I was visiting Bologna to go to a concert at the Palamalaguti venue, near Bologna. That's why we booked the Hotel Zola in Zola Predosa, a couple of kilometres from the venue.

The hotel is situated in the middle of an industrial area (which we knew) and is primarily targeted at the business customer. When I made telephone contact initially they were very helpful. They were equally helpful when we checked in. The Polish receptionist spoke better Italian than I do (and I'm Italian!) and of course she spoke English too. She got out maps of the town and told us what was were and what we could visit.

Transport-wise, it's the kind of place where a car is needed, but just outside the back door of the hotel (and I mean more or less outside, maybe 20 metres away) there's a small railway stop for a shuttle that goes between Bologna and the suburbs. There's a train every hour and it even stops at the Palamalaguti venue. It only costs the price of a bus ticket and you can buy the tickets at the hotel.

The rooms were spacious, the bathrooms huge. There were pay-per-day movie channels in English and Italian, a very well-stocked minibar which was NOT one of those with electronic sensors, hurray! So we were able to put our own drinks there.

The only slight criticism I have is that the shower wasn't draining too well, however our friend's shower was absolutely ok. We didn't complain because quite frankly we had better things to do!

Breakfast was a buffet, which for Continental standards was very good - for me, an Italian, the selection of croissants was superb. For 'real' coffee I avoided the dispensing machine at the buffet and asked for a proper espresso at the bar - at no extra cost.

Staff were always incredibly helpful, even when we asked them if we could check out a bit later than 10:00 as we had hours to kill before our Eurostar. They were also very helpful in providing ice for my friend who had sprained her ankle.

Overall, I'd say that Hotel Zola was great value for 125 Euros per couple per night. If you have a car or are renting one, it's probably a much better option than some of the older hotels in central Bologna.