We stayed at Hotel Touring in Bologna from July 21st to July 26th 2010. We chose this hotel as it was located near the city center and we wanted to explore the city by foot. I booked the hotel online and went for a gold room costing 119 € per night. We arrived late at night at the hotel – the city is only about 15-20 minute taxi ride from the airport. Check in was fast and we got room 333. The tiny lift was not big enough for us and our two large suitcases so I sent my wife together with the suitcases in the lift and went for the staircase myself. The room had a small corridor leading into the room and on the left hand side was a bathroom. The room itself had light wooden floor and was painted in light colors with some yellow/gold wall paper behind the bed. The room was not very large so fitting our two suitcases in there was a bit of a puzzle. The wardrobe area included a tiny TV with a few channels (but only 1 English speaking channel), a few hangers, shelves and also a safe large enough for our laptops and a tiny fridge with a small selection of drinks – the fridge was not very good as it could hardly keep the drinks cold.

The bed only included a thin blanket as duvet so finding the right temperature at night was a bit tricky – the aircon only included two buttons saying “Too warm” and “Too cold” so it was easy at least. The bed itself must be one of the most uncomfortable beds that I have had in a hotel as it was way too hard for my liking. There was also a tiny desk and a chair and there were sockets on each side of the bed so charging phones etc was a breeze. The bathroom seemed quite new and it was tiled in light tiles – the room included a toilet, bide, sink and for once just a shower – I think bathtubs should have been left out of hotel rooms as I hardly use them. The shower was quite large and featured a sliding door to enter it. There was a large rainforest showerhead but the only problem was that the drain didn’t seem able to keep up with the shower – the shower would very quickly turn into a footbath. Maybe it is a genius way of getting people to use less water when showering. There were not that many amenities but there were shampoo, soap and shower cap at least.

One of the first things we noticed when we came into the room was the pleasant and sweet scent – there were sticks in a small bottle on the desk and I guess it is a signature of the hotel as they had the same in the reception etc. When we woke up the next day we also noticed that we had gotten a room with an enormous balcony. The balcony included two chairs and a table, one sun bed and one reclining chair. In the afternoon we had sun on the entire balcony – but I’m not sure that it was a great idea to put cast iron chairs in the sun on the balcony. When sitting down on one in the afternoon I felt like I got branded as they were so hot. If you don’t get a room with a large balcony you can head for the rooftop garden on the 5th floor. From here you get an amazing view of Bologna in pretty much every direction. I think you can also get drinks served there in the afternoon if you don’t want to walk out of the hotel to find a place for you aperetivo.

The breakfast at the hotel was served in the vaulted rooms in the basement – the breakfast was simple but included the basics of cereal, bread, fruit, juice etc and if you ask nicely you can even get a proper espresso or cappuccino. If you want to iron something they have an iron and ironing board located in the room next to the breakfast room – just ask and they will set it up for you.
The location of the hotel is great – located more or less next to Basilica of San Domenico and it took us only a few minutes to walk to Piazza Galvani and from there to Piazza Maggiore (it is only 600 meters to walk Piazza Maggiore). If you like your high-end shopping you’ll be glad to know that the hotel is also close to Via Farini which includes stores like Hermes, Louis Vuitton etc. We had our aperetivo a couple of times at Caffé San Domenico located on the Via Giuseppe Garibaldi and I can recommend the Aperol Spritz

It seems like Hotel Touring has gotten on the list of “Most charming hotels” and they seem confident with their product. When I checked out I even got a little note saying “Remember to post your review on TripAdvisor” – ah, the power of the internet. But there are a few things that could have been improved. When we checked in I think I asked about the Wi-Fi and I was told it was 10 € pr day. The next day I tried to use the PC in the reception and I needed a password and the girl that was working said that as I was staying in a gold room the Wi-Fi was free and I got a username and password. It would have been great to get this when checking in.
I have already mentioned the other things – the shower drain was not very good and the bed was soo hard that I had problem sleeping.

Conclusion
Hotel Touring is a charming hotel with a good location in the Bologna city center. The staff was helpful and smiling at all times. The room seemed to be fairly recently refurbished and even if it was a bit on the tiny side we still enjoyed our stay there and the balcony that we had was amazing. But the bed was the real drawback for me but I guess it all depends on what kind of bed you like. All in all, if you can handle a hard bed this is not a bad hotel for checking out the city center of Bologna.

View from the rooftop terrace

We stayed at Savhotel in Bologna from July 26th to July 30th 2010 after we had stayed at Hotel Touring in the center of Bologna first. The reason for choosing Savhotel was that it was a bit in the outskirts which made it easier for us when we wanted to drive out of Bologna to explore some of Emilia-Romagna. At the same time the rate was low, it is a fairly new hotel and close enough to the city center so that we could enjoy restaurant in Bologna at night. After we picked up a rental car at the Marconi airport in Bologna we had a bit of problem finding the hotel as the street of the hotel was not in our GPS. But we figured it out by putting in one of the streets nearby (Via della Liberazione) and after that we just followed the signs. Savhotel seems to be a very new hotel located just north of the ring road of Bologna – the area around the hotel seems to be a mixture of flats, new office buildings etc. We got room 303 and the room was quite inviting when we first entered the room. The room was setup with a modern design but it was not that big. The floor was laid down with dark wood and the walls had light wall paper.

The centerpiece of the room was a king-size bed that was firm but far better than the mattress at the Hotel Touring that we had stayed at the previous nights (see separate review). On each side of the bed there were cubes that acted as both as a small table and lighting as they were illuminated from within. The reading light on each side could have been better as it was not very bright and rather flimsy. There was also a desk facing the window with a good light over it and a plug for the laptop – excellent setup.

