A Casa dei Gonzaga is a wonderfully restored 18th-century villa located conveniently near ... more
to the train and bus stations and just a 10 minute walk into Mantua town centre.All of Mantuas tourist sights including the Duomo and the Palazzo del Té are easil...
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Price is per double room per night and may vary depending on date booked...
A palace from the early 19th-century, the hotel has been completely renewed into a ... more
minimalistic, stylish design hotel, located just a few minutes away from the city centre. There are 27 non-smoking, originally furnished and carefully designed rooms, fi...
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Price is per double room per night and may vary depending on date booked...
Advantages: A unique and quaint hotel... Disadvantages: Lacking a few mod-cons...
We stayed in this hotel for a few days while on a little tour of the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico, including visits to Cancun (don't bother), Playa del Carmen & Cozumel (much better) and the amazing ancient Mayan ruins at Uxmal, Chitzen Itza and Tulum. (I'll try and get round to reviewing all these later...)
We arrived by taxi from Merida airport (a short journey), having flown in from Cancun, where we had arrived in Mexico the day before, and were delighed with what we found, a massive improvement of the brash touristy-ness of Cancun !
The Casa del Balam Hotel was formerly the family home of Fernando Barbachano Peon, pioneer of Mexican tourism. A blend of Mexican tiles, terracotta and wrought iron, it has a small pool in a walled courtyand, complete with a stone carved fountain and tropical plants, a restaurant and bar, along ...
Advantages: A five-star stay? Disadvantages: ?with just three-star facilities
simplicity often trumps ritzy ostentation. Attentive service matters, but nothing is nastier than the kind of smarmy obsequiousness that always seems to mask a sneer. And so on. Maybe it's simply down to that indefinable essence known as character or personality.
These inconsequential musings are prompted by my trying to pinpoint what it was about the Casa San Blas at Cusco that I liked so much. The hotel is certainly not without its limitations and even its failings, but it's a nevertheless a charming and delightful place to stay. Let's try to summarise what it has to offer.
* Location *
The Casa San Blas is situated just a few minutes' walk from Cusco's Plaza de Armas (central square), and is therefore convenient for all the main sights of the ancient Inca capital, such as the Qorikancha (Sun Temple), the Cathedral ...
Advantages: Small bubbly friendly hotel with lots going on Disadvantages: Short uphill walk from slopes, initial cost quite expensive
Myself, my partner and our two children stayed here from boxing day 2004 into the New Year of 2005. It's a small family run hotel with a really genuine friendly feel. It's English speaking (well Australian) but when we stayed there were a few other Nationalities staying too.
The rooms are quite small but adequate (En suite,tv, telephone although no coffee/tea facilities- so make sure you take a travel kettle or better still buy a cheapo while there). The rooms were lovely and warm all the time. Our room was located at the front with a balcony and the views were amazing - every morning i lay in bed with the curtains open gazing at a snow covered mountain peak and the sky...bliss.
The rooms sleep 2-3 with 3 single beds in each - had 2 rooms next to each other and pushed 2 singles to make a double and top and tailed the children. We ...
