This place was a big disappointment. Having stayed numerous times at Relais et Chateaux, we felt confident on arriving at Ferrara that this would meet the standards previously experienced. While it has some old world charm, the comfort levels were disappointing and the evening meal was average. The breakfast was well below average with a pan of cold scrambled eggs as the sole option for a cooked breakfast.

This was not value for money and did not meet the high expectations of a Relais et Chateaux property. At a third of the price it would still have been barely acceptable. This was an impromptu hotel stay and we did not have the benefit using TripAdvisor. Had we been able to do so we would not have stayed there.

I had a one night stay in the Duchessa Isabella with my wife and my son, 7 years old. The staff were very wellcoming and helpful. Our room was called "la Stanza della Torre", and, despite a "puppet style" pink wallpaper, was lovely, and extremely large (2 stories high) with a little sitting place with a second TV on the second story. We were wellcomed with a fresh fruit basket, chocolates on the pillow in the evening and a weather forecast. The dinner was OK, a little pricey but good and with a friendly service. Because it was the birthday of our son, we were offered a chocolate cake with candles and a teddy bear for him.
The best thing about this hotel is perhaps its awesome style and decoration, with splendid ceilings, a collection of old clocks, and so on.
As a conclusion, I have to disagree with the previous reviews, and I would recommend this charming hotel to all the "charming hotels lovers".

Last month (May 2006) I was in Ferrara for a week long conference. I had a great stay in a small bed and breakfast close to the center of town--one night, however, I visited the Duchessa Isabella Hotel for a 'banquet' that was held for conference attendees. The tickets were about $90 a piece, but based on some of the multi-course Italian meals I've had for similar events at other restaurants I figured it was worth it to buy a ticket for my girlfriend and I. Unfortunately, it wasn't at all worth it. Even though the restaurant was basically empty they kept us all outside on the patio which was swarming with mosquitos. There was essentially no seating and the food was ALL served buffet style and was basically first come-first serve--once a dish was finished that was it, no more was brought out. The food wasn't bad, but what we got was worth no more than about $20. Since there was no seating is was difficult to eat and hold a drink at the same time and the food became cold very quickly in the cool evening air. There were no coctails, only wine, and the staff had to be pushed to bring out any more than what had already been placed on tables (which was quite limited given the number of people). The profit margin per person was probably around $85, and I felt sort of conned. I've had infinitely better food (with actual service) in Italy for much less. To add insult to injury, the woman who runs the place shooed us all out pretty early into the evening in a very curt manner. All in all this was probably the biggest dissapointment of my trip in Italy. In summary, I would definitely not recommend this place for dinner, and from the sound of other reviews the hotel experience is not much different.

We stayed at the Duchessa's sister hotel which is around the corner but ate here in the supposedly 5 star restaurant one evening.

Even though our hotel had made the booking the welcome was non-existent.

The dining room was basically an attractive room spoilt by poor quality things thrown in with antiques - it was strange.

There was a cover charge & a 20% service charge. Which was particularly ironic because service is terrible. The food was ok but it was thrown at us as quickly as possible with virtually no breaks between courses - even when we tried to slow them down they kept the pressure up for us to eat & go. And the owner of the hotel & her family & friends were in for dinner. They moved furniture about, called out to each other had phones ringing all through the meal & commandeered all staff attentions. The other guests like us were clearly less important.

When we left we had to go in search of staff to find our coats - no one seemed to know where they were - i just can't believe this place is a relais chateau member.