I have stayed dozens of times at the Royal Victoria as a work project kept me coming back to Pisa many times over the course of the past year and a half. I have also stayed there with my family. Some locals dismiss the big old place as a "hotel for little old English ladies," but I find it charming and genuine. If you do not need to stay at a place in Pisa with the Leaning Tower hovering over your head, the location is superb. Right on the Arno River, the hotel is surrounded by the best (non-touristy) restaurants in the city and provides a welcome relief from the insanity that envelopes the Tower. Still, it is only a fifteen-minute walk from all of that. The hotel has been managed by the same family for many generations, and its staff is made up of loyal, long-time employees. They are uniformly cheerful and helpful. I love waking up to the view of the river through its soaring double windows, the spacious old bathrooms, and the charming common rooms. In the summer I open the windows. In the winter there is plenty of central heating. If you are sensitive to street noise, ask for a room on a higher floor. I cannot recommend the Royal Victoria Hotel too highly and cannot wait to return.

This hotel was the worst by far of the 5 we stayed in during our recent vacation in Italy. Apparently the hotel is going to be renovated, that is good because it badly needs renovation. "Shabby chic" had its quixotic charm in the public areas, but our room was awful, simply awful. Shabby chic would have been a vast improvement. The room was large and not decorated at all....just bare walls, twin beds (we booked a double which turned out to be "2 adults" which does not mean "married couple" and was annoying). Also, one small table with small inadequate lamp between the beds, one dresser with a useless mirror, so low it stopped at my shoulders (I'm 5'3"). Also, a wardrobe and two chairs from the breakfast room. That's it. Huge room, bare. The beds were made up with sheets that were too small and became untucked easily to reveal the mattress cover: a bathroom towel! It looked like the convent we think it probably was, although I would suspect that the nuns might have thought this room was part of some larger plan of penitence and accepted it on that basis. The bathroom was tiny, not super clean. Thank goodness for the wide windowsill, otherwise there would have been zero place for bathroom items. Where to put the luggage? On the dining chairs, which were much too small really but were pressed into service. In short, the room was cold in feeling and was pretty much a dump. We would never stay there again or recommend it to anyone. Yes, the people were nice (they're in the hospitality business....) and yes the breakfast was okay, no different than any other hotel. But the room was awful. It also overlooked an area that is populated late into the evening by lots of young folk having lots of fun....nice for them but the noise level was bad until about 1:00 AM. The worst hotel of our trip, by far. We were glad it was only for one night.

This was our second trip to this wonderfully atmospheric hotel and we were housed in the same room (family room 102 overlooking the Arno), which had been decorated since our last visit about 7 years ago. The decor was brighter and fresher and the beds were much more comfortable than previously - very good quality and very comfortable. For a family of four, this is large and airy, with some very ancient stonework revealed which adds atmosphere. Despite this, the room was very warm throughout our stay which was appreciated. There is a kingsize bed (two beds together) and a single sofa bed and a single day bed. Lots of towels and a good size bathroom with basic shower bath and good bidet etc. Nice basic toiletries. The welcome is very warm on arrival, with reception staff very friendly and helpful with a great attention to detail. Ours recalled that we had mentioned an early start when we booked the room. The hotel is so historic, with a stunning little writing room overlooking the Arno, complete with writing desks each suitable for two writers and split by a screen so that the correspondents of a byegone age were afforded privacy. It brings to mind the film version of EM Forster's Room with a View. Throughout the hotel, you will spot old bakelite phones, wonderful antiques, gorgeous prints, sketches and paintings, little sitting rooms or music rooms which tell more about the history of this wonderful spot. The little roof top garden terrace with a view of the rooftops around must be a great spot in high summer to take an apperitif. There are appertifs served in the reception area in the evening. Staff were very helpful in suggesting a local spot to eat as we just fancied a pizza, being the last night of a week long trip. Their suggested pizzeria Tana 3 minutes walk away hit the spot and was good quality and extremely reasonable. Breakfast is very good with all the usual fare including little tomatoes, mozarella and prosciutto for those who can't do without even at an early hour on a trip to Italy. The only criticism is the coffee was a bit rough. The only negative throughout our stay was that staying on a friday night, straight after a bank holiday in Italy, we were disturbed during the night by noise from the street below. It was very disruptive. Having stayed in the same room before, we did not recall the same problem, so presume it was just because it was a particularly lively weekend. The plus side of the river view is obvious and we caught a wonderful sunrise over the city due to our early morning start. This is a gem of a location, 10 minutes walk to the Leaning Tower, right on the river, with a wealth of history and atmosphere. I would be hard pressed to even consider staying elsewhere in Pisa. I have given it 4 stars but for a property of its ranking it's unique and would be impossible to beat. Sleep quality in terms of beds was excellent, in terms of noise from outdoors, i think we were unlucky!

Better then what I expected. Advise you all to choose the traditional room with just another EUR20 more. You will get a wonderfully river view. The room is spacious really big even comes with separated room with sofa for you to take a rest. :)