From November 9-17, we were with a tour of 30-40 people - some from California and some from Virginia. The hotel must have read the negatie reviews, or we just got lucky. Check-in was a breeze. I had room 208 and my friend had room 212. Both rooms were spacious and clean. Some of the rooms on the front side have a small balcony. The ones on the back have shuttered windows and a nice mountain view. It looks as though the secret could be to stay on the 1st or 2nd floor - although we had people on the 3rd and heard no complaints. If traveling in the fall, remember that Italy, by law, does not turn on the heat until November and shuts it off in March. It also is regulated to no more than 70 degrees. Nights tend to be a bit chilly, but there were extra wool blankets in the closet.

Common areas were clean and well kept and the staff was quick to fix anything that seemed awry. They repaced a burned out lightbulb before I could take q quick nap before dinner. Bathrooms were clean (no mold here!) and pretty spacious for Italy. Still can't figure out the 1/2 glass partitions instead of shower curtains.

Breakfast was more than ample - eggs, meat, pastries, juice, cereal, toast, coffee and some fresh fruit. Repetative, but ample. I've had LOTS worse in Italy. Dinner area was in a large room with lots of people, so it was fairly noisy. They host tours so you can't expect more. Food was good and only had a couple of things we couldn't - or chose not to - eat. Beware of the risotto!

Location, location, location! The hotel is 5 or 6 blocks from the main strip with easy accessibility, but is still quiet. The train station is an easy walk - be sure it's Montecatini Centro - and not the main station as we found out. Found a nice little coffee bar (New York Bar) on the main street that charges 1.30 E for a great cappucino if you stand at the bar. It's a nice walk before or after dinner and if you get one in the bar it's 3.50E. Nice little grocery store not too far away - close to the train station (Conad's). Buty the hot chocolate and take it home (Ciobar). It's a cross between U.S. hot chocolate and dark chocolate pudding. The store has everything a regular grocery would have and fresh meats, breads and cheese.

My experience here was great and I would definitely return. Front desk staff (not Allesandro) lacks the ability to give good directions, but ask two people and go with your gut. They will also provide a map if you ask. Montecatini is definitely a tourist town, but explore and you can find oodles of good experiences. Nice home base if you take the bus or trai and Italy has an EXCELLENT transportation system. Explore - it's safe, clean, cheap and on-time!

My husband and I participated in the Club ABC Noble Tuscan cooking tour during the week of Thanksgiving with Gianfranco as our guide, chef, mentor and new friend.

Club ABC handled just about everything including air transportation, ground transfers to and from the airport as well as daily transportation to each new experience. Also included were hotel accommodations and most meals either at the hotel or via our cooking experiences.

The hotel is very comfortable. We had a rather large room (by European standards) on the first floor overlooking a side street and little neighborhood with the beautiful mountains in the background. The room had a very spacious, comfortable king size bed, adequate closet space and a large bathroom with a GREAT shower (although, as in many European bathrooms, no shower curtain).

Breakfast was a nice buffet but dinner was the real treat. If lasagna is on the menu do not pass it up. It is definitely not the American version of lasagna but the Bolognese version instead, thick with homemade pasta, meat and bechamel sauce. Ohhh, just thinking about it makes my mouth water!

Don't forget to get a glass of wine or cocktail at the bar before dinner. You'll miss out if you don't have the chance to meet Nuncia the bartender. What a delight she is; not only does she make a mean martini but is quick witted and incredibly personable.

Gianfranco treated us to four different, interesting, delicious cooking experiences including the opportunity to make our own pizzas on Thanksgiving... Who needs turkey?!? We had the chance to cook with the personal chef for the Count and Countess at Capezzano, make homemade pasta taught by la nonna Ada otherwise known as "The Boss". She's all of 4'4" tall but boy does she know what she's doing. We also had the opportunity to milk a sheep, use the fresh milk to make ricotta cheese and then use the cheese in the dessert. Talk about fresh from farm to table!!! All of the lunch menus that Gianfranco put together and then taught us how to make were phenomenal. I've been back for a couple of weeks and I'm still going through withdrawal.

Truly, this was a trip of a lifetime! I'm just wondering how I can swing another visit. I'd repeat this trip again in a heart beat.

I stayed for a week at the Grand Hotel Vittoria in mid-October with Great Rail Journeys’ ‘Highlights of Tuscany’ tour.

