I was lucky enough to accompany my hubby on a work trip to Italy a few weeks ago. On our last few…read moredays, we opted to stay in the town of Bergamo (home of San Pellegrino and one of the Popes). After searching all the hotels we could, we got a tip from a friend who had lived in Bergamo and knew some the best places to stay. He directed us to the Ginevra Rooms.
To note, Bergamo has two city centers: Città Alta (aka Uptown) which is located on a hilltop surrounded by 16th-century Venetian walls and Città Bassa (aka Downtown) where all the nightlife and shopping is to be had. So wherever you stay, you will want to be connected to both areas.
Ginevra Rooms Hotel is located in the sweetest spot of all, about a 10-minute walk or so to the train station, a 5-minute walk to Villa Settembre (the main shopping street) and equal distance to the funicular (a cable car) that takes you up to Citta Alta. It is also next door to the Hotel Excelsior San Marco, which has a gorgeous (but spendy) rooftop restaurant with breathtaking views of Citta Alta.
When we arrived, we were greeted by the hotel managers, Leila and Gianni. They walked us through everything we needed to know about the room. They had office hours from about 8am-6pm and were just a text away if we needed anything and offered round the clock service after hours. Leila and Gianni were patient with our two-week speed learned Italian and were very helpful with ideas of where to go, shop or to eat. They even recommended a local restaurant and set up our dinner reservations for us.
The room was amazing (see photos)! Our room was on the balcony, which had a beautiful view of uptown. Everything was gorgeous and even better in person than in photos. The room was spacious and beautifully designed. They gave us two sets of standard hotel key cards and entrance to the outside is remotely controlled with your cell phone (no costs to you).
Our room was the largest we space we'd been in our travels and spoiled us with all the amenities. They provided standard soaps and shampoo, but we also had mouthwash, intimate care soap (for the bidet) and even a bath sponge in the shower. The tub was big enough for two and there were plenty of bath towels for both - which hung neatly on the towel warming rack.
Our bed was large, roomy, and comfy as well. We had a 40 or so inch TV which was equipped with both cable and SKY TV. Internet service was fast and reliable and nothing beat working on the balcony of the room overlooking the park down below and Citta Alta to the right.
A very nice and generous surprise to us was that everything in the mini-bar was free (including the sodas, still and sparkling waters, and beer). They had a Nespresso machine, tea service and biscotti in the room for you which they would replace once a day without any extra charge. Sadly, we didn't realize they also had a wine cellar until the last night, so we might have been able to enjoy a glass at the end of our days.
All in all, this was the best place to spend our last few vacation days in Italy and I would recommend anyone to stay with Leila and Gianni as your hosts. The service was top notch and they were very attentive to make sure we had everything we needed during our stay.
Grazie mille, Leila and Gianni!
