Hotel Italia

Easy to locate, near from tourist spot, very friendly staff

I made the mistake of staying at Hotel Italia because it was one of the few hotels in Trieste that still had rooms available at the last minute. That was the first warning sign. The second red flag was the less than gracious welcome that I received from the nighttime desk clerk and a badly-dressed ruffian who I was told was the hotel’s security but looked like he was just released from prison. The poor manners of the staff weren’t limited to them - the morning clerks were just as rude. The place looks, feels and smells more like a hostel than a 3-star hotel. The hotel entrance - it can’t even really be called a lobby - is shabby, dim and ill-maintained. My room was no better, with scuff marks on the walls, depressing faux-wood furniture and cheap curtains. The television screen had fingerprints on it and the toilet seat cover was covered in marks/engrained stains. The breakfast was a small selection of not-fresh, highly-processed low quality crap that makes you think “maybe I’m not hungry this morning after all.” Normally, for an experience this low caliber I would have expected to pay 60-80 euros at most. At the Hotel Italia it costs a whopping 141 euros for one person. If you like overpaying for a stay that will leave you feeling depressed, taken advantage of and a little unhygienic then Hotel Italia is the place for you. Otherwise find someplace - anyplace - else.

We found this cosy hotel well priced and oh so quiet and certainly a 5 star rating for the price. All the staff spoke excellent English and were unfailingly courteous. There’s a lift that helps if you have heavy luggage to manage. I think we paid around £80 a night for two and their help yourself breakfast came in at less than a fiver each. Brekky was ace - great coffee, juices, hams and cheeses, 3/4 varieties of jams, croissants, fresh fruit, cereals, yogurts and I’m sure I’ve left stuff out. The bedroom was well furnished, the shower could get to super hot and the entire place was spic & span clean. It’s pretty central and a 5 or so minute walk to the James Joyce statue in one direction and about the same the other way to the main Trieste train station. But now I must note my gratitude to the folks who work here. This was 5 star priceless. I arrived here weak and ill, discharged from a local Trieste hospital after 40 hours, having been food poisoned on an MSC cruise ship and dispatched from their ship hospital (where I was very well treated) to the hospital. My wife on the other hand was left by MSC to struggle on the dockside as the Armonia sailed away, just as the sun set, with most of our luggage still aboard. That’s a whole other story and we did re - board ship a week later in Venice. The only reason the ship docked in Trieste was high winds in Venice. On early morning arrival here from hospital to check-in we were offered cappuccinos and pastries while our room was prepared and it turned out these were complimentary. They knew we were coming and that I’d been hospitalised. Thereafter they helped us beyond our ability in words to thank them for all their kindnesses. I mean if Italy has an honours system for those who help others these gentle people deserve to be top of the list. One day I needed a doctor to get a fit to travel certificate and the young man at reception put in 14 phone calls for me including waiting on call backs. Over an hour later he achieved what I needed - just pause to think about this - over an hour and he dealt with other calls and guests too. What he did we simply could not have achieved by ourselves. My wife and I were just stunned at this humanity which came with a smile. Then he announced he needed a coffee and promptly proceeded to make all three of us cappuccinos offering fruit and pastries again all on the house. They translated for us, including medical papers, organised many taxi rides including one to Venice and could not have done more. So we can’t recommend here strongly enough. We truly were in great need and they delivered 100% and y’know we’ll never forget the humanity and all we could do was say thank you and we said it a lot.

breakfast was very good, excellent coffee, clean room, friently staff

Walkable from central train station.

The whole stay was enjoyable. Hotel location was great and the Hotel Italia team of people gave excellent service!

Only stayed the first of two night after securing better accommodations. While the hotel appears to be well run and clean, the property is badly out of date. It’s possible this was a *** hotel 40 years ago, but find it impossible to rate it as anything more than a ** in its present condition (I would not have booked if advertised properly as such.) While I could not object to it as a ** hotel, it’s not suitable for travelers who prefer better appointed rooms. Also, I refused to register for WiFi access — it’s not free if it costs me my personal information.