A colleague and I shared a room at the Arcobaleno during an academic conference. For that purpose, the location was great, as it was a 15 minute walk to the conference site at the Universita per Stranieri di Siena. But as other reviewers have noticed, it's a bit more of a hike to the city center -- about 30 minutes. In hot July weather, I could get very sweaty making that walk, but I just gave in. (There might be a bus line -- cheaper than a cab, if you don't have a car and don't want to walk. The friendly staff would tell you if you asked, I'm sure!) Anyway, we found the room clean and comfortable, with a great shower and effective air conditioning. And I *loved* the solid foam mattresses on the beds because I'm a side-sleeper, and the 'give' they had on my pressure points was perfect. Good pillows, too.
As others have noted, the breakfast room is pretty and comfortable and there are a number of cold food options. The restaurant down below the hotel was also good, but also good, especially for the price (and more casual), was the Jolly Pizzeria and Trattoria around the corner, to which the friendly and helpful staff directed us.
As for the staff, they get highest marks for friendliness, helpfulness, and impressive multi-lingual skills! They even gave us a better option for getting to Florence by bus than the university had -- turns out the SITA "corsa rapide" bus directly to the bus station in Florence can be hailed from a stop at the Piazza Diavola just down the street from the hotel.
And if you need sleep and peace and quiet, the Arcobaleno is excellent for that, too. Some of the city center locations can be noisy.
And for the business traveler, or the person who wants to stay connected, they offer a 24 hour bank of wifi usage (to be used within 7 days) for 10 Euro, and also have a computer and printer for guest use for free.
So if you don't need to be right in the thick of things, and you want a quiet, pleasant place to stay, I highly recommend the Arcobaleno.
- Arcobaleno Hotel Siena
- Siena Arcobaleno Hotel
