Le Meridien Lingotto, Torino

...and a stay in the Le Meridien Lingotto and it's one of the best hotels I have stayed in.

Converted from an old Fiat factory the building oozes period charm from the outside but has been thoroughly updated inside with fantastic quality fittings and interesting artwork including the original architectural submissions from 1984. This hotel is famous (infamous) for having maintained the original roof top test track that was used when ...
...still you can actually get a key from reception and take the lift to the roof and access the test track, where you can relive in your mind the sights of Minis tearing around as seen in the movie "The Italian Job". They actually encourage you to use it as a jogging track and indeed this roof top is listed in a list of the Top 100 places to jog in the world.

The room we stayed in was spacious, had an excellent shower and rarely ... more

I have just got back from a trip to Turin and a stay in the Le Meridien Lingotto and it's one of the best hotels I have stayed in.

Converted from an old Fiat factory the building oozes period charm from the outside but has been thoroughly updated inside with fantastic quality fittings and interesting artwork including the original architectural submissions from 1984. This hotel is famous (infamous) for having maintained the original roof top test track that was used when it was busy manufacturing Fiats throughout the 20th centruy. Better still you can actually get a key from reception and take the lift to the roof and access the test track, where you can relive in your mind the sights of Minis tearing around as seen in the movie "The Italian Job". They actually encourage you to use it as a jogging track and indeed this roof top is listed in a list of the Top 100 places to jog in the world.

The room we stayed in was spacious, had an excellent shower and rarely for posh hotels, you were able to open the windows, or use the air conditioning. Furthermore there were all the usual things including a well stocked mini bar, keypad safe and good size TV.

Complimenting the hotel is an excellent restaurant, where we took our breakfast (included in the price) and had an evening meal, sampling one of the area's delights, truffles. I'm no somelier but the wine list is both broad in price range and variety so there should be something for everyone.

Throughout my time in the hotel the staff were fantastically helpful, particularly in recommending areas of Turin to visit and the best routes to get there.

One possible downside though is that the hotel is a 15 minute tram or bus ride from central Turin. If you are happy to suss out the local transport network, which itself is wonderful in terms of ease of use and transparent pricing, then you should definitely stay here. Equally if you like to go by taxi everywhere then this poses no problem. However if you are on a tight budget and want to walk everywhere then you may struggle with the walk back to the hotel. It is long, and I wouldn't recommend doing it at night. Personally I like the challenge of local transport and for me it's a great way to interact with the city, its people and its culture, plus a single fare on any part of the public transport network costs just 0.90EU and is valid for 70 minutes. Compare that to £4 for a single underground journey here in the UK and you'll soon realise why European public transport is so much more viable.

In summary then a wonderful hotel, and not just somewhere to head at the end of a busy day of tourism but a tourist attraction in its own right. Just remember to bring your jogging shoes. Thoroughly recommended. 

...less