Hotel Ideale - Bologna

This was our first time at the Albergo Ideale and we were quite satisfied. It took some driving (backtracking b/c of one-way streets) but we found it. The staff had little English but were helpful re parking, restaurants, and how to operate the TV. They turned on the fridge so we could have cold water the next day. The room was clean, bigger than we expected, bathroom very clean with toiletries. There was no public area. Guests should know that this is in a very ethnically-diverse area but is safe and fairly quiet later in the evening. It was a short walk (15 minutes) to the train station, and near to bus lines and shopping. We would recommend the nearby restaurant, Nonna Aurora, for great Bolognese food and helpful staff.

small hotel with 8 big rooms. every day the staff clean the room. the hotel is 10 min walking from train station and its easy to find the hotel.Near the hotel you can find bakery,cafe and small market.

The area surrounding the hotel is not really attractive but it is only a short 5 min walk to a nice large street with restaurants and shops. Furthermore the staff is flexible and speaks English.

Hotel Ideale was an excellent choice. Both the Bologna Train Station and the City Center where all the old buildings were, were within walking distance. The staff was friendly and helpful although only the man who owned the hotel spoke any English. All in all, Hotel Ideale was a good place to stay.

I don't understand why that albergho has only 1 star. It is much more worthed!

It was a bit difficult to find at first. I had read to turn left at the first stop after the bridge, but that got me lost. I had more luck going straight, underneath the verandas, until I found a sign pointing to Hotel Ideale. I think I turned left at a store called Something & Cotton. Maybe Pane & Cotton? The people running the hotel were very kind. They gave me bottled water, and a larger room when I asked to upgrade. The man helped me set up my wireless internet, and was very attentive. He also drove me to the station the following morning, which was great, because it was very hot. The room was spacious and had a great shower. There was an air conditioner in the room which came in very handy. The complimentary beverages and snacks in the room were abundant and quite tasty. Especially the lemon tea. I would certainly return to Ideale, and recommend it to anyone. Just try to get a more detailed map to arrive. Also, there is a pizza place nearby which serves a variety containing hot dog slices and french fries. It was odd, but strangely satisfying.

The staff were very helpful and friendly and accommodated a very late arrival time. The room was spacious. No air conditioning but there was a big window that could be left open (this explains my quietness rating - there was noise from the surrounding buildings that was audible because the window was open but the hotel itself was quiet). There is a staircase that can't be avoided but it's fine if you don't have heavy luggage. The location is okay - easy enough to walk to the railway station/aerobus/bus station or historical centre. For a budget, it's absolutely fine and I'd stay there again.

I enjoyed my stay in Ideale hotel.I was nicely surprised that there is such good interior and good quality of service for a hotel which is just one star.

Great location, Free Wi-Fi (encrypted). Staff are very friendly and kind. Room is very clean and comfortable. Bathroom is also very clean. The hotel is located in quiet residential area. So I felt relaxed. I will definitely stay here next time to Bologna.

The hotel was very clean and the staff we really helpful and friendly. One member of staff was English speaking. If you are going to the trade show area it is only about 20 minutes walk away. There are no communal areas or places to eat in the hotel. The area close to the hotel is quite residential.

Pleasantly surprised. Hotel is right in the middle of where it is happeneing and right on top of the metro and cabs

We spent two nights here. Map provided was poor. Location was reasonably close to train station and bus service to the center of Bologna. When we checked in the woman at the check-in counter seemed more concerned with getting paid for the room than anything else, but other people there were more welcoming and helpful.

After reading both the good and the bad reviews of the Ideale, I decided to take a chance on it since I was in the mood to save a little money and wanted to be close to the train station. I was not disappointed and can say definitely that the bad reviews are out of date. The Ideale has been very recently renovated. It looks brand new with sparkling tile floors, fresh paint, and modern fixtures. There were even nice paintings on the walls. I opted for a room with a shared bathroom, which was very nice and immaculately clean. I seemed to be the only one using it. I don’t know how the number of stars a hotel receives is determined but this one-star was better than many of the two-star places I stayed. I had a clean, spacious room with a big bed, sink, desk, table for luggage, and wardrobe. There was even a refrigerator in the room. My window looked out onto a quiet garden. Towels, hand towels, soap, and shampoo were provided. It is located in a residential area. There were nearby restaurants and a market with superb fruit two blocks down the street. The restaurant recommended by the guy in the hotel was really good. It took me almost exactly 10 minutes to walk to the train station. The historical center is another 10 minutes straight down Via dell’Independenza, which is not a bad walk under a portico with shops and restaurants almost the entire way. To find the hotel, take the bridge over the tracks from the train station, then take the first left. At the first real street you come to on the right you’ll see the signs that lead you right to the hotel. I was there on a hot evening in mid-July but had no trouble sleeping after asking for a fan. It’s a great value in an expensive city if you don’t mind being a little way from the center.

