Venice > Treviso > Hotel Continental

Hotel Continental

From: Treviso, Italy

ABOVE: The Hotel Continental's skeleton-style room keys and Lucite key fobs are a blast from the past.

By Durant Imboden

If you miss the 1950s (or if you're young and missed the 1950s), the Hotel Continental in Treviso, Italy offers you a chance to relive the era of Al Martino and Dean Martin. The hotel, which was built in 1958, looks pretty much as it did more than half a century ago--and while that's a mixed blessing, the pluses can outweigh the minuses for nostalgia buffs.

First, the pluses:

• The Continental has a nearly perfect location. It's on the edge of Treviso's centro storico, or historic center, and only 200 meters from the Treviso railroad station (inset photo) and the bus to Treviso Airport. The River Sile's waterfront promenade is just around the corner, and the hotel is only a short walk from the city's most important sights, shops, and restaurants.

• The decor in the public rooms, and especially in the American Bar, is pure 1950s. Upstairs on the guestroom floors, the vintage atmosphere is equally pronounced: The rooms have beautiful woodgrained doors, parquet floors, and--in many cases--the kind of bathroom tilework and terrazzo that you won't find in newer hotels. If the Continental were a movie star and not a hotel, it would be Gregory Peck or William Holden.

• Rates are extremely reasonable: When I stayed at the Continental in July, 2011, I paid only €66 for a large double room with breakfast.

Now for the negatives:

• Although the Hotel Continental's lobby and bar are delightfully vintage, the guest rooms could do with some updating. I was first placed in a dismal-looking twin with a window air conditioner that didn't work; when I reported the problem to the reception desk, I was moved to a double with a portable air-conditioning unit that connected to a window panel with flexible ductwork. Fortunately, the bed was comfortable, the Wi-Fi was free, and I didn't hear any noise from the hall or the street.

• The hotel's buffet breakfast was adequate but nothing special.

Recommendation:

I wouldn't recommend the Hotel Continental for a honeymoon or a dirty weekend, but it's a good place to stay if you're looking for a traditional hotel in downtown Treviso with a good location and reasonable rates. For more information, see our booking partner's Hotel Continental site--and for more photos, see page 2 of this article.

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