Hotel Europa Residence

Europa Residence is located in the main pedestrian street of Asiago,which is filled with bars, cafes and stores. We booked a junior suite for a week: the bathroom was great but the room (#107) was quite small for a suite. Although the bed was very comfortable, our room faced the main street and it was pretty loud until midnight.Once the crowds left t was super quiet, but if noise is a concern make sure you book a room on the rear. The rooms are decorated in rustic wood furniture, which is getting a little old for a 4 stars hotel, but we had all basic needs We used the Spa several times and it was lovely.Personell was both friendly and helpful and we were able to reserve and use mountain bikes at no cost for the whole week, which was a big plus for us, without a car. The breakfast was varied and very good.

Over many decades, we have seen more of Italy than most Italians. This was new territory for us, and as with most travelers, after a long day's drive we wanted to settle in to our hotel, have a good meal and then take some time to get the sense of the place. That routine was thwarted in unexpected ways. Asiago has decided to make the downtown area car free and pedestrian friendly on weekends. While that is a worthy aim, we spent half an hour going in circles unable to reach the hotel with our GPS telling us to go down streets that were barred. Several calls to the hotel were thankfully answered in English. I even stopped at the local police station-which was closed for the weekend! This is well known to the locals, but not to people from 4500 miles away. It would be VERY EASY for the hotel to post some helpful directions on their website, and/or notify guests arriving on weekends-but they did not. That is unacceptable. Finally, Maddalena, of the hotel met us at a parking lot and guided us to perhaps the one southern street that took us to the hotel. She was very kind, and it is not her fault that the hotel didn't anticipate this problem. While we were on our trip, the hotel website was updated to note that their Michelin Starred restaurant would open in June. There was no mention that their other restaurant, also recommended by Michelin, was also closed. We were first told that they were redesigning their menu, an annual occurrence. Digging further, we learned that their chef had left, and a new one was to start sometime in the next few weeks. This is a challenge for the hotel and a major annoyance for someone who booked the hotel nearly a year ago because of the presence of the restaurants! The hotel did right by us. They were able to secure a reservation on a Saturday night at a fine restaurant on the outskirts of town, one also recommended by Michelin. They also drove us there and back in the hotel van, avoiding another challenging drive with the weekend restrictions. Asiago is a neat little town, a little sleepy, but very clean, crime free and in a pleasant agricultural and recreational environment. Tommasso and Maddalena were exemplary hotel employees and really did give us some insight into the fine people who live here. The hotel breakfasts are delightful, the public rooms charming, the hotel rooms (at least ours) a bit dated, but quite comfortable. After the replacement of the third Sky control box, our television worked well and we were able to get some English language news, important in this troubled world. Travelers need to be flexible and open minded. But at the same time hotels need to anticipate the needs of their guests. I'm sure the hotel will again be a culinary destination, and one can't anticipate a chef leaving. We did get a feel for the town and the region. I'm not sure if there is enough to draw us back, other than fine people who see the merits of living in a fairly remote place.