Excellent accueil, parfaites conditions matérielles,aide précieuse à l'occasion d'un désagrément subi à l'extérieur: recherche active de contacts téléphoniques urgents tels que banque et taxi. Bons conseils et indications claires concernant la ville de Bologna.

Buon rapporto qualità prezzo. Internet incluso in camera. Mi hanno offerto anche una bottiglia di acqua minerale. Personale molto amabile ed efficente. Solo un pò lontano dalla stazione. La camera aveva solo un pò di odore di fumo.Lo consiglio.

Nice people running the hotel and the room was good. Not a particularly picturesque area but about 20 minutes walk from centre.

Mi sono sistemata nel hotel Ideale con altri tre colleghi durante una settimana per partecipare nella Fiera del Libro per Ragazzi. L'ingresso all' albergo é molto modesto però le camere da letto sono confortevoli e pulite. Vicino all'albergo ci sono dei bar in cui fare una ottima colazione. E' molto comodo per la vicinanza alla fiera (ci si può andare a piedi). L'unico rimpianto é che una delle due camere (camera 1) ha un lettone doppio molto scomodo, che in realtà sono due letti uniti da un unico lenzuolo.

Near to the Fair and very simple to join by bus for Fair visitors!

Very clean bathroom but small (outside the single room nr 26)

Hotel Ideale is a small older style hotel about ten minutes walk to the centre of Bologna.The rooms are clean and comfortable and the owner spoke good English.He was also very helful in organising a train timetable for us.They do not serve breakfast but there are a number of small cafes nearby.

It's a very small hotel, the rooms have recently been redecorated. Our room was very clean. The bathroom was clean too and beds were comfortable. We've spent one night there for business.It's an excellent and cheap place, close to bologna's fair, perfect if you just want to sleep.

The room was far more bigger than expected and the bathroom was exceptionally clean. The free internet connection was a stupendos bonus. The room has a huge double bed and an additional bed. No problems if three are travelling.

If you need a cheap place where to stay, Ideale it's the "ideal hotel"!!

The price of the room was really good. You get what you pay for especially in Bologna.

Di passaggio a Bologna ci siamo fermati una notte in questo albergo perché è abbastanza vicino alla stazione e ha un buon rapporto qualità/prezzo. Il personale è molto gentile (grazie per il consiglio della pizzeria!). Peccato per l'ingresso un po' "sacrificato", rispetto ai validi lavori di ristrutturazione nel piano delle camere (belle le porte e il corridoio).

Very nicely renovated rooms, excellent bathroom with beautiful modern italian ceramics. Never before have I seen such a nice bathroom in a hotel. The rooms are not big but sufficiently furnished. Great: Internet via ADSL outlet (bring your LAN cable) and (!) WLAN (not encrypted). TV in room. No breakfast, only a coffee maker (Euro 0.60) and another machine for some biscuits and cold drinks. No lift, narrow stairway, not for handicapped persons or with very big sized luggage. I didn't find it immediately from the description coming by train. It is not on the main entrance side of the railway station. You need to cross the rails via the bridge, then you will find indications to the hotel. The room quality is at least 3 stars. Don't care about some negative votes, look how old they are! Things have definitely changed to the better.

I stayed one night in a single room which was clean and not too small. Staff is friendly but does not seem to speak too much English, did not have any serious problems though. The location is slightly further away from the station as expected but still in walking distance (take a map with you). Bathroom and shower was clean.

I travelled with my 15 year old son. The staff were unfriendly and unhelpful. They told us we had to be out of room by 10.00am, when it clearly stated Check out was 11.am. We did not feel welcomed at Hotel and couldnt wait to leave.

Two days too short for Bologna and all its treasures, please pay a visit to Papa Re's award-winning restaurant: affordable, stunning food and outstanding service, around the corner from Ideale

The hotel was slightly further from the station than suggested and a fair walk from the town centre but the area arund the hotel was interesting. In terms of value for money it was excellent. The room was very spacious for a hotel at this price. It was clean. The staff were friendly. Bologna is well worth a visit.

