Hotel Gioia Garden

Stayed for 5 nights in June. The hotel is a villa set in a lovely garden with fantastic pool area. The hotel is just a few minutes walk into the centre of town and there is a wood nearby too. The location is quiet with the only noise being from birds and the occasional dog barking. There is parking within the hotel grounds though if necessary parking on the street outside would not be a problem. The owner, Franco, could not have been more friendly or helpful and was constantly around the hotel checking everything was as it should be. He even gave us a bottle of local wine when we checked out to take home with us! I would say the decor is typically Italian - which we love - but others might find the rooms a bit sparse. Probably a tiled floor doesn't help as it does make it feel rather cold and echoy. Some rooms had balconies though ours didn't - though it had large windows that you could fully open out. The room was large with high ceilings and had everything needed including a fridge containing some complimentary water and soft drinks. Unusually, there were plenty of hangers in the wardrobe including hangers with clips to hang skirts. There was also a safe in the wardrobe. The bathroom was fully tiled and contained a shower (no bath) and there were complimentary toiletries and a hairdryer. Breakfast was typical Italian fayre - cereal, yogurt, danishes, juice and coffee. No hot food or savoury items. We found it more than adequate. Fiuggi is a lovely spa town though quite small. Important to note is that there are not a lot of restaurants in the town centre. There are a lot of cafes but not 'proper' restuarants. The season had not started when we were there so lots of hotels and some restaurants weren't actually open yet. I think this is because there are so many hotels (250+ according to the tourist information) which offer half board and therefore perhaps there isn't a demand for restaurants for eating out in the evening. There are several nice restaurants up in the old town but there is not a lot else up there - though the walk up and down is pleasant and the view is wonderful. I would love to return to Fiuggi some day and would definitely stay at this hotel again. Thre are some bigger, posher hotels but the location, service and friendliness of staff at the Gioia Garden cannot be beaten. Thank you to Franco and all the staff for making our stay so enjoyable.