“Nice base for travel”
The hotel Ramada Encore Bologna is a modern, well run hotel situated on the outskirts of Bologna. Easy access into Bologna via the local bus service (No.25) with a stop right outside the hotel. We had 2 rooms which were finished to a very good standard with the bathrooms especially nice. All staff were mainly very nice and also very helpful. We stayed bed and breakfast with the breakfast being reasonable, consisting of fruit, yoghurts, cereals, cakes, bread rolls cold meats and cheese, along with bacon (pancetta) and eggs (scrambled). My only gripe was that if you got down late items were not replenished but overall the breakfast was satifactory. We had a problem with the air-con in our room and the staff were very good and gave us a new room without question. All in all I would stay there again (although not in Biologna in August) - we used it as a base to travel around, taking in Rome, Florence, Venice, Rimini and Modena. The bus stops directly outside the train station!
Area recommendations
OK. Bologna. In August. Very very quiet. We booked 10 days with the intention of travelling to Rome, Venice and Florence, but also ended up going to Rimini and Modena because Bologna was very quiet. We were warned this may happen so we cant grumble. Towards the end of the holiday the city started to liven up and we could start to see it as it normally is. The Piazza Maggiore is the centre of activity and is very beautiful. The main shopping areas are Via Ugo Bassi and Via Dell'Independenza with an indoor food market just off Ugo Bassi all days bar Sunday (mornings). The food is very nice but be warned - most restaurants want a cover charge AND service charge which we find very wrong - why should you pay to give someone your custom, and if the service is good I will tip anyway? We found a lovely cafe/bar on Via Dell'Independenza on the left hand side as you walk south towards Maggiore - cant remember the name but salads to die for and lovely pastries - all displayed for you to pick. Found a great bar/pub called The Bounty on Via Delle Moline - geat food, geat beer (including the ultimate 'Steins' (1 Litre of beer!) and great cocktails. The lunch menu is great value and there is NO cover/service charge. Quick review of other cities: Venive - magnificent, Rome - awesome, Florence - very nice but it rained all day. Rimini - lovely beach. Modena - it was even quieter than Bologna! Overall we had a geat holiday, would go back to Bologna but not in July/August and only for a day.
