Hotel Accademia

Very good family run hotel in the middle of Verona. About 10 minutes walk from the Arena and 5 minutes from Piazza Erbe, the heart of the city. Plenty of shopping and eating and sightseeing within a few minutes walk. The room we had was spacious with all the facilities you would expect. There was a small bathroom with a walk-in shower and a bidet. The bed was very large and even though the window looked out on a busy pedestrian shopping street the sound proofing was effective. As well as quite a lot of wardrobe space there was a coffee table with two easy chairs and a desk with charging facilities. The staff in reception were helpful and gave us several food ideas about places to see and things to do. Public space in the hotel had a variety of traditional and modern art with plenty of seating as well as private meeting rooms and lounge areas. Every afternoon there were welcome drinks in the library. Breakfast was a good selection on a large buffet though finding a seat could be a bit haphazard since almost every table had a reserved sign on it. These seemed to be flexible and more to do with helping the staff know who was recently arrived than with any actual reservation.

An unbeatable central location for visiting the opera and for sightseeing. A quick 10 minute walk can take you past the Piazza Erbe, Juliet's House and the Arena. One night the opera was called off halfway due to a rain storm, and I was barely wet by the time I made it back to the hotel! Plus, the room very comfortable, common areas pleasant and the included breakfast very good.

If you are traveling to Verona and you don’t stay at Academia, you will be committing traveling malpractice. The rooms are what you would expect from a gold star standard hotel. The staff is the best. They are friendly, helpful. In addition, the hotel has quiet communal rooms for reading. We came to this hotel because we booked tickets to the Arena di Verona summer opera. We are about to watch the last opera, Carmen, or in Italian La Carmen, and then we are leaving for Paris. Paris is great but Verona oh my Verona, from Juliet’s balcony to outstanding restaurants and the Arena of course. Should have stayed longer in the hidden gem of Verona and Academia.