Only stayed one night on our way to Bari. Very tired looking hotel inside and out, but rooms were clean and the staff on (late) check-in were very helpful. The best thing about it is that it's a stone's throw from the train station. We didn't have breakfast, so cannot comment.

Majestic this hotel might have been when it was built, but the day it open was the last day any work was done to it. The rooms are very small and furnished in a mix of reds, greens, blacks, and browns that almost make you feel dizzy as you walk into them. With no internet access available in the rooms, and only an unsecure wifi link in the lobby doing business from this hotel is problematic at best.

During my stay the Restaurant was only open for breakfast, and whilst there was a bar in the lobby, it was never staffed.

The location close to the bus stops & train station are its only saving grace.

BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT: Wow. It’s only fair to say that despite the overwhelming number of negatives (or maybe oddities might be a more accurate word), I didn’t completely hate the Majestic....at least until the gentleman in the next room began snoring. At that point, I found out just how thin the walls actually are. I just don’t really have the right words to describe how I DID feel.

It’s probably easiest to jump into the clinical statistics:

LOCATION: The Majestic is located across the street from the train station in Brindisi. This, in my opinion, is probably its greatest strength. It’s also positioned at the head (or foot, maybe) of “Corso Umberto”, one of the main streets in Brindisi. That translates into shopping, eateries, bars, etc....at least during the week. During the weekend, good luck finding AYTHING open during the day. The building is old, just like every other building in the city. There is a nice grocery store about a block down Umberto, where you can get snacks and a bottle of something strong enough to drown your regrets at having chosen the Majestic.

CHECK IN: Even tho I had made my reservation in person, and even tho I had given them my passport for accuracy at that time, I was told there was no reservation in my name. After some 15 minutes of chaos, I noticed a line in their HANDWRITTEN reservation book that struck me as odd. There was someone who had my first name, and my middle name as their last. It was, of course, my reservation. Once I showed my passport again and pointed it out, everything was fine. Except for that glitch, the staff was friendly, helpful, and professional.

LAYOUT: Like all hotels in old buildings, the layout is somewhat strange. The lobby area has all sorts of doors and exits leading all sorts of places. Luckily, it’s small enough that there shouldn’t be too much trouble. The elevator is tiny, and is located next to the main stairwell. In theory, anyone who doesn’t like noise should ask for an interior courtyard-facing room, as opposed to a street-facing one. In reality, the wonderful manual-crank metal shades went a long way towards deadening any external noise.

ROOMS: My room was a single, non-smoking unit on the 2nd floor. It was tiny, even by European standards. On either side of the queen-sized bed, there was MAYBE 4 feet between the bed and the wall. There was a tiny (13-inch?) TV with remote, a desk (no room for a chair, however), and a fridge / mini-bar. There were 2 night stands, and probably 20 light switches that didn’t do a darned thing. They may have, if most of the light bulbs actually worked.....which they didn’t......
The lamp (yes, singular) and light fixtures looked like something out of the early 70’s, as did the textured lime-green wallpaper and carpet. The bathroom was completely tiled and had all the requisite equipment. The problem is, the shower door only opened about a foot before bumping into the bidet.
The room was almost uncomfortably warm, and the switches and knobs on the heat / AC unit did absolutely nothing. The only option was to open the windows and let the air...and street noise..in.
The decor was classical rummage sale, with nothing matching and nothing (except the mattress, perhaps) younger than 15 – 20 years. The closet doors didn’t want to cooperate, and there was ‘stuff’ on the floor near the walls, around the perimeter of the room.
While there was no literature in the room, the front desk told me that there was wireless internet available in the lobby. Unfortunately, I was never able to connect.
There was only one micro-trashcan...or maybe it was an ice bucket for the ice machine they don’t have. While the room was non-smoking, smokers would have been comforted by the many cigarette burns in the bedding and carpet.

BREAKFAST: The room did come with a standard European breakfast, with juices, breads, cold cuts, coffee, and yogurt. The breakfast room and quality of the food were surprisingly nice.

PARKING: I seem to remember one or two spaces in front of the hotel, but I can’t imagine they last long on any given day. If you bring a car, make sure you know where the nearest parking facility is.

SUMMARY: Have I mentioned that the Majestic is right across the street from the train station? I’m trying now to remember why I didn’t hate the place more than I actually did. The age and imperfections all combined to form an ambience of...well....I don’t know. It was similar to staying at a not-so-well-to-do grandparent’s house. You don’t mind the lack of niceties, because you know they care enough to give you everything they have, even if its not much. Or maybe it was the warmth of the bottled something I got from the shop down the street. Who knows?

IF you have the option of staying somewhere else in Brindisi (the Hotel Colonna, for instance) it would definitely be worth a few more Euros to do so.

We booked this hotel for a cheap night after a flight and before collecting a car. We weren't expecting much, but were pleasantly surprised. Those who travel in Italy on business will recognise this kind of place: a 1960s-70s construction with little internal renovation since then (and a gaggle of old timers in one corner of the bar / lounge). These are not inspirational places, but are clean and usually spacious enough. The rooms are fine and well-equipped. If you pay a lot for them, you end up feeling undewhelmed; but at the prices the Majetic charges, you'll think you have a good deal. Despite its press, Brindisi is a decent place for an evening - with a lively passegiata and some good pizza places. OK, this is not the place for a holday, but the hotel has a good location at the head of the town's peninsular and we'd do this again if passing through.