Grand Hotel Terme & Spa

I was quite disappointed! I expected way more attention to detail from a 5-star hotel because, in my opinion and experience, that's precisely the difference between — the details.

I was surprised that hardly anyone on the team spoke English first off all. During booking, we requested a champagne bottle in the room upon arrival, but it was completely ignored.
When we tried to book massages and treatments, the pressure to decide was ridiculously high from a staff member who spoke little to no English. I clearly felt the rudeness in her tone and simply ignored it because I wasn't there to argue.

At lunchtime, we went to the hotel buffet. Apparently, it closed at 2 PM, and no one informed us when we arrived to eat at 1:45 PM. The buffet simply closed, and once again, the rush was evident, leaving me feeling poorly served.

I found both the breakfast and lunch offerings to be very industrialized, with very few fresh options and of much lower quality than expected.

The spa facilities met expectations. However, there were clear signs of lack or poor hygiene and cleanliness.

Regarding the room (we stayed in a suite), it was clean, and the bed was comfortable with plenty of space. However, it was odd that on the second day, they removed all options from the minibar and left only water.

For me, the breaking point was when we went to dinner (not to mention that the restaurant is open from 7:30 PM to 9 PM, which is absurd in a Latin culture, but okay). The waiter who received us asked my husband if he didn't have any pants in the room? Like, seriously? With 35 degrees, on vacation, who even cares about that? Believe me, it was not at all the place where I felt obligated to comply with etiquette and protocol, or even a dress code and if there is one, should be communicated. It was simply very out of place, inappropriate, and unnecessarily embarrassing—I found it super outdated and overall, very disappointing considering everything.

The hotel has definitely seen its better days. It’s not a five star hotel anymore. Feels it froze in time in early 1990’s. It feels like a retirement home. If you’re used to proper modern European 5-star hotels, this will disappoint. But frankly, you get what you pay for.

Few things/incidents to note:
-. By far something that ruined my impression. Unprofessional staff. Unwelcoming and unapproachable reception staff. Waiters at breakfast audibly called our east-european family “russian”. They always lack English speakers. Calling a bar or reception by phone will only lead to them passing their responsibilities to each other instead of tending to your needs. They need to grow up.
-subpar and disappointing breakfast quality. I had better breakfast in a random bnb in Nepal.
-SMOKING INSIDE. Stench of cigarettes everywhere.
-all of the facilities but the spa are extremely aged.
-amenities in the room are disappointing. Despite walk-in wardrobe present the room did not provide a kettle, any tea/coffee, or anything to be expected from the hotel.
-abysmal wifi
-tap water is pure chlorine. All while they charge you for bottled water. This is embarrassing. They often forget to replenish minibar with water as well.
-pool is too cold for a “hot” spring or terme.
-guests mostly consist of extremely old people who really don’t mind being extremely mound next to you in a quiet zone. Inconsiderate, rude, judgemental and obnoxiously entitled.
-town is really sad. Half of hotels are standing closed. Very depressing, often Chornobyl-esque type of vibe

Good stuff:
-Spa is ok
-disposables provided in rooms
-rooms are reasonably spacious.
-if you have a car, staying here is amazing because you can travel to Bologna or Venice.
-parking present. Though beware as during busy times it’s impossible to find spot.

Also it definitely does not look like the photosz borderline scam.

The pretentious aura is present. Feels like it’s a great circus show where instead of proper 5 stars you get disappointment mixed with waiters wearing tuxedos at dinner. Really funny to look at from the side, quite sad and annoying when you experience it. Yikes.

They need to figure themselves out. This is definitely not 5 stars.

If you are used to actual 5 stars, please manage your exceptions.