A five-story building (ground floor plus four floors above having internal corridors) situated perpendicular to state highway via Aurelia (Strada Statale 1, also via Firenze) at Stagno just outside Livorno city. We enjoyed our stay, and would recommend this hotel if you prefer modern-style, multistory, suburban accommodation.

The building has parking situated at one side. Next door is an Agip gas/petrol station and next to that a McDonalds; on the other side of the hotel is an access driveway to a refinery.

We came to Livorno to visit relatives living in the city itself. Having a car, we chose this hotel to avoid the narrow streets, parking problems and traffic congestion common in old and historic town centers. This approach worked well for us, as the center of Livorno was only two miles south and, for further sightseeing, the center of Pisa only ten miles north. We could drive to either place using the state highway passing outside the hotel or the autostrada A12 which had an entry/exit ramp nearby.

The hotel sits at the edge of a large oil refinery; however, this did not concern us. Apparently, the hotel once belonged to Agip, and had been entirely renovated about three years ago.

We requested a quiet room away from the highway. The receptionist assigned us a room at the end of the corridor away from the elevator/lift and the stairs (try for rooms x09 or x10, if possible on the third floor). The double-glazed window effectively blocked outside noises.

Of modest but adequate size, the guest rooms we used had attractive, modern furniture in excellent condition. Overall, the hotel was immaculately clean and scrupulously maintained. Since the hotel was in an industrial area and we were visiting outside the main tourist season, it was pleasantly tranquil.

The reception desk, bar, lounge area, restaurant and meeting rooms were on the ground floor. Fourteen guest rooms and a larger family room were on each of the next three floors. On the top (fourth) floor, each of three suites (we took a look) had a spacious sitting room, bedroom and bathroom with access to a wide terrace, making them more like penthouses (if you do not have a limited budget, consider staying in one of the top-floor suites 401-403).

We found all the staff encountered during our two-night stay pleasant, friendly, cooperative and helpful. We preferred to use our adequate Italian, though the reception staff could speak English if needed.

One night we returned after midnight to find that the cleaning lady had left the security bolt engaged and locked us out. Staff on night duty could not open it, so they gave us the room opposite. After the manager had succeeded in reopening it later in the morning, we returned to our original room after a good night’s sleep.

The only problem we encountered was the entry of ordinary sounds of movement from the corridor into the room, as the cleaning lady started her activities at 7 a.m. on our first morning. Alas, this is an all too common situation with many other hotels as well.

A spacious restaurant off the lobby-bar-lounge area provided a continental breakfast available from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. The selection included juices, coffee, milk, cereals, cakes, croissants, bread, yogurt, fruit, ham, cheese, condiments and other items. The woman attending the bar offered us freshly made coffee of our choice from the espresso machine.