We recently returned from a stay at Hotel Marconi in Cattolica.

It's a family run hotel. Very near the beach and a 5-10 min walk to the center of Cattolica.

The Hotel is run by Floretta and her husband (who is the chef) along with her son Danielo and daughter Catterina. They are such wonderful and helpful people, really friendly and will go out of their way to help. They even arranged to have a taxi pick us up from Rimini airport, which took only around 20-30 mins, and wouldn't break the bank. The hotel is located off the beaten track, so it is nice and quiet, unlike many of the other hotels which are located either right in the centre, which gets very noisey at night, or on the main road along the beachfront, which is also very noisey, which would make having your breakfast/lunch/diner outside a rather unattractive option.

The hotel has a fishing theme to it, is clean and well organised. The room we staying in looked a little tired and the overhead fan was a little noisey (to be fair we didn't tell them about this, so maybe they didn't know), but it had a nice bathroom and all that you would need was provided. The maid came daily and changed the towels, and there was airconditioning. You can have your meals there included in the price and the food was good. The service from the waitresses was also excellent.

There is a designated beach for the hotel 5 minutes away, but you do have to pay for this. You need to book a sunbed and parosol from the chap as you enter the beach area.....(don't do what I did on the first day and just pick any free one, as you'll get told off....! Although he was very civilised about this)..it is a bit pricey.....I think we paid 50 ish Euros for 4 days.....you book the number of days you want in advance.

The beach is sandy which was nice. Lots of Italians and Germans seem to holiday there..no English lager louts looking for fish and chips...which, I have to say, was nice. The water however was not so clear...but people were swimming and chilling out on the moored boats.

Go to the centre, and there you'll see lots of cafes and bars.....and the icecream is heavenly !! There are also lots of fashion shops/boutiques (most stay open very late), and some great fountains too.

We booked the hotel directly by calling them on the telephone number on their website. They speak English well...(although Danielo and Catterina sometimes had a difference of opinion when it came to translating the menu for me......very funny!) . They also speak German and French.

We took a trip to nearby Riccione where we went to a kind of aquapark which has dolphins......very good for the kids (although we don't have any, so good for adults too) and a good show was put on...definately recommend it.

We liked our stay very much and would go back.

Hope this gives you a good idea of what you could expect.

Happy holiday !!

GM, from London.