robertofL114TH
Couples · September 20254/10
We stayed twice at Phi Hotel Bologna within two weeks, and had two very different experiences.
The first stay (August 21st, booking under my wife’s name) was excellent: an Artsy room, spacious, with ...We stayed twice at Phi Hotel Bologna within two weeks, and had two very different experiences.
The first stay (August 21st, booking under my wife’s name) was excellent: an Artsy room, spacious, with a proper king bed, and a very large bathroom with a bathtub – everything perfect. I would have rated that stay 5 stars.
Unfortunately, our return from September 4th to 6th (booking under my name) was extremely disappointing.
First night (room 306):
• The door lock was broken – repaired once, but broken again the next morning.
• The room, although labeled Artsy, did not match the advertised features: only a 153x190 cm “French” or queen bed (definitely not a king), a very small bathroom with a cramped shower cabin instead of the bathtub (or bathtub + shower) described for this room type.
• Overall, the space felt much more like a Compact room, not an Artsy.
• I personally measured the room and bed with a Lidar scan, confirming these discrepancies.
Second night (room 305):
• After my complaint the following morning, we were moved to another Artsy room, with a proper king bed (177x190 cm) and more adequate space (~20 m²).
• While slightly smaller than the excellent Artsy room we had in August, this one was acceptable and matched the advertised Artsy category.
Check-out (September 6th):
• I raised the issue that the first night was clearly not in an Artsy but in a Compact, even though we paid for the higher category.
• No price adjustment was ever offered for the first night, despite the obvious downgrade of being placed in room 306. FYI I did not request one, as I preferred to give the hotel the opportunity to make things right on their own and show the quality of their service.
• Instead of acknowledging the mistake, the receptionist instead kept insisting that moving us from room 306 to 305 was an “upgrade,” repeating that we wouldn’t be charged extra—as if this were some kind of favor.
• To add insult to injury, he framed it as though we were benefiting, when in fact we had been downgraded the first night and never compensated for it.
• In reality, room 305 was not an upgrade at all, but simply the Artsy category we had originally booked.
Positives: The hotel itself is charming, the location is great, breakfast and dinner were very good, and most of the staff is polite and courteous.
Negatives:
• Room 306 not compliant with the Artsy description (smaller French bed, tiny bathroom with only a small cabin shower).
• Broken lock, unresolved.
• False communication at check-out: what they called an “upgrade” was simply giving us the correct room type.
• No price adjustment or recognition of the downgrade.
Conclusion:
After an excellent first stay, the second one turned into a major disappointment. The lack of transparency in room allocation and the misleading explanation at check-out completely undermined our trust. Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this hotel to anyone who expects consistency and honesty.show more
