Having booked the hotel through lastminute.com, we were quite optimistic about the Hotel Villa Nanni, despite it having only two stars. We have booked through this website on numerous occasions and always been more than satisfied by the value and high quality. However, on this occasion, we were bitterly disappointed. My partner pointed out that hotel Villa Nanni should be referred to as hotel Villa Nana. He couldn’t have been more accurate. The front of the hotel is modest, and does not differ greatly from the surrounding hotels. The manager was friendly and spoke English competently. The reception is dated and tired. The entire hotel is very 70s feeling, with lots of orange and brown and a host of floral patterned furniture and décor. Our room was on the third floor at the back of the hotel. The hotel has an odd layout, seeming to be two hotels converted into one. Although we were in the ‘back hotel, down the hall, through the dining room, through the retired reception area (?) and up three flights of stairs, (with no lift access) the ‘front hotel’ appeared slightly more modern: It had a lift, which looked shiny and new. Our room was small and very basic. It comprised of two single beds pushed together, a double wardrobe and two bedside tables. There was little room for anything else. The tiny bathroom was off the bedroom and had the usual suite, including a bidet. It was a wet room with a tiny window. The tiles were orange and brown swirly flowers. Having a shower was like standing under a watering can, with no sense of hot or cold. It had a small balcony facing the neighbouring hotel. I don’t often walk into a room and want to cry, but this was an occasion I felt warranted it. To add to this despair, there was no air conditioning, despite it having been advertised as including it. This was the worst thing because the weather was so hot and muggy and we ended up buying a fan in a vain attempt to cool down. The towels were obviously the originals from when the hotel first opened and were thin and thread bare, but starched within an inch of life. The effect: getting dried on cardboard. We didn’t have breakfast, having slept-in after suffering troubled sleep, but it seemed to be the usual ham and cheese, continental affair. The problem sleeping came from the lack of air-con; noisy nightlife going on at the end of the road and the proximity of the railway with half-hourly (if not more often) trains next to the hotel. The resort of Rimini is geared for an Italian and German audience. The only time we saw any other English people was on the flights to and from. This wasn’t an issue really because we both speak some Italian, but I imagine those who don’t speak Italian would find it difficult to get on. Many of the guests in our hotel were in large groups, giving the hotel a hostel/school-trip feel. The coast was hugely capitalised with the beach-front hotels monopolising sections of the beach. The Villa Nanni is a 5 minute walk from the sea-front and so doesn’t have its own beach. We tried to rent a lounger but were rudely referred to the ‘free-beach’, ok, except it was strewn in cigarette butts, not ideal for children. The sea was very warm and pleasant. It was a welcome relief to cool-off. The food was ok, but very tourist-based. If you don’t mind eating pizza, lasagne or bolognaise at every meal, you’ll be fine. There isn’t a lot of choice and we were desperate for vegetables by the time we came home. Having said this, one hotel on a side street served fresh fish and was very popular with locals and we ate there on a few occasions. The nightlife is lively and geared towards young people and groups, rather than couples. There aren’t any clubs, but there a few places that stay open late. The English pubs seem popular. Children can be entertained by the amusement arcades scattered along the sea-front. There are a number of souvenir shops that stay open till late too. There isn’t a great deal to see or do around the area, we hired a car and drove to a number of places, but we didn’t find anything that was very impressive or entertaining. The highlight of the week was a huge air-conditioned shopping centre. Overall, I’d definitely recommend you forget about Rimini as a holiday, unless you can afford to pay top-dollar for the 5* hotels.…