Close to central station. Very quiet. Only one problem: very hard to find without map.

The hotel has just been remodeled, very clean, large rooms, just a desk for reception area. Not walking distances to historic district but good bus connections. Neighborhood is a racial mix, not many restaurants but found a local gem with the desk clerks recommendation, Le Golosita di- Nonna Aurora. Nona Aurora is the chief and Max, her son, is the host. We where treated like family, it was a fabulous evening with the friends and families from the area. Aurora's traditional Italian cooking and Max's suggestions made for a memorable evening.

turn right and discover the surroundings of the hotel. food stores at night, a nice nearby parc, shady streets with trees; not that touristc. A reasonable distance to the center. 10 min. walk to station. We liked the intimacy and quietness. The lady at the reception was being very friendly and helpful.

The hotel is in a convenient location close to the train station. The hotel was very clean and the staff friendly and helpful. I communicated with them in Italian. However the room was very noisey with traffic during the day and fellow guests talking through the night which meant I didn't get any sleep on the night I spent here. The room was very warm, there was heating on in April so I had to open the windows not helping the noise. There ware no breakfast facilities other than a coffee machine in the corridor, but there's a bar next to the Hotel. Overal considering the price the Hotel is good value and convenient. I would probably consider this hotel again not during the hot summer and probably bring some ear plugs!

For someone on a budget, this is a nice place. Clean spacious rooms but bathrooms are common so kinda messy and could be cleaner. Have to carry everything to bathroom. No soap provided. We were a couple with a 8 yr old child and were asked to sleep on one queen sized bed.

Large, spacious room, brand-new bathrooms and convenient location to station make this a good budget choice for Bologna which can't compete with the major Italian tourist centres for quality, affordable accommodation and seasonal specials. Take the front desk's advice and eat at the local trattoria for a fun, un-touristy experience.

I was very well received and very kind treated. The room for tree persons was excellent.

We have been before in this hotel 2 times. At those two times the service and the room was perfect. The guy was very helpfhul. However at our last stay there was a different guy at the front desk, and he wasn't up to the job. Moreover our room was next to the shared bathroom, so it was very noisy, and the 3rd bed was poor quality.

I booked the single room which was small but had a TV, single bed, wardrobe, nightstand, and desk. There were 2 bathrooms directly across from my room. The view was amazing. I read the reveiws here before I went so I knew what to expect. When I checked in the guy at the front drove me to the other (better) location in his car. Again I read that here so I wasn't surprised. Directions: There is not a bridge over train station as mentioned anymore. There is however a staircase up to the street level near the last set of train tracks. I mapquested the directions before I left and they were exactly correct. Just print the mapquest before you go. Its about a 10 min walk from the train station but the other location is less than 1 block from the train station. You don't have to check out, you pay first and just leave the keys on the nightstand and be out by 11am. The price is cheap. I would stay here again.

its a small place where you can reach the center easily by bus or by foot. nice and helpfull people although they speak moslty just italian

I was annexed in God knows what since the hotel under reconstruction. Nice to know before ordering ...

We stayed at their other property, which was very close to both the bus and train stations. A good location and reasonably priced.

We were trasnported to another hotel similar to the Ideale but closer to the station as the original building was under renovation. Excellent service and a really clean room. Shared bathroom but that was spotless too.

i was at hotel ideale during the week of feb.8th - 11th.2006. my stay was excellent...the owner (Bruno) was a really nice guy. on the first day he was very friendly...he greeted myself and my friend very warmly and drove us to their alternate hotel site (an apartment building). if you can, book your room at their new apartment complex close to Central Stazione and the city centre...their home site on Via Elisabetta is much farther away (about a 20 minute longer walk away from Central Station and the city-centre). check-in was fast, quick...they don't speak much english but are fluent in italian/french/spanish...but a little english will get you by. the rooms were very clean and cleaned daily. the apartment has about 4 seperate bedrooms with a shared hallway/common-area and 2 shared bathrooms. both bathrooms are shared, are mostly un-occupied, very clean, one washroom is completely new...you get your own key for both the building and for your room and you don't even have to go back to their home site to check out..you can leave ur key in the room and say Ciao Bologna! overall an amazing hotel for the price and location. bologna is an Awesome city with tons to eat, see, do, shop if you're young and fond of cheap wine/beer to drink with the local students on cool nights. Thank you Hotel Ideale for the great experience. Ciao!

