Grand Hotel Duomo — Hotel in Pisa

This is probably the most unprofessional place I've ever been to. Location means a lot, we all know that but if you expect anything even remotely 4star when it comes to service, don't go here. It all started with us calling the hotel in the morning before our arrival since my lost lugguage was supposed to be send there. We called and asked them to write down our names and get our lugguage if it comes before our arrival (even though we already booked). Even at that point we had the feeling they don't care. The female staff member taking that call was all "yeah, yeah, will do, will do" while obviously talking to somebody else.

What can I say: my lost lugguage came. But the hotel staff send the courier away because (other than promised) they did not write down our names or didn't inform the next shift.

After our arrival they handed us the keys to our room. It came with a little surprise. The room wasn't cleaned yet. Even the tips for the cleaning staff was still on the table, the bedsheets all over the place, dirty towels on the floor, a full trashbin (see pictures) . So we went back to the reception and asked them what happened. No sense for responsibility there. Of course it was an external cleaning companies fault (that's at least what they told us). If the owners would ever decide to rename that place, "NotSoGrand Hotel 'It wasn't me'" would be an appropriate title, at least it would be honest.

It's not 4 star in my humble opinion. Everything is pretty worn down, that place definitely needs some fresh paint....and staff. After our first day there we went out for breakfast even though it was included since other guests told us it wouldn't be so good. I don't actually know though for obvious reasons.

Later that day I wanted to make a reservation for the rooftop restaurant since it comes with a beautiful view. I went down to the reception and asked for said reservation. The staff member behind the counter told me that I should go up to the rooftop restaurant and make a reservation there. We were guest of this hotel! The phone was standing right next to the reception guy. I thought, the reception would maybe know their own restaurant staff better and would also know the internal phone number of their own restaurant. But he told me to go up and take care of it myself. I don't mind doing that. But that is usually what I got in hostels 20 years ago.

After all this we asked for the name of the person who worked the desk when we checked out. The desk manager (Natalia) promised me she would find out and tell me later. I told them I don't want to scare anyone but need this for documentation. Natalia said she'd understand and get the name for us. When we came back later, Natalia was obviously not on duty anymore. But the guy who was there refused to tell me names. Even after I told him that it was promised earlier by the desk manager. As mentioned before: this hotel does not know what responsibilty is.

This place is 4star location wise but less than 1 star when it comes to service. If you don't mind being treated disrespectful by hotel staff and love seeing them being lazy and take absolutely no responsibilty for their actions...this is your place to go.

All the others: I'd...

We stayed at Grand Hotel Duomo twice in n 10 days on either side of a week’s stay in Lucca.

The hotel is in a great location, close to the Piazza del Duomo for the leaning tower, cathedral and museum. There are a number of restaurants scattered all around the hotel.

The staff were, for the most part, extremely friendly and helpful.

The viewing gallery and restaurant on the top floor are beautiful, with magnificent views of the tower and the Tuscan Hills. I highly recommend a visit at sunset, even if only for drinks. However, we did eat there on the last night and the food was wonderful. The waiting staff at super attentive and I can’t fault the restaurant in any way.

The rooms are spacious, clean and tidy.

This is a perfect place to stay for a short break in Pisa.

However, there was one issue which prevented the hotel getting 10/10.

On the last day of our second stay, we came back from a day’s sightseeing at about 3:30pm to find that our toilet wouldn’t flush.

I immediately went down to reception to report this and the receptionist told me that he would get a colleague to look at it.

We were in our room then until just before 7pm and nobody came to look at the problem. We left the room to go to dinner at 7pm and, again, I reported the problem to the front desk to a different representative.

Again I was told that a colleague would look into the problem.

We came back from dinner at about 9:30pm to discover that the toilet still hadn’t been fixed!

I went back to the front desk to be told that there were no staff available to fix the problem as it was a Sunday and the only alternative was that we could change rooms so, after a dinner and drinks, we had to pack up our room and move our belongings to a room on the floor above.

Surely this lack of staff would have been known at 3:30 when we initially reported the issue?

It is such a shame as this really left us with a poor impression of the hotel which was...

Interior is nicer than exterior. Great loaction! Only 12 minute drive from airport (according to maps, 30min walk). There isn't any parking, however, the reception staff were happy to draw a diagram of where we could park in the surrounding streets. Reception staff were friendly and helpful. The view from our Juliette balcony was GREAT!! We were on the 4th floor! It was loud of a night time (hearing the staff clean up the terrace above and road sweeps at 6am) BUT that's expected when you choose a hotel on a busy street and we were able to sleep with ear plugs!

I paid €166 for a double for one night and this included the city tax.Forgot to take a pic but bathroom had bath with stand in shower, Bidet, toilet and sink...all clean! There were 3 wardrobes compartments opposite the bathroom and then into the bedroom which had a double bed, full length mirror and a desk. Small TV on the wall and a safe in the wall. Very basic but clean and all you need.

Breakfast was included and there was a good selection of hot and cold, sweet and savory food.

The roof terrace is a beautiful place to watch the sunset, it's a shame the staff weren't as friendly, they didnt like we had 4 stools around a 2 seater table, but they didnt offer to move us anywhere else as we were only having a drink and not eating. We left more than enough room to get passed but we got dirty looks as they went back and forth to the kitchen. You need to make reservations to have dinner here and its not included in room price obviously.

If you want cheap and cheerful in a good location then this is it! 5 minutes walk from the tower (if that), 15 minute walk to the busy piazza with bars and restaurants. 20 minute easy walk across the river to Pisa centrale...