Hotel Nizza

A convenient location within easy reach of both the train station (Stazione Porta Nuova has one side door facing the hotel) and the airport bus terminus (the airport bus waits on Corso Vittorio Emanuele a short distance west of Porta Nuova), a grand reception area trimmed to perfection with sofas, lofty foliage, glimmering mirrors and lots of light, a great welcome proffered by the charismatic signor of the house who seemed to head the reception day and night and a combination of renovated rooms, shining bathrooms and elegant furniture. This description is Hotel Nizza in brief, my fair estimation after a 12-night stay. I arrived at Stazione Porta Nuova late and without hotel booking. So, I started hunting around for accommodation. I strolled along the arcaded passageway of Via Nizza and soon I caught sight of the imposing all-glass doorway that characterizes Hotel Nizza. The hall I stood in was a welcome change to the other mediocre hotels I visited before and so I approached the reception desk to ask for availability and possibly for a good price. “I try not to kick out a one-night visitor, then how can I ever dismiss you who intend to honour us with your presence for 12 nights?”, the signor added amidst an avalanche of sweet-talk in Italian. So, I was shown to a double on the third floor, a medium-sized room with fine furniture that still smelled of wax and furniture polish. The room’s window overlooked a narrow side passageway and so offered no views whatsoever. At night, the noises from the underlying bar were intolerable and so we had to keep the window shut and switch on the AC. The huge bathroom, modern and elegant was a state-of-the-art affair. The shower had lots of electronic adjustments that included temperature control, a splash and swirl control similar to a miniature jacuzzi and a three-band radio. The buffet breakfast, held in the restaurant downstairs from 7:00 onwards was both an extravagant meal and a social occasion. An assortment of cereals, fresh fruit, cold cuts, cheeses, sweets and Italian specialities were available daily and in abundance. Somebody from the Borla Agnese family (who owns and runs the hotel) was unfailingly there to make visitors feel welcome and provide for them anything that the buffet lacked.