Relais Villa Valfiore

Very nice hotel an easy half-hour drive to Bologna with lovely spacious classically decorated rooms, friendly service, a big refreshing pool set in lovely shady grounds, and a very good casual and convivial restaurant. The only deficit was the weak AC---which in the very hot August weather did not entirely cool the rooms at night even when set as low as possible. A fan helped, but there was only one, so our adult kids in the second room had a somewhat uncomfortable night. No AC was on in the public areas of the hotel, either, nor in the restaurant. It would have been nice to have been able to opt to stay cool in the indoor breakfast room, for example.....I did discover as we left one large vacant room in the basement, next to the parking garage, which seemed intended for use at business meetings though no business meetings were occurring, airconditioned to a blessedly cool termperature for no apparent reason. Why not cool a pubic space that guests could enjoy, instead?

We enjoyed one night at the Relais after landing in Bologna. The hotel was a 25 minute drive from the Bologna airport and was easy to find using Google Maps. It was nice to have covered parking for the car. Our room was the ground floor of a small outbuilding, and it was very charming. The amenities might be a little dated, but everything was clean and functioned well. We didn't use the pool as the weather was too cold during our visit. I don't think the pool is heated. There was more traffic noise that I expected considering the hotel isn't off the highway, but the road by the hotel seems to service a popular gardening center and I think there's a good bit of agricultural vehicles driving by. I arranged for us to have dinner at the hotel's restaurant. It was surprisingly packed (it's a large restaurant) with mostly Italian families. The food was good, but nothing out of the ordinary by Italian standards. Overall, considering the price point, the hotel is good value for money.

After purchasing a car in Germany, we started 4-day drive to Rome, stopping in Bologna on the 3rd nighr. Villa Valfiore was the perfect place for us, right off the Autostrada, in the farmland right outside Bologna. The old house has been perfectly restored in modern style, but without losing its charm. The hotel has covered free parking, and the rooms are classic, high-end Euopean style. The restaurant is a lively, family-fruendly place, very populat with the locals. We loved the pizza and enjoyed their impressive selection of Italian dark beers I would recommend this place for families looking for comfotable, first-class accommodations and full amenities.