I stayed in room 305 for 4 nights 30/12/12 to 3/1/13 at EUR80/night single incl breakfast booked on Booking.com. Nicely renovated, modern hotel - minimalist style with lots of tiles and white furniture. Slippers provided for winter on tiles (good idea). I was never cold and heating worked extremely well. The room design works well. Lots of space on the bathroom window sill and in shower for bathroom products (girls need this ha ha). Lots of extra benchspace running under the window to do work. Minibar available with reasonable prices. The windows are double glazed and then there are shutters you can close as well, so it was quiet and dark when I needed it to be. Good standard continental breakfast - rolls, cheese, meat, yoghurt, cereals, pastries, fruit. 5 mins walk to the train station and not much longer to walk down Via Garibaldi to the Duomo, Baptistry & centre of town.

I loved Parma! What a elegant, sophisticated town. Everything is well looked after. The train station is being totally refurbished and will be great when it's finished. It is the only place in Italy where you can find "We're Here to Help You" guys who carry your large bags up and down the stairs while the train station renovation is underway. Love it! I had great fun watching the 2Fs in winter - fur coats and Ferraris ... lots of fabulous upmarket wine bars (that start drinking REALLY early - sambucca and prosecco at 11.30am - but maybe that was New Years Eve ha ha), restaurants and shops. Naturally, it is culatello, prosciutto, parmegiano and 25yo balsamic heaven - but not only that, so many lush pastry shops. This is definitely one of the last Italian secret destinations - and not at all overrun with tourists. I can't wait to go back in summer - it would be even better with lots of outdoor bars.

I also had a fabulous dinner at Ristorante La Forchetta (Borgo San Biagio 6/D), just behind the Baptistry - I well recommend to you - the other favourites, La Greppia and Leon D'Oro were closed over Christmas/New Year. The Duchessa Parma with ham, cheese and marsala sauce with baked potoatoes was just perfect.