Royal Victoria Hotel

The location of the hotel is good but.. it was the worst hotel I've visited in recent years... Rusty bathroom and uncomfortable bed. The AC doesn't work and the room is just old and it's far from "classy". Very unfriendly front desk staff. He needs to be professional. There is no hot food for breakfast. I have wonderful memories of the beautiful city of Pisa, but I will never visit this hotel again.

The oldest hotel in Pisa, so it is claimed. It has a great location and tremendous staff. Sad that their level of professionalism is not supported by the infrastructure.
Reception was good. We had booked a Classic Double with river view, the description saying that it had air-conditioning. Well it did have an air-con unit.....but it didn't work. Nor did the heating. The window was single glazed and in early March, it isn't very warm.
On entering the room there was a small unlit vestibule so it was difficult to see where we were going. The room was large, very large! Lit by two bulbs which seemed lost in their large metal pendular light fittings.
On the ceiling near the window was what looked like the signs of a previous leak. There were some old metal frames sticking out above the window that seemed to have no purpose and just detracted from the ambience.
The furnishings were nice antiques in need of a little TLC and maybe some polish but for some reason a number of drawers were locked.
There were two bedside tables with bedside lights and the bed seemed comfortable.
The window did indeed overlook the river but it also became obvious that the window sill was probably rotten.
The en-suite bathroom was dim. The light over the sink did not work. The plug for the bath fitted poorly resulting in the bath emptying slowly. All the piping was exposed and was generally rather ugly. A lick of paint wouldn't have gone amiss!
Shortly after arrival a heavy rains shower started. Water poured in to the room through the window that was closed as best we could, but clearly the frame was well past functioning in the way it should.
With this litany of horrors we approached reception and were quickly moved to another room. This was much nicer and much grander and more importantly the window kept out the weather. However the light over the sink in the bathroom once again did not work. (Does nobody check these things?)
Overall this is a very faded beauty trading on its history but in serious need of major investment. While the ambience could be improved with some judicious painting, things such as the windows, electrics and air-conditioning units will require a lot of time and money, but until this happens this place is on a downward spiral.