piran café

Hotel Apoksiomen
Riva Lošinjsih Kapetana I
51550 Mali Lošinj, Croatia
Visited 5-9 May 09

Very nicely done. Casual semi-statelyiness. Friendly, pleasant staff, night and day. It’s named after a 2nd or 1st C. BC bronze statue found between the islands of Lošinj and Veli Orjuli where he rested beneath the waves for about 1800 years. He’s being cleaned up at the moment and is expected to return to Mali Lošinj next year.

A terrific deal at 59 EUR/night via HRS, 10 EUR more for a portside room; two have balconies. Mine was nice. Great views and lots of sun. Don’t expect that price during the summer months.

It’s part of Vienna International group, which also has properties in Poland, The Czech Republic, Germany, France, Austria and Romania, and which claims that the cheapest rates can be found directly from their website. If not, they’ll pay you the difference. I didn’t check out the claim, but you can here.

Wifi throughout, and it was free via my HRS booking. Breakfast was OK+.

One complaint: They really need to fix that large bump in the floor that divides the breakfast room in half. That’s not something a guest needs to be wary of when carrying a cup of coffee and a glass of juice across the room before 8 in the morning. OK? Thanks.

hotel apoksiomen 2009-05-06-Mali Lošinj 02, originally uploaded by pirano.

Attalos
29 Athinas
Athens, Greece

This is the view from the rooftop bar of the Hotel Attalos, just a few steps up from the sixth floor. Nice, no?

As big cities go, the 48 EUR/night price is right. It’s two stars, which are enough if you don’t spend too much time in your room. There is free wi-fi in the first floor reading room, along with a couple of computer terminals, an extremely nice touch. Breakfast not included.

But best about the Attalos is the location. Just a couple hundred meters from the Monastiraki underground stop, there’s plenty in the immediate area to keep you thoroughly amused and on your feet for the duration of your stay: the Plaka, the flea market, scores of museums, ruins and parks.

FYI, Monastiraki is roughly 30 minutes from Port at Piraeus, and 40-50 minutes to the airport, no change required for either.

I’ll definitely return. Soon.

acropolis, originally uploaded by pirano.

Mercure Hotel Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt
Teinacher Strasse 20
Bad Cannstatt

There’s nothing cheap or budget-minded about this place, so I’ll spare you (and me) much of these 30 seconds. At about 140 EUR/night, it’ll work for business travelers (or for those who aren’t paying themselves).

WTF is up with hotels these days? 25 EUR/day for Wifi? I’ve stayed in tiny dives for a quarter of the price with FREE wifi. Unforgivable.

The room was decent, there are smoking rooms available, breakfast is quite good (at 15 EUR extra), and there’s a nice park nearby. Note that Bad Cannstatt is a suburb of Stuttgart; public transport (a tram/U & S bahn combo) will get you to the main Stuttgart station in about a half hour at best, depending on the connections.

I don’t think I’ll ever stay here again.

mercure-stuttgart-10-sept-08, originally uploaded by pirano.

Hotel De La Paix
19, rue du Gros Caillou – 75007 Paris

I liked this place! Located on a pleasant and quiet street in an otherwise fairly lively neighborhood –a couple minute walk from the Parc du Champs de Mars, and perhaps 10 to the Eiffel Tower– it’s about as off-the-beaten-path as you can find in Paris.

Rooms are cozy, free wifi throughout, and an extremely pleasant owner and staff. There are plenty of bars/cafes in the vicinity that won’t break the bank, along with a few wines shops that will. Nearest metro is Ecole Militaire, and you can order a shuttle to De Gaulle Airport at the front desk (17 EUR, about 40 mins).

The hotel’s website is here; for Paris I generally book through venere.com.

I think I’ll definitely return.

Hotel De la Paix – Paris, originally uploaded by pirano.

Hotel Luciani
Via Milazzo, 8
00185 Rome, Italy

Luciani is one of the dozens (or perhaps hundreds?) of little hotels that appear in every nook and cranny near Rome’s Termini (main) train station.

A tiny room, Spartan bed, old bedstand, barred windows and rickety closet gave this place the feel of prison chic. But looks can be deceiving, since you are allowed to come and go as you please and you don’t have to share a shower. Breakfast –a pile of bread washed down with coffee from a cheap machine– lends itself nicely to the incarceration theme.

In fairness, you can’t expect much more in Rome these days for 50 EUR/night to enjoy 2-star comfort.

Upside? It’s less than a five minute stroll to platform 6 at the Termini station. Wifi is available, 5 EUR/6 hrs.

I will not stay here again.

Luciani – Rome, originally uploaded by pirano.

Cityhotel Central Station
Via Giovanni Battista Sammartini 15
Milano, Italy

True to its name, this place is a five-minute stroll from Milano Centrale Station. As you can see, I had a fairly large room, with a big window overlooking a boulevard through which I learned, among other things, that Milanese streetcleaners are particularly loud at 3:30 in the morning.

On the plus side? Free wifi (that doesn’t work everywhere) and the parakeet in the lobby with a firm command of English, Italian and Mandarin Chinese. And a decent and relatively inexpensive sushi joint a few doors away.

59 EUR/night for a single, w/private bath.

I’m never one to say never, but I shall (probably) not return.

Cityhotel Central Station – Milano, originally uploaded by pirano.

Kleinmunchen
Wienerstrasse 404-408
4030 Linz

Stayed three nights (Jan-2008)

I kept calling this place Le Petit Munchen for no reason besides the odd way that my limited French seems to effortlessly roll off my tongue in German-speaking countries. Weird.

Small room, small bed, small bathroom, basic breakfast. 45 EUR/night ain’t much, but I was expecting something more. Big minus is the distance from the center of Linz, roughly 15 minutes by tram; two lines run from the corner of the hotel, so it’s convenient in that sense. Big plus was free wi-fi in each room.

There’s a restaurant on the premises, basic Germanic fare.

I’m never one to say never, but I shall (probably) not return.