112170 5 Location 625632 <p>I've just completed a 6-night stay in the Mini Hotel Baradello in Como, Italy, and I have absolutely nothing but fantastic things to say about it. It's Hotel quality as a Hostel price.<br /><br />The front desk staff is very friendly and helpful - they shift regularly, but after a few days you'll find you recognize them all just as they recognize you.<br /><br />The rooms themselves are quite spacious by European standards - we were expecting a typical tiny room, but our room was the size of any room at a standard American chain hotel. The beds were easily movable, and the room included desk space and plenty of shelves and closet space. The bathroom was quite spacious too, and the air conditioning worked beautifully (almost too well!). Our room had a tiny balcony as well - not suitable for actually spending time on, but excellent for letting in some outside air and ambience. The room itself was as clean as can be - the carpet was a bit faded, but there was nothing that one could justifiably complain about.<br /><br />The included breakfast is surprisingly bountiful - it consists of cereal, crossaints and rolls, along with excellent cheese and butter spreads, jams, and complimentary coffee and juice. The cheese was among the best I've ever had.<br /><br />Every room is equipped with a phone and TV - right there head-and-shoulders over hostels in the area - as well as Internet access for a daily fee. The fee is high, but matches that of every other hotel I've seen in Europe.<br /><br />The hotel lies in a fairly urban area, right off Piazza Camerlata, and so traffic noise can be a minor problem if you plan to sleep late. And as others have mentioned, the hotel does lie a fair distance away from the lake itself, but travel to the lake is simple - the #1 bus line stops right outside the hotel and runs straight to the lake itself. It runs every 10 minutes or so, and takes only 10 minutes to get to the lake. The out-of-the-way location also provides a nicely non-touristy feel, and the restaurants are much more competitively priced than those nearer downtown.<br /><br />Overall, our experience at the Mini Hotel Baradello was fantastic by any standards - but introduce the incredibly low nightly rate, and it's in a class of its own. It's cheaper than any Hostel I found in Como for the same time period, but yet it's most certainly a Hotel through and through. I highly recommend the Mini Hotel Baradello to absolutely anyone.</p> 2009-06-07T02:06:14-07:00 589299895 2009-06-01T00:00:00-07:00 0 0 286470 112170 0 0.0 2009-06-01T00:00:00-07:00 0.0 2009-06-07T02:07:18-07:00 121223 0