We stayed in another property of the same owners (called Bolognina, I think) because they were having Ideale renovated. So we don't know about Ideale! Anyway, our stay there was perfect, everything one asks for in a budget trip: price,cleanliness,facilities. highly recommended!

the hotel has other rooms at a different place, much nearer to the station (only 10 minutes walk)

Nice property, if all you're looking for is spending a night in a convenient location. Very cortuous, helpful staff! Highly recommended!

Very unconfortable beds, we ask for on double bed, we get two single bed. we had to pay for the room when we arrive. it is difficult to find the main house, cause our room was in another building... no breakfast, just a fridge, nothing to cook, no kitchen...

It is very basic but if you only need one night to stay then it is fine. I would not recommend it for longer stays. Very clean and owner was very friendly and helpful. Also, very close to the train station.

Nous n'avions même pas de draps de bain et nous devions faire avec une seule serviette chacune pour les quatre jours que nous sommes restées. Un conseil : prévoyez des gants et un ventilateur en été car la climatisation n'est pas installée et c'était une véritable fournaise dans la chambre : impossible de pouvoir dormir!!! Et de plus avec le bruit des voitures qui passaient juste en-dessous de nos fenêtres et la porte de notre chambre qui laissait passer la lumière du couloir puisque la partie du milieu de la porte était en verre : c'était l'enfer!!! Il faut aussi signaler que la douche tient par miracle ... Je pourrais continuer ainsi mais je trouve que ce que j'ai dit est déjà bien assez pour ne pas réserver une chambre dans cet hôtel qui ne mérite absolument pas ses deux étoiles !!!

The second time we stayed, we had a much nicer room- bigger and with a TV. THe first room we stayed in faced the main street and was very noisy. We tried to sleep with the windows closed to cut down on the noise but it was too hot. THe second room was more comfortable all around.

It was difficult to find as map on web site is not clear - go to the tourist information first and ask them to show you on a map before looking for it. English not spoken but very friendly and managed with pigeon French. Very large room,manageress brought a glass on limoncello apparitif to the room in the evening, very good value for money.

The hotel as several locations - maybe I got a bad one.

For the price you pay, you’re getting a good deal. We didn’t stay at the Hotel Ideale, but the apartments that were offered instead, although they seem to be a separate part of the same place. Being able to speak Italian or French would be very useful if you were to stay here, as the two ladies on reception couldn’t speak a word of English, although she was on the phone to a man who could. Fortunately enough, I can speak French, and we muddled through without this chap’s assistance. There was some initial confusion as the rooms in the hotel were available, but we were being offered alternate accommodation in the apartments. I still don’t know why this was on offer, but my best guess is that it was because we were a group and we’d be more ‘together’ in the apartments. At any rate, we were told we could still stay in the hotel if we didn’t like the apartment rooms. As it was, we accepted the apartment rooms and stayed there. It’s only about a five minute walk from the hotel itself, and is in a pretty good location, all considered. It took us about twenty minutes to walk to the central piazza Maggiore, so no great distance really. There’s a supermarket nearby (“Pam”) which was handy for drinks/food. Onto the landlady! As these apartments were designed to be private accommodation, not rented accommodation, the lady that owned the apartments lived in one of the rooms still. As a result, there was a curfew of 0100hrs, which was reasonable, but put a lid on any late-night outings. The landlady was quite “hands-on”, which was quite helpful at first, but slightly intrusive/annoying towards the end of our weekend stay. The rooms were slightly dirty too, just on the floor – the bed was clean and comfortable. There were two shower/toilet rooms, and one of these didn’t have a working flush on the toilet, but there was a bucket handy! In fact, the bucket worked better than t

I wish I would have been told on the website that the bathroom was not ensuite. The room was very basic. It was very clean, very private but I don`t like sharing the bathroom with other people. I wish I would have been told on the website. Apart from that, a good accommodation.

basic traditional accommodation, provided by sincere and helpful innkeepers. location is very convenient (five minutes walk from central train station) but difficult to find.

It is close to the train-station, and traffic-junctions, but is situated in a quiet little street. There's a tavern in this street, where on some of the evenings were some music, but it was nice. The rooms were clean, the staff was friendly, and the hotel was very familiar.

