Hotel Moderno (Pisa, Italy)

It’s owned and run by family members and their combined friendly, helpful natures shine through at all times. They are a prime reason for staying here and owners provide a tower of strength and assistance to their Pisa visiting guests.

The guesthouse is only a two-minute walk to the railway station and is very easy to find. When it comes to thinking about the flight home, you are probably best advised to use a taxi or public transport to get to the airport. Grit your teeth though and you could walk there; it’s that close!

Once you’ve unpacked, you’ll quickly appreciate the high levels of cleanliness throughout the property; also the air conditioning. During your stay, you have to see the Tower. It’s an easy 30-minute walk through the busy town centre with its shops, restaurants and bars. A great location!

Rooms aren’t en-suite, although there is a sink in the room. That said, there are plenty of shared bathroom and toilet facilities. Unlike many similar places, everything is kept very clean; so no real problem – just a bit of inconvenience.

The property can become very noisy at night. In addition to a high degree of street noise, there is even more generated by fellow guests, combined with a general lack of sound-proofing.

The place, generally, is quite dark, dingy and dated. *Modern, it isn;'t! The lighting problem is accentuated in the corridors. Badly lit to start with, there must be some sort of time switch because, en-route to your room, you are quite likely to be plunged into total darkness.