Hotel Accademia
Verona
by Sarah Shuckburgh
The Accademia Hotel is wonderfully situated, half way up via
Mazzini, the smartest street in Verona. Designer boutiques
flank this marble-paved pedestrian thoroughfare, along which
shoppers throng all day, and even denser crowds perform the
evening passegiata. Follow the flow for 200 yards, and you
arrive at the hub of the old town, Piazza Erbe. A short
amble in the other direction brings you to the spectacular
Roman arena, where operas are staged in summer. The river
Adige, which circles the old town, is never more than a
short stroll away. As a base for visiting the sights of
Verona, the Accademia is perfect.
Behind an ornate renaissance facade, the hotel foyer is
modern, but opulent, with chandeliers, gilt and mirrors. The
first floor breakfast room is fairly hideous, with padded
walls of swirly pink fabric, and plastic flowers arranged in
front of net-curtained windows. The orange juice, spinning
in a chilled dispenser, tastes like orange squash. The
ground floor restaurant also has a corporate feel to it, and
sure enough, in the winter months, the Accademia is full of
delegates attending business meetings in the hotel's six
conference rooms.
However, the staff are welcoming and efficient. The
chambermaids in particular keep very busy - closing shutters
and curtains whenever you go out, remaking beds after each
siesta, and producing clean towels and sheets daily. The
rooms are of varying sizes - ours was small and
oddly-shaped, squeezed between the ground floor and the
lofty piano nobile above - but we had a marble bathroom and
two soft armchairs. Some rooms face a quiet internal
courtyard, others face via Scala, a cobbled street used by
cars and motorbikes. Our window looked on to via Mazzini,
and below us, endlessly fascinating two-way streams of
elegantly-clad, chattering pedestrians flowed over the pink
and white marble paving. The noisy chatter continues long
into the night, but the double-glazed windows and heavy
shutters allow peaceful slumber.
First published by Travel Intelligence Ltd
©SarahShuckburgh |
