Stayed in the regina Del Mare in June. Location is approx 20 mins form Pisa airport.Split level accomodation, bedroom upstairs and downstairs both very comfortable. Kitchen/dining/living area could do with couch/armchair to relax or read, without going out to the patio chairs. Kitchen adequate. Ouside the hotel entrance to your right approx 100 meters their is a small supermarket/delicatessen for the little things. The biggest shopping centre for the whole region is the other side of Livorno and not worth the trip- bad value. If you can locate McDonalds drive- through on the approach to Livorno, there are two supermarkets near this, one is called Penny market & the other is called somthing like Esko. Both of these are quite reasonable and within 10mins from the hotel. Hotel reception- I found the staff had good english and were both pleasant and helpful for recommandations and directions.
Beach is at the rear of the hotel- 2 mins walk and private. Abundance of beds/chairs/Parosols. The beach is very clean and the water clear and warm. Plenty of free parking within the complex.
Cons:The air conditioning packed up in our room and we were moved to another room. The new room had a very strong smell of pipe tobacco so strong that my throat became tender and complained at reception to be moved or I was booking out of the hotel. The next day we were moved back to the first room where the air conditioning was repaired. This room was cleaned when we moved & towels were replaced. Another room we booked was not cleaned for the week and towels were not changed. From my observations rooms are only cleaned when people moved out, as some bookings were for one or two days while travelling around the region.
Staying here transport is a must.
Eating out.
Looked into the hotel restaurant for breakfast and left, a bit disappointed with the selection.
Tirani about approx, 3 kms has a number of good restaurants. House wine is very reasonable and so is water.
To See:
Florance { 2 hours drive, not complicated}- Go as early as possible as there is quite a lot to see.
(try and park away form Florance and bus in as parking can be costly and in short supply)
Pisa{20 mins drive and watch for signs for tower on the outskirts} - The old town behind the tower is nice and there are alot of restaurant in the main town.
(parking away from the attraction is free and the walk is very short)
Lucca{approx, 30 mins} nice drive through the mountains- very pretty old town with narrow streets.
(park outside the old town and walk in, takes a few minutes. Very little parking inside, and the tickets are checked
Livorno - Rossopmodoro for Pizzas €8.00 to €9.50(get directions from hotel reception)
(In the evening after 7pm/8pm parking is free)