This typical Rimini hotel will appeal to those looking for cheap, clean, safe accomodation at a budget, price, at 80 euro for three of us including breakfast and free parking (and finding available street parking is not easy in Rimini). Located on Viale Vittorio Veneto within easy walking distance (250 meters, 1/4 mile) of the beach and the best that Rimini has to offer, this hotel is an alternative to the very popular and often fully booked Villa Lilla next door. Room charges are based per person.
During our trip, we were struck by the difference an extra 10 to 20 euro a night will bring. Nowhere was this typified more than at the Hotel Bamby.
Our July 2007 room was very large for two adults and one child and came with double bed and two single beds, tiled floor, large fully tiled bathroom with toilet, bidet, sink, shower, the usual basic hotel soaps and shampoos, hairdryer and towels. The room has a typical small television with remote, desk with chair, good air conditioning, and a small walkout balcony accessed by full length modern glass door. Entry to the room is by key and the hotel has an elevator and open central stair both leading to the lobby which is elevated one floor above the street. Free off street parking is provided in a fully protected underground garage which was not full, probably because the vast majority of guests appeared to be eastern European tourists who arrived by train and bus.
The buffet breakfast was adequate and served in a clean bright breakfast dining area. Breakfast included fruit juices (grapfruit and some other red drink), hot coffee, tea, hot milk, ham, cheese, boiled eggs, plain croissant, pastries, four types of prepared jams, two types of yogurts.
The rooms are quiet and bright, the air fresh and clean. The hotel front desk staff speak English (as well as Italian, Czech, and a few other languages and signage is multi-lingual).
So why does this hotel not rate higher for our experience?
Well it is an older hotel with terrazzo flooring and other style amenities indicating it is at least 40 years overdue for a decor makeover. The preponderance of rough around the edges and non-stylish (in some ways reflective of the Rimini scene generally) Soviet-era guests no doubt had something to do with it. A big part was the polite and helpful but unpolished staff who were attentive but lacked a certain engaging or welcoming charm. They really do make you feel that you and they are simply there to get a business transaction done in as quick and non-descript a manner as possible.
And Rimini itself is very much the difference between Daytona Beach and Miami Beach, Rimini being the tackier cousin of the three (and without the youthful college age students to make it palatable).
So we found Rimini to be not really a great place to stay with a hey-day long past, and this hotel was a mirror to all of that.
That said, this is a convenient stop for those seeking sea fishing charters into the Adriatic or access to San Marino, an easy half hour drive away straight past the autostrada where you exit for central Rimini but in the opposite direction.
And there is some hope for Rimini. Near to the hotel along the beach front street, is a restaurant named Otto e Mezzo. It is everything Rimini is not, stylish, comfortable, trendy, new, with excellent food with a good wine list at very reasonable prices.
To find this restaurant (and the hotel) exit the autostrada at the San Marino exit but instead head in the opposite direction for the center of the town and the train station. As you drive past the train station you will take the first turn right and cross the rail line which will put you on Via Principe Amedeo, a major street which will end at a half traffic circle. Keep to the right and where you turn onto the half traffic circle (Viale Beccadelli) you will see on the corner on your right, Otto e Mezzo. To get to the hotel turn right again on Viale Amerigo Vespucci and take the first right on Viale Paolo Mantegazza, the first left on Viale Dandolo and the first right onto Viale Vittorio Veneto. This area is a maze of one way streets so it would be helpful to take along a Google map printout.
This hotel will appeal to those wishing to save every euro but not willing to sacrifice location, comfort, and security in the process. But for the fact that there is nothing really "wrong" with this hotel, I would have given it a two star rating. But there really were no "problems" so tempted as I am, it still gets three stars.
No doubt my review will bump this hotel's rating down from its current position of #45. If anyone reads this review, I would appreciate your Yes/No helpful vote.