Beautiful Bologna - Bad Hotel Designs

Bologna is one of my favorite cities in Italy that's virtually ignored by tourists. It's a city enlivened by a large university community, with miles and miles of arcaded walks to keep you out of the weather during these off-season strolls, and some of the best food in Italy.

Last night we took one of those walks to piazza Maggiore, Bologna's central square, to have a pre-dinner Prosecco and do some people-watching. The air was pleasantly cool, which does not describe our night at the Starhotel Bologna.

You see, our 7th story room seethed with heat on that cool evening. The front desk folks informed us that the air conditioning wouldn't be turned on until May 15th, three days away. They advised, "You can open the windows."

Sure, you can open the (dual double glazed) windows that look onto the Bologna train station--and to the incessant noise generated all night long around the city's main transportation hub.

Noise or decent temperature? Now there's a dilemma that shouldn't be presented to travelers in a four star hotel. Ever. We didn't actually need environmentally nasty air conditioning, we just needed a way to get that cool evening air into the room without opening the window. Why don't hotel designers think of these things?

But, at least our room had some hooks for your clothes.