Grand Hotel Astoria

We arrived by car, and after negotiating the streets of Grado arrived at the garage. The staff were amazing they unloaded the car. All the bags were put on a trolly and we only had to use the lift to reception. The staff here were very helpful and we were soon in our room with a large balcony. The breakfast was superb and dinning in the evening by the pool was great.The indoor pool was large and warm.

We were there in Oct 2021. The hotel was great 10-20 years ago. Although the rates are moderate, everything cries for renovation. The staff is friendly, no question. The restaurant on the top is so so. Nothing great. Generally I recommend to buy a copy of "Osterie d´Italia" and visit nice restaurants in the vicinity.

If you are looking for a convenient location in Grado you will not do better. Rooms all quite basic but very clean. Comprehensive Spa with salt water pool. Breakfast food selection however is limited. Would return to this hotel in the future.

This hotel is way past its best and the customer service is something they should be ashamed of. The check-in process was underwhelming as we were not provided with any information about the hotel e.g. times for breakfast / wifi etc. or the local area. We were simply given a key to our room. Upon arriving in our room we were disappointed that it was a little old-fashioned but it was at least clean and spacious and had a nice balcony. We noticed it was an adjoining room but there was no noise from the next room so we assumed there was good sound-proofing. It turns out this was completely incorrect and the couple were simply out! Upon arriving back in our room at approximately 9.30pm we realised that, when the adjoining room was occupied you could hear every sound from the room including the couple’s conversation. They were not being noisy but this room is simply not designed for two separate reservations – we could hear their conversation, their TV, even when they moved the chair. We therefore spoke to the person at reception and complained that the noise was unacceptable. The receptionist (I do not know his name but it was a man with a bald head) was abrupt, offered no real apology but told us we could move to another room if we wished. We were instructed to follow a porter to look at the alternative room. This room was smaller, even more outdated, had a ‘balcony’ about 1m squared which faced a wall and had no natural light. We again spoke to reception and said that, while the room was quiet we were a little disappointed with the downgraded room and asked if any other options were available. The receptionist was very dismissive and told us that was the last room, we could take it or leave it. We were told we were ‘lucky’ to have had the first room with a nice view. I understand of course that if this is the only room available, this is our only option but it is not necessary to be rude and make no effort to make up for the inconvenience of unpacking and repacking on our first night on account of being placed in an acceptable room in the first place. The rooms in this hotel are clearly very old-fashioned and need an update. This is not about the fact that the hotel is old – we were not expecting a modern hotel but we did expect a hotel that had been painted and decorated recently, had good quality bedding and furnishing. There is no excuse for not updating these rooms. The double bed was actually two singles pushed together which I realise is common in Europe but I will never understand how this benefits the customer who falls down the gap, only the hotel who can sell as a double or twin. On our second day we decided to visit the spa. This was one of the main reasons we booked this hotel and we were hugely disappointed. To reach the ‘spa’ you walk down a corridor and enter into a small room with a small sauna and steam room. There are some beds that face a wall. There is a swimming pool with a couple of loungers but it is very much just an average hotel pool. We spent about 30 minutes in this spa in total as it was not a relaxing environment at all. At the end of our stay we came to check out and there was a 20 Euro fine on our account as we were accused of breaking the air conditioning button in the first room that we were given. We absolutely did not break this button and had noticed it was broken upon entering the room but did not think to raise this with the hotel as it wasn’t a concern for us. This clearly was not noticed when we were given the room and then it was assumed we broke it. In any case I am not sure how a guest could be accused of breaking a button – if you press it and it doesn’t release that is presumably because the mechanism is old! Either way, we did not cause this damage and were outraged to be charged further money. The receptionist who dealt with this was pleasant and helped us resolve the issue, but it is a disgrace to have placed this charge on the account in the first place. The rooms were clean and the breakfast was decent, hence we have given this hotel 2 out of 5. But overall it is tired, outdated, customer service is lacking and is it grossly overpriced.

In Grado, you do not have a lot of choices for great hotels. There aren't any hotels beyond 4 stars, and 4-star hotels in Grado (or perhaps in Italy in general) are more like 3-star hotels elsewhere. So considering all these aspects, the Astoria is probably one of the better choices, and I would stay there again. On the upside, the hotel is at a great location, only minutes from the historic downtown area that is worth a trip alone. The hotel also has a parking garage, which is great if you travel by car, and by no means a given in that area. (Driving to the hotel is a bit tricky as you have to go through the pedestrian area, but it's no problem really). Generally speaking, the hotel is fine. It is certainly much better (and cleaner) than any other hotel I have ever stayed at in Grado. With that said, I would still say it is a 3-star at best by any other standards. The hotel is old. And I mean OLD. The decor looks like it is 80 or 90 years old. Old wallpaper and small rooms. The bath is OK, but small and old. Almost to a point where it is cool again as it can be considered "historic". But not quite. The "shower" is built into the bath tub, and it was clearly built at a time when people weren't as tall. I am tall, but not excessively so, and I could not manage to take a shower without setting half the bath under water. Truthfully, it just needs to be gutted and renovated. The double-bed is two small beds put together. To make matters worse, they are on rolls, so you are in danger of falling down the crack as the beds tend to slide apart. The mattress needed replacing years ago. The sheets even more so. But at least they seem to be clean. Still not great. The Internet never worked while we were there. So all in all, not a great experience, but still among the better ones you can have in Grado.