There are some real positives and real negatives about my experience at Hotel Franchi. I was happy to have a hotel close to the airport since I was leaving for Lucca the next morning. I was also happy that the TI handled a reservation for the night since I had been up for more than 24 hours and appreciated not having to find a hotel on my own. I was even picked up at the airport. The young woman at the front desk was great, knew I was functioning on little sleep and suggested a pizzeria 2 blocks away that was my first meal in Italy and just wonderful (Aloisius Restorante).
The bed was uncomfortable, but the room for one wasn't bad, and very reasonably priced. The bad part was the way I was treated in the morning by a man that works at the hotel. I wasn't sure what time the breakfast buffet opened in the morning and didn't remember being told. Since the food was all laid out, I got a piece of pastry and a cup of coffee from the machine. A man came into the room where I was sitting and began yelling at me in Italian. When I told him I didn't understand what he was saying he berated me in English about how breakfast hadn't started yet and that I was interrupting his work. I set my coffee down and walked out of the room, went upstairs, packed my bag and left. I was shocked by the experience and couldn't wait to leave. The kind desk clerk even called me a taxi to the airport. read more