Grand Hotel Tamerici & Principe — Attraction in Montecatini Terme

On arrival at the hotel we didn’t need to wait long for our room to be ready and went up to see what it was like. The room was painted completely orange, including the ceiling, this made the bedroom feel very dark and the bedroom lights were not very bright, the bedhead was damaged where, what looked like motifs, had been pulled off the fabric, the furniture was very old, which we accepted as maybe it was the Tuscan style, the curtains were very thin. The bathroom was relatively modern. We had a balcony but there was a leak from the balcony above which we thought may have been coming from the air conditioning unit , so you couldn’t sit out as you got splashed with water, the view was pretty over the town and up to Montecatini Alto.||The bedroom was serviced everyday.||The safe didn’t work, my wife rang reception and a member of staff came very promptly to fix it, half way through the week we decided not to trust it anymore as it seemed to have a mind of its own and stopped using it.||We found a picture in reception of the hotel in its hay day, it was built in 1911 and in the photographs it looked incredible, sadly those days are long gone and the hotel, albeit it very clean and adequately serviceable, is tired. We think the hotel is run by a family rather than a chain and to be fair to them they have done remarkably well to keep such a big building open. ||Our evening meal on the first night was a set menu of four courses. My wife is vegetarian which she declared at the time of booking, however this had not been catered for in advance and she had to wait until people had finished eating their main course to be presented with a plain omelette. This happened on other occasions, by the middle of the week the waiting staff managed to bring her food option out with the rest of the guest’s meals. ||Breakfast was served as a continental style with the option of hot scrambled eggs and bacon. There wasn’t always a lot of food left if you went down later.||Our last evening meal in the hotel was a set meal again as on our first evening. My wife was catered for satisfactorily on this evening and our desert was a baked Alaska which staff brought out on a platter with sparklers, the staff were all very efficient and upbeat on this last evening, it was just a shame they hadn’t behaved in this manner for the entire duration of our stay.||Reception staff and the bar staff were all exceptionally friendly and helpful. ||we had an early start for our flight home, there was the option of a breakfast bag if you wished and they did open the restaurant for coffee too if you wished to have a cup.||The hotel has a small pool area which was very pleasant and has the added feature of bubble and a massage waterfall to use.||In the local area there were many hotels that were closed and seemed abandoned, the conference centre next to the Tamerici was closed and no longer in use. We were looking forward to investigating the thermal spas which the town is famous for, however we were told that the only feature left open is the ability to drink the water and this is only open in the morning. We wonder if this had contributed to the demise of some of the businesses in the town as there were shops shut as well as hotels. This was a shame as we imagined that the town had once been thriving and more abundant.||A short walk from the hotel is a beautiful park which you can walk through to the funicular railway which takes you up to Montecatini Alto, this was an extremely pleasant experience and gives wonderful, far reaching views over the area. We had a walk around the village and took refreshments in the beautiful square filled with cafes and restaurants. ||This hotel had been booked for us by the tour operator "Travelsphere" this allowed us a central location to visit, Pissa, Florence, Siena, Vinci, Chianti valley and San Gimignano. All of these places were just amazing and it was nice having a central location to return to rather than live out of suitcase...

Review: Hotel Terme Tamerici & Principe, Monticelli Terme||Positives:||The hotel is well-located for exploring Tuscany and is just a 40-minute drive from Pisa Airport.||Monticelli Terme itself is a charming and convenient small town, offering good local shops and restaurants at reasonable prices.||Housekeeping standards at the hotel are high — rooms are cleaned thoroughly and regularly.||Negatives:||General Condition:||The hotel has clearly not seen significant investment or refurbishment in over 20 years. It feels tired and neglected.||The exterior is particularly run-down: wood is rotting, canopies are torn and faded, rusted lights and flagpoles dangle precariously — not exactly a warm welcome.||Rooms:||Rooms are dated, and much of the furniture is chipped or poorly repaired. Any updates appear to have been done cheaply, with visible signs of shoddy craftsmanship.||Restaurant:||The restaurant has an old-school charm, but it’s also stuck in the past. Service feels outdated, though the food itself is of good quality. The menu is quite limited, and if you’re vegetarian or vegan, you’ll struggle to find suitable options.||Bar:||The bar has a definite 1970s vibe — and not in a good way. It likely hasn’t been redecorated since then. That said, the bar staff are friendly, and there’s a decent drink selection. Prices, however, are steep — you’ll save money by walking to a nearby spot.||Facilities:||The gym is basic to say the least — one treadmill, a stationary bike, an elliptical, and a multi-use weight machine.||The pool is in poor shape, showing signs of long-term neglect. Cracked surfaces, old loungers, rusty tables, and worn-out lamps all point to a lack of maintenance and reinvestment.||Reception Staff:||This was the biggest disappointment. The reception staff were cold, dismissive, and at times outright rude. It often felt like they were doing me a favor by allowing me to stay.||When I asked for the air conditioning to be turned on due to uncomfortable heat, I was told it was “illegal” to use AC in April in Italy — a bizarre and clearly false excuse.||We were also told that breakfast bags and coffee would be provided for early excursions, only to be told to “come back at 7:30” when we showed up. No apology — just a begrudging handover of food once several other guests backed us up.||Final Thoughts:||While the maitre d’, bar staff, and cleaning crew were professional and courteous, the attitude of the front desk team overshadowed everything. It created a toxic environment that ruined what could have been a pleasant stay.||In short, this hotel is in a great location — but it’s outdated, poorly maintained, and the front-of-house service is unacceptable. I wouldn’t return, and I wouldn’t recommend it until significant...

I stayed as an independent traveller with my friend. This hotel is used by lots of touring groups. | EXTREMELY poor food choices and equally bad service at breakfast. I am not saying touring groups should put up with poor quality food either. Most of the groups were expensive tour companies. My friend and I were ignored on entering the restaurant from day one. Found own table. | The food was very poor quality. Coco pops!!!! in a tube or cardboard like kellogs cereal in a tube. No other choice, muesli, branflakes, etc. In fact, by day 4, we went to the supermarket and brought our own yoghurts. Hotels were cheap, watery ones| Same square plastic cheese, no choice of cheese. Bread was hard white rolls. All fruit in bowls canned only fresh fruit, small worn out looking oranges and water melon because it is cheap.|The jam was a liquid grunge. Yes, you guess, though, a glass tube. The cakes and crossisnts were fine if you ate tlthese with your breakfadt. Usual only 2 x coffee machines. |Staff ignored all requests for a tea pot even though several Italian couples were given one. Had to find own cutlery at times. They kept saying u tour group? No, we were not, and why did it matter?|They boarded on the downright rude to totally ignoring us. It was so bad we went for the last 2 days to a great local cafe .|The hotel is very faded splendour, pool absolutely freezing and areas needed sweeping on a more regular basis. Reception needs an update and lace drapes disposed of.|Receptionist very helpful.|On the plus side, the housekeeping staff were amazing. My room and bathroom were spotles. The young girl worked so hard.The bedroom was a decent size and bathroom a very good size. They did give us rooms on the top floor as requested and were very quiet . No banging doors or noise at all. |Overall, I'm very disappointed 😞 .Oh, the other point was when lots of people had been to breakfast, then you came down they were very slow to replenish items. Did not bother with scrambled congealed eggs, cut up frankfurter looking sausages. But hey, you could have these every day of your stay as nothing changed. |Sorry, but lots of other people were saying the same things about...