an extra price) are close by so you can smell them,especially if you leave your room window opened.

It turned out that my travel agency made a mistake and instead of two double rooms,they booked one double plus 2 extra beds.I was outraged because the hotel staff didn't really care and just gave me the keys and I was left on my own.After consulting my agency travel guide I had to move rooms three nights in a row due to their "full schedule".The staff in the restaurant was pretty unwelcoming.They turned off the juice machines so we had to buy drinks during dinner.Water was three times more expensive than in the supermarket (3€),not to mention the drinks.After each order,they came to charge us like we are going to run away.They were pretty rude,didn't speak any English and tried to cheat on us several times by "forgetting to give us our change" and by changing prices.So,a big minus to the staff...

On the other hand,the rooms were really great and very,very clean.They are modern with SAT-TV with pay-per-view (only three English-speaking channels showing the same reruns all over again),mini-bar and central AC.My first room had a jacuzzi bath together with a separate shower while the other one didn't although they're in the same category.You'll find free water bottles in your mini-bar every day.The AC sometimes acted weird so the rooms were very hot since I couldn't open my windows because of the smell.The hallways are pretty dark and you have no balcony.

The food was passable,nothing special.You'll have typical continental breakfast which was sometimes strange because they used the hardened bread from the previous day.You have pasta,potatoes,fish,salads,and meat (I don't know which kind) for dinner to choose from plus a couple of cakes and puddings do choose from.

Unique Quality: The rooms are really nice and very clean.You can relax here or by the pool which has a nice cafe.