This was the 2nd destination in Italy, our first being Florence which was lovely and also a 4 star, much nicer than this dump.This hotel was supposed to be for our Honeymoon! It needs money spending on it in the rooms, as it is very tired and shabby. It could be a nice place to stay. The Reception area is acceptable.We visited on our honeymoon and we were very disappointed. I see other couples have echoed our exacts thoughts and experiences! For the money we paid it did not meet up to our expectations. This is supposed to be a 4* - no way! Our air con didn't work properly and was noisy. We were supposed to have a side sea view and although if we stretched our necks out far enough like a giraffe then yes, we had a sea view but it was over a car park/Bus Station and located at the less attractive end of Viareggio, by a Port and road and very noisy. We also had a local fisherman celebrations going on all night and fire crackers too. We asked to move but were told there was only one room which was a box room worse than our room but we took it as it was quiet and I was had just suffered a miscarriage which the hotel staff didn't seem to be bothered about.
The staff at the reception desk were fairly friendly if we made the effort, but did not understand English very well and were not always helpful, I think they were short of staff.
The hotel from the outside looks nice but the rooms were a let down, the bathroom was horrible, old and shabby, holes in the towels, very cramped and just old and tired looking and dark.
The room was basic but for a honeymoon - in no way shape or form - do not book it for any type of special occasion. In fact, I would never return. More for a last minute bargain.
As others have said, the only positive was the roof terrace where we too experienced a gala dinner, the restuarant was almost empty and we had silver service of about 5 courses, this was delicious.
The beach was a disappointment as you can only go on the section the hotel have access to, you get a parasol, and deck chair, but have to pay extra for sunbeds even though the price was extortionate to begin with! I was shocked! One of the main things we asked for was tranquility and relaxations which this was not. We had access to 5 pools across the road but you had to wear a swimming cap (not the look you want on honeymoon) and 2 pools were for lane swimming, 1 for babies, 1 for children and the other for aqua aerobics, there was no pool to just have a dip in.
The road was extremely busy, but we didn't want a commercial destination, literally it is a long road with shops and restaurants on one side and that's it, nowhere to walk to, no local boat trips and the trips through Citalia weren't great or value for money.
W were not able to visit museums in Florence due to national strikes and the train stations are a pain when you have pre-paid for your ticket and trying to get your ticket out of the machine - forget it!
Overall very disappointing and not the Italian Riviera with romance and hills but the opposite - so book this if you like Blackpool, Claction or Gt. Yamouth!
Citalia could have helped us but chose not to while we were there. We had to contact the rep ourselves, the rep was not visible or easy to contact. This trip has put me off Italy for a few years.
- Hotel Plaza e De Russie