Before I explain why I have rated this hotel as ‘Poor’, I should emphasise a couple of positives. This hotel is perfectly located for exploring the beautiful Tuscan countryside and many surrounding sights, either by car, coach or train. In fact, the entire town of Montecatini Terme seems to be one giant holding bay for tourists. The staff were friendly, courteous, attentive and efficient (with the notable exception of the world-weary front desk – although perhaps this is understandable as they seem to spend so much time fielding complaints from dissatisfied guests) and the standard of food was high. The public areas, bar and exterior of the hotel are, for the most part, well maintained and promise much. Do not be fooled as these standards do not translate to the corridors and bedrooms where the standards we experienced were shockingly low. There is no way that the rooms are worthy of their official four star rating.

The room we were initially assigned was on the fourth floor of the hotel. After expressing our dissatisfaction several times, we were eventually moved after two nights to a room on the second floor. Others on our tour were not so lucky. In this second room the standard was better (the room had been redecorated and the bathroom – though a little tired – was acceptable). It seems that the lower the floor, the better the standard of room.

Unfortunately it was not possible to refuse the room allocated to us on the fourth floor as the hotel was full. Tour groups and organised coach parties appear to be the hotel’s bread and butter and with a constant supply of guests through its doors, there seems little incentive for the hotel to improve. We were just about to move to another hotel, at our own expense, when we were allocated another room. After two nights I simply could not bear it any longer.

We encountered the following in the bathroom on the fourth floor – you have been warned:

• Mould around the showerhead so that many of the holes in the showerhead were blocked
• Mouldy grouting on the tiles in the shower cubicle
• A filthy dirty extractor fan
• A frayed and dirty string hanging down from a blocked off socket in the shower
• An appalling standard of cleanliness with hairs on the side of the shower tray and ingrained brown stains on the underside of the toilet seat
• A filthy dirty old-fashioned hairdryer with ingrained sticky marks – I could not even bring myself to touch this. The replacement given to us after we complained was just as dirty and sticky and, to make matters worse, had exposed wiring on the plug. We could not use it.
The state of the bathroom was so bad that I did not have a shower for the two days we stayed in this room.

We encountered the following in the bedroom:

• The same poor standard of cleanliness as in the bathroom – when we arrived there were biscuit crumbs all over the carpet by the side of the bed and the carpet itself was dirty and dusty
• The standard of decoration was poor with chipped, peeling and dirty paint
• The television set and phone were filthy and antiquated. The television was dusty and the old-fashioned telephone was yellowing from age.
• A wall light was completely hanging down from its bracket with internal electrics exposed
• The filthy air conditioning unit on the wall did not work at all. These rooms, which are high up in the attic of the hotel and, unlike the other rooms, have only a tiny window, must be stiflingly uncomfortable in the summer months. There was a broken and bashed area on the air conditioning unit which presumably once contained the buttons to operate the unit.
• The safe was a very tiny box operated by a key which had to be obtained for a deposit from reception although there were no instructions in the room about this procedure.
• Even the braided key ring holding the room key was filthy from years of use.

It is all very well thinking ‘It’s just Italy’. However, we are aware of the difference between olde worlde charm (and the hotel’s exterior and public areas do exude this quality) and what we experienced – filth, poor hygiene, neglect, no attention to detail, dangerous electrics and a room so tired and run down that its contents belonged in a skip.

If, like me, you look forward to a comfortable, clean hotel room to relax and bathe in before dinner after a long day sightseeing this is definitely not the hotel for you. The first two days of my holiday were ruined by the thought of returning to the hotel room. If, however, you are prepared to pay good money to experience all I have described above and can see this this hotel purely as a base from which you can explore the most fantastic scenery and architecture then choose this hotel (not the option I would recommend). As for me, I couldn’t wait to get away from the Grand Hotel Vittoria and could not recommend it to my worst enemy. I would return to Tuscany tomorrow. I would never ever return to this hotel.

I recently returned from a week spent on a Tuscan cooking tour with Club ABC. I strongly recommend this tour to anyone who enjoys the cuisine and culture of Italy. The professional chef, Gianfranco, surpassed all expectations with his charm and enthusiasm for the food and wine of this magnificent region.
The Hotel Grand Vittoria is in a wonderful location. The public rooms are lovely and well maintained. The hotel food is very good. Although the guest rooms are a bit tired they are clean and comfortable. I was fortunate to have a spacious room under the eaves on the 4th floor with an amazing view of the Tuscan landscape.