I was booked into the Hotel President while on business in the area. After having stayed in another 4* Hotel President in Florence on a recent business trip, I was a bit worried (I know it is not a chain and there could be no link between the two apart from the name, but still...). However, this hotel proved to be far, far better and, for an Italian independent hotel, it was as close to its actual star rating as I have ever seen. And I even think I got one of the worst rooms! I was on the top floor where the ceiling slanted down and the only light came in through a skylight window. The room was quite small, but adequate (only a single). However, what impressed me the most was the cleanliness and how orderly it all was. Certainly it is not brand new, but the housekeeping must be of a good enough standard to make it seem like at least it has been taken good care of. Importantly, the bathroom was very clean with no mould or scruffy marks anywhere, again vouching for the hotel's standards of cleaning. The only drawback is possibly the shower which, despite my best efforts of sealing the shower curtain against the tiled walls on both sides, still left a rather large pool of water on the bathroom floor.
Breakfast was excellent with a lot of choice and everything looking very fresh and well laid out. Hot drinks were served to your table rather than from a self-service machine so it was essentially like going to a bar (the Italian way) but also having your pick of all the croissants, cakes and other food you wanted.
Staff were also kind and helpful, both at check-in and check-out.
To summarise, it is not a luxurious hotel, but for Italian standards, its star rating really is not so misleading. I would give it a three and a half, which is good considering most of the 4*s I stay in in Italy merely deserve a 2*.
I will certainly consider it for my next trip to Udine.
- President Hotel Udine