The main problem was that the room in the annex was very noisy from the effects of road traffic. Suggest that a double glazing scheme is installed. Apart from this, a pleasant stay.

Totally adequate for a day or two and conveniently located near the station, but don't plan on spending time inside since the rooms are small and eclectically decorated to say the least (I believe my comforter read: "Vote for Snoppy"), but it's relatively clean and cheap. Not the best one star ever, but not bad considering the inexplicably high cost of many places in Bologna. If you plan on staying in Bologna and exploring it, Hotel Rossini is only a shade more expensive and it's in the lively student area. If you're just passing through, Ideale is functional.

We arrived and even if we had announced our arrival there was at first no one to open the door for us. A sign at the door said "back soon". No towels were provided and the beds were not very comfortable. There are better hotels in Bologna at the same price.

you get what you pay for, fine for an overnight budget stop but wouldn't like to spend longer here. staff friendly after the initial, typically italian , feeling that you get that you're causing a right hassle just by turning up. for such a cinvenient location, however, you really couldn't do better for so little money. pretty quiet, the only noise eminating from the curiously placed bidet by the bed.

Great place to stay in Bologna! Close to train station. Brand new facility. Friendly staff. We were very pleased with the short stay and definitely will go back there next trip to Bologna.

the misleading part of this listing is "Hotel", as when we arrived, we found they were really offering rooms in a converted apartment, not a hotel. Also, the bathrooms were extremely dirty and it was generally run-down.

very friendly hotel. we stayed in the apartments. very close to the station therefore ideal for travelling elsewhere.

Only book this place if your really broke! Germanic languages useless in Bologna. Make sure you speak a little Italian or French. Ended up in some appartment 10 minutes walk from the actual hotel.(... the inside of which we never actually saw, so it may be better than where we ended up.) Shared bath, shower and two (semi-funtional) toilets between six rooms. No airconditioning. On the up-side, Maria, the receptionist - chambermaid - and general dogsbody was very friendly and helpful, plus the bedding was clean. Not really suitable for families I suspect, more your back-packer type place travelling on a budget.

Very clean hotel and very cheap! We had a great stay and are very satisfied. Best regards, Carina Lindquist

We stayed in the annex just off Via Matteotti and found it to be a very convenient location.

When we arrived, we were told that the double room that we had booked for 52 euro's per night had a shared bathroom. We opted for a room with an en suite bathroom and were taken to a residential block 2 minutes from the hotel.The apartment was clean and spacious and was 65 euro's per night.

For the price Hotel Ideale was excellent value. The rooms were very clean, and spacious and situated not far from the railway station and the centre of Bologna which was very convenient. There was some traffic noise, but on the whole we enjoyed our stay. The only drawback was that the reception desk for registration was in a different area to where we actually stayed. But the proprietor drove us to our accomodation in his car. I would recommend this hotel to anyone wishing to stay in Bologna. They even provide towels!

We were accommodated in another of the owner's properties - ok if you are a couple, but asked to get into a strangers car at night on your own can be a bit daunting! The other property was excellent though. All prices agreed in advance were stuck to, and the room was in a modern, clean block. The Housekeeper was a little brusque at first but soon took to laughing her way through our almost non-existent command of Italian and mime! This accommodation is plain and basic but extremely good value for money - just know some French!

I reserved for a room at Hotel Ideale but the room I got was at a different place not far away but very noisy because of the traffic. The lady at the reception was very friendly the room and bathroom clean. The next time when I come I would like to stay at the Hotel Ideale and not somewhere else.

Very basic accomodation but for the price its probably about right.Not that easy to find so we ended up getting a taxi from the train station ( 7 euros ).Very noisy throughout the night ( scooters, aeroplanes e.t.c ) No running water in the room but the bathrooms down the hall were very clean.The proprietor spoke enough english for us to get by.

Very nice stay apart from the noise from the housemaid who had a resting place right outside our door to our room and a chat with staff members while we tried to rest.

Overall I have found Hotel Ideale and its personnel good; people were available on providing info, and support. This place is also very good because of just a walk from the Bologna Centrale train station. Thanks.

For a one star hotel, it was very well maintained. The bathroom/toilet was sparkling clean and the rooms of reasonable size. Staff were very friendly and accomodating, and a coffee machine was on hand in the corridor which was very useful. Located only 5-10 min walk from the main station. Overall very good value for money