I chose this hotel as it was the cheapest central single room with ensuite that I could find. Having done so, reading some of the reviews on this site, I began to feel a little nervous...

I need not have worried. The room was extremely pleasant; smallish but by no means cramped, with a double bed, desk, wardrobe etc. all newly fitted and furnished. The shower room was a wetroom, well functioning and clean. The layout did mean that I could hear next door's loo flushing (and presumably vice versa) but nothing more intimate! The bed was comfortable, the TV worked well and the lighting was good. The room was well cleaned every day (and the earring I dropped somewhere retrieved and put in a little basket for me) and fresh towels etc. put out.

I am rather surprised that other visitors found the staff to be unfriendly. They were very polite and helpful to me, switching between Italian and English to suit my varying fluency. Perhaps other reviewers expected something more gushing - personally I don't like hotel staff who pop up as I go in and out to ask where I am going, what I've done, whether I'm enjoying myself, where I had dinner etc. The staff at the Hotel Baltic, like most Italians, are professional and not intrusive.

The breakfast was ideal - a typical Italian breakfast of juice, coffee, rolls, croissants and pastries, all fresh and quickly served. It is served in the reception area but this is large enough and well set out as a breakfast room.

The hotel is in a typical Italian building, shared with other flats and offices, with stone stairs, large windows and a small old-fashioned lift. I generally used the stairs but didn't have any problems with the lift the few times I used it. For this reason I wouldn't recommend the hotel to people with small children, disabilities or who are seriously overweight. For reasonably fit adults, however, those who are on a budget and enjoy the experience of staying in a real Italian environment, I would recommend the Hotel Baltic highly.