Was in Brescia for business and was charmed by the historical sights. This hotel puts you right in the middle of the old town in perfect location to wander around. Very friendly staff with great English. Good breakfast. Only complaint was that internet in the room did not work and this was extremely inconvenient for me. Internet in common area worked well.

Not the easiest hotels to find, especially if arriving by car. However once there the location is excellent. All major sites, shops and restaurants within easy reach. Friendly, helpful staff, who recommended Osteria Bianchi for dinner - very good. Nice selection at breakfast. Good products, dressing gown and slippers - more like 4 star. Only complaints would be lack of strength in shower, and noise at night from bar.

Albergo Orologio is THE most charming and delightful hotel we have stayed in during our many trips to Italy. The reception staff, Roberta and Daniela, took excellent care of us. They suggested fabulous restaurants and gave us explicit directions on how to get around in the city. We felt like we were leaving very good friends after our four night stay. The hotel itself is very boutique-like and we stayed in a wonderful room. The breakfast every morning was delicious. The location of the hotel is better than we could have ever imagined, located right in the oldest part of the city. Brescia is conveniently located near Lake Garda but we didn't bother to go there because we were having such a wonderful time in the city - maybe next time. This hotel (16 rooms) is simply one of the best we have seen. You can't go wrong staying there.

Having been to Italy countless times, and probably stayed at some 30-40's 3-5 star hotels, we know the differences between the Italian hotel's star ratings. Having arrived from Mantova by train, we took a short cab ride to the Hotel's pedestrianized entrance, 9 euros.

Greeted by Ms Valerie and she was all smiles, very welcoming indeed! She led us to an upgraded suite as our reserved room, number 31 with a balcony, was taken. This suite, number 32, was huge in size, under the attic. Though it doesn't afford us much of view, it was very quiet for a good nights' sleep - which is of utmost importance to jet-lagged travellers.

The suite has an actual Queen or King bed, not twins pushed as one. There were 2 pillows and a cushion of varying degrees of hardness for each person, signs of a 4 or even 5 star hotel - we were indeed impressed! A flat screen TV with one or two English channels, and a L-shaped sofa (somewhat hard, not very comfy, but could be a sofa bed?).

A nice and small dressing table,with its matching mirror, which will help to save time in the mornings when one uses the bathroom and the lady puts on her make up - perfetto! Very strong hair dryer, too. The two glitches we found were - its bathroom shape was long and slim, needed sometime to get used to it and the air-con isn't very strong for such a huge room.

Breakfasts was great, either indoors or outdoors in a small courtyard with lovely plants, wonderful! Near this breakfast room, is my favorite corner of the hotel - a cosy reading area with gorgeous Chesterfield leather sofas. Plenty of magazine and books in English from travels, architecture, fashion etc for you to read, NICE!

Food wise, we had one of our best Italian meals at Al Frate (Via dei Musei, 25). Out of the hotel, turn right and turn right again, its on your left - you will not miss it. However, avoid the restaurant on the Hotel's immediate right hand side (forgotten its name). Though it has very nice indoor decors, but its food is somewhat below par for the same price charged at Al Frate.

It was our first visit to Brescia, and it was surprisingly nice. For cultural lovers like me, the Piazza della Loggia was indeed beautiful, but do be careful about venturing to an area off this Piazza, it was quite seedy with many purported Indians. The other mains sights are the Castello (not for the weak hearted and aged!) and the Santa Giulia Monastery.

There was lots and lots of shopping in Brescia, it is no wonder it is being called the 'Mini-Milan'. Though we spent only one night here, given a chance in the future, rather than dull Milan, we would like to make it our last stop in Italy. Enjoy the Albergo Orologio's kind hospitality and superb location (quiet in a pedestrianized area) ... its simply great value for your money!