Hotel Europa

Similar to last stay not up to nowadays standards: little amenities at the room, no coffee making option, terrible shower with 1/ small cabine; 2/ the position of the shower head was not good; 3, the water tap regulation positioned so that every move you make you touch it with all consequences... and, worst, 4/ nearly impossible to get the right temperature (even before you start moving and touching the grip... Rather basic breakfast buffet but excellent omelet, not from "ersatz-eggs".

Hotel Europa is well positioned, just in front of the "Cappella degli Scrovegni", and it is 5-6 minutes walk both from the railway station and from the main squares in the old city. I had a good room with a comfortable bed and a balcony. Wi-fi worked very well. It was far too hot in the room, and the heating control did not have any effect on the room temperature. Insulation from outside noise was not very good. Insulation from other rooms was poor - I could hear noises from nearby rooms and from the room above. The bathroom was just ok, with an uncomfortable shower-in-tub. Breakfast was good, with some choices available. Service was OK.

The Hotel Europa is only a ten or twelve minute walk from the Padova railway station and is easy to find. The hotel is also only about a ten minute walk to the centre of the old town, with historical sites and shopping, restaurants and bars all being fairly close. Check-in was easy and despite being early by about twenty minutes, the receptionist gave me a room. A double room, it had an independent air-conditioning unit, a safe (which was unfortunately locked when I arrived), plenty plug points, a fridge with two bottles of water and a bathroom with very basic toiletries. The internet wifi worked alright. Rather strangely for a 4 star hotel however, there was no coffee machine/kettle in the room with instant coffee/tea etc. The room was clean and although not luxurious was comfortable enough. Breakfast was of the usual continental style but with the addition of bacon and scrambled or boiled eggs. A few rolls, breads, croissants, pastries, tarts as well as cold meat, cheese, yoghurt, choice of cereals, fruit juice and some fresh fruit. Sounds like a lot, but compared with other hotel breakfast buffets, it was actually quite meagre. No self-service coffee machine (probably a good thing!) but you could ask the staff for a cappucini or whatever. They didn’t actively ask if you wanted a coffee; you had to approach and ask them. Likewise when first entering the restaurant there was no ‘buongiorno” or “good morning”, just a rather sour faced woman asking for your room number. I did ask the receptionist if the safe in my room could be opened so as I could use it and was promised that somebody would come later to fix it but they never did. However having lost my phone charger, I also asked if I could borrow one and the receptionist went into a drawer and gave me one to use. Check-out was quick with another cheery guy at reception. Overall, a bit of a hit or a miss type of place. The receptionists were fine (other than not following up on my request regarding the room safe) but the attitude of the breakfast staff leaves a lot to be desired and I can’t understand a 4 star hotel not having a kettle in the room. At best an average hotel which seemed to me to be more of a 3 than a 4 star. I’ve actually stayed in several better 3 star hotels in Italy than this place. Significantly better!

The hotel gives the impression being high-standard, but at several details it's clearly basic-standard: nearly no amenities at the room - also no coffee; basic breakfast buffet (but with excellent omelet, not from "ersatz-eggs". Personal might be friendlier. Cleaning on arrival was poor with 2 dirty small objects (no details here) underneath the phone on the small table next to the bed. Good bad, but without real shower option. I was lucky having a large room, even with a small terrace.

Excellent location within walking distance of central station and most historical attractions. Hotel shows glaring lack of maintenance and a system to address problems. When we reported that the refrigerator did not work, we were were informed that 'all the fridges were like that'. The air conditioner dripped constantly through the night, requiring towels to prevent flooding the floor which showed clear signs that this is not a recent problem. The plastic doors of the shower cubicle are mal-aligned, do.not slide smoothly nor close properly. When we asked the receptionist to whom we should report the problems, she said, 'to me if you want'! We asked for the manager who offered to move us to another room. While acknowledging the sincerity of the offer, the collective experience is a sad example of how not to run a purported 4 star hotel.

This place is quite normal. You get what you normally would expect from a hotel. AC in the rooms, elevator, friendly and helpful staff and an average breakfast which will. give you what you need but nothing extra. If you arrive by car, the hotel uses a parking garage a few 100 m away from the hotel where you can get a parking spot for 20€. The drop off/pick-up parking outside the hotel is also within the ZTL controlled zone of Padua, but the hotel sends in a permission for you, so hopefully you won't get a fine. The hotel is also very close to the Scrovegni chappel.