Wow this brings back memories. I went to hotel aurora a few times , and it is wonderful.

Staff: Very friendly , speak english , italian , and some german.

Food: Simply delicious

Rooms: They suddenly refurbished SOME rooms into this funky modern style,, which is bad, but their normal rooms are nice and cozy , and the view alone makes this hotel worth it.

Location: best location , in the heart of Murano. And infront of a river ! How great ! and there is a playground for kids very close by.
I really recommend hotel aurora. try it

I came to Merano a couple of days ahead of my husband, so stayed in a smaller back-facing room the first two nights. For one person it was fine. The view still included the high mountains that are so breathtaking in that direction. However, I sensed this room would be uncomfortably small for the two of us, and the bathroom was cramped as well, particularly the shower stall. I asked about a better room and it was only 20€ more for the better room category, more than worth it! We faced the river, had a lovely balcony as seen in photos of the hotel, and much nicer bathroom in addition to larger, more luxurious room. The room I had for myself cost 115€ but was to be higher with double occupancy. The particular room was in a funky modern style with lots of mirrors and red retro furnishings, as seen in one of the photos on this website, The new one was more traditional but still very modern, lots of wood and tons of storage space in all forms. Bedding was comfortable though we favor the European style anyway (firm).
We did have great difficulty with the spotty Internet so basically gave up and used the computer in the lobby, which wasn't a whole lot more reliable either.
The staff was very nice though not all speak English. They would fetch someone who does when my broken Span-Italian didn't make the grade.
In either case, the breakfast was included and it was one of those stupendous European buffets with enough great food to count for breakfast and lunch together. What we'd spend on even a modest breakfast and our morning espressos outside the hotel, the inclusion of the buffet factored in make the deal much sweeter.

The hotel is being advertised as a design hotel.Our room had nothing in common with the rooms one could see on the hotel site - a small room furnished in the style of the 60s - indeed a very original idea how to turn a partially refurbished hotebll into a design hotel. On which basis was the 4 star rating awarded remains mysterious. Internet caccess free although deplorably slow, and a request must be placed with the reception for every hour used. The staff friendly.

The Aurora is right in the centre of Merano, overlooking the fast-flowing river. If you've never been to Merano and love views of high mountains, get there as soon as you can. It's a lovely, uplifting place with thermal springs and of course clean mountain air. The Aurora is a modern hotel with exccellent facilities - underground car parking, really good restaurants and nicely furnished rooms. We were so impressed with the bathroom we are thinking of renovating ours along the same lines! All the staff spoke English and looked after us really well. We really felt like welcome guests. We hope to have the chance to go back.