We stayed at Locanda l'Elisa in July 2012 for one night. We had read the not so positive reviews in advance, but thought we would give the hotel a chance anyway..after all you can always find people who are not happy about something.

But the reviews were right I'm afaid. If I was to rate the hotel I would say 3½ star. No more.

It seems very old and worn out. From the days when wall to wall carpets were a sign of class and good taste.Those carpets were still there.

We stayed in their best and largest room (they called it junior suite), because we were two adults and our two children (age 9 and 13), but even so it was very worn out. The decor was I would guess 30-40 years old, wall to wall carpets, heavy curtains, floors made a squeeking sound (like old England) etc. The room was actually clean only you do not get that feeling when walking barefoot on a carpet you think has been there for 30 years.

The pool was old too with a wooden frame around it. Some of the would frame was loose so you could not sit on the frame with your toes in the water. There was a small pond next to the pool with a lot of frogs but also a lot of musquitos. So many in fact, that you were not able to dine outside, but had to dine in the gazebo restaurant (which was actually pretty cosy).

The staff was very friendly and helpfull though. It was actually a nice hotel only the rating is wrong, and thereby the pricing wrong as well. 3½ star at the most.

Nice, cute and charming hotel near Lucca, Italy. However, this hotel does not qualify as a ***** hotel. There is absolutely no element that qualifies for *****: no help with the luggage, no room service, reception was friendly but not particularly useful. Breakfast was meagre and disappointing (bad orange juice, we had to pay for any extra). The hotel would qualify for a **-*** hotel.

During a recent road trip around Italy, we spend a couple of nights in this hotel, and were quite disappointed. Our room was small - looking on the floor plan it was the smallest in the hotel, which was a shame seeing as the hotel was half empty! The buffet breakfast was meagre (you had to pay extra for ham and cheese, which is a bit odd for Italy), and a few tables were swarming with ants. Decor in the room was strange, with ceiling drapes being used to attempt to hide strip lighting in the bathroom!! I'm usually a big fan of boutique hotels, but this was severely lacking and nowhere near the standard of other 5 star hotels. Admittedly, the cost does reflect this, but still, visitors might be disappointed if they are expecting a standard 5-star service.

This is a beautiful hotel in what used to be a villa just outside of Lucca. The rooms were all large (they let us see all the available ones and choose our rooms). The service was great and the staff was very helpful. The breakfast service was excellent as well with plenty to choose from. Overall, it was a great 2 night stay.