There was a tiny flat screen TV in the room that has a good selection of channels and both CNN and BBC – but I would have liked to see a bit larger TV. The wardrobe area included hangers, shelves, a small fridge with some sodas/beers/snacks and a safe that was large enough for storing the laptop. The bathroom was tiled in light tiles and included a toilet, bide, sink and bathtub which included the showering option. There were not that many amenities but as long as there is some shampoo I’m happy. The shower option in the bathtub worked out pretty good as a glass wall acted as a shield preventing splashing everywhere. The ventilation in the room was not that great so after we had taken a shower the humidity would pour down from the walls and mirror. The bathroom was separated from the room by a frosted glass door.

The breakfast area was right next to the reception and it included a decent breakfast. There was small selection of cereal, some buns, some options of mortadella ham, cheese and salami to put on the bread, ricotta, nutella and also some cakes, fruits and even egg and bacon. As usual, we had to ask to get a proper espresso but that was brought to our table with a smile. The parking facility at the hotel was excellent – there was a parking area in the basement and we could take the lift straight to our floor. They also kept the bicycles in the parking area and we could borrow these free of charge – the only annoying thing was the form that I had to fill out every time I picked up the bikes. The bikes also came with large locks and according to one of the guys in the reception it was important to use the locks when parking in Bologna as bike thefts are not uncommon. The bikes were in great condition.

As mentioned, the hotel is located just north of the city center and it was easy to bike into town. There was a bike lane leading towards the city center and from there we just biked in the streets. Getting into Piazza Maggiore didn’t take more than about 10 minutes biking at a slow pace (it is 2,5 km/1,5 miles to Piazza Maggiore).

Let’s talk about some of the things that can be improved at the hotel. It was great with the free Wi-Fi but it was annoying that we had to call the reception to get a cryptic username and password and it also expired in the middle of our stay and I had to call the reception again to get a new username and password. The Wi-Fi signal was quite weak and I was not able to pick up a signal with my iPhone 3G in the room (but my wife got a signal with her 3GS). When we checked in, our clothes had been in and out of our suitcases and were in desperate need for some ironing. But the room did not include this and when we called the front desk we were told that we were not allowed to have an iron in the room and they did not have a room where we could do the ironing. So the only option was sending the clothing to the laundry service for ironing – this is something that I think the hotel has to rethink.

We were a bit surprised to find that the hotel is quite “noisy”. As it is a pretty new hotel I thought there would be better sound insulation between the rooms and hall. But we could hear the TV from the next room and it was easy to hear the cleaning personnel doing their job in the morning. Another thing that was a bit noisy was the aircon. When it was running it was not a problem but when starting and stopping it made a bit of noise.

Conclusion
If you have a car this hotel is a great option to use as a base for exploring the region as it makes it easier when it comes to driving (as driving in the city center seems to be a nightmare) and it is still close enough to the center to make it possible to enjoy restaurants there at night. The rate was 62€ for the room and that is not bad when it included taxes, breakfast for 2, free Wi-Fi, free parking inside, bikes that we could use etc. But if you are just in Bologna to check out the city center I would recommend finding a hotel within the ring road and in a more charming neighborhood.

There is a new hotel in town and the name is Marina Bay Sands. Hotels opens all the time you might say but some hotels are more of an eye catcher than others and Marina Bay Sands is one of them it looks like. First of all there are three towers with 55 floor each and on top they are all connected on top with the so called Skypark which includes one of the largest pools in the world and it is even an infinity style pool so this is not for people with fear of heights With about 2500 rooms this is the biggest hotel in Singapore at the moment. Hmmm…maybe I have to go to Singapore again and see how it has changed since the last time I was there Anyway, here is a review of the hotel by Kate Schneider in News.com.au

Nikki and I went to Shanghai in China in May 2010 and we visited World Expo 2010, Jin Mao building, Shanghai World Financial Center, the aquarium, Oriental Pear Tower etc. Here is a trip report with photos, links and videos: http://gardkarlsen.com/Shanghai_China_trip_report.htm . I have also made this Shanghai Google map to give people an idea of where the various attractions are located. I hope that it can give people an idea of what to expect if you are heading to this metropolis. Get in touch if you have any questions or comments.

From time to time there are articles on various travel sites and discussions in various communities on how to blend in with the locals when you are traveling. I’m not sure I understand all the fuzz when it comes to this topic….most likely you are going to stick out like a sore thumb if you are traveling to an exotic destination no matter how you dress or if you try to hide your camera or not  I think you can come a long way just by being friendly, by smiling to the people you meet, have an open mind and be open to the fact that things can work differently than what you are used to back home. On the right is a photo of me trying to blend in with the locals in Berlin by drinking a large beer - I know, I sacrifice myself to fit in Anyway, here is the list from Independent Traveler.com on how to blend in with the locals.

TripAdvisor has released their Travelers’ choice award 2010 and you can see all the lists on their web site. The top 10 lists are split into categories like top 10 for beach & sun, for culture & sightseeing, for food & wine, for romance and so on. I’m not sure I trust these lists completely but at least they can give you some ideas if you have no idea where to travel Have you looked at the list and do you agree with the awards?

It is not long ago since Burj Khalifa (also know as Burj Dubai) opened officially and the viewing platform called “At the top” opened up for the first guest on the 124th floor. But now there are news saying that the viewing platform has been closed indefinitely. The reason for this closing seems to be vague but things like “unexpected high traffic” and “electrical problems” has been mentioned. Nikki and I went to Dubai last year (as you can see in this Dubai trip report) and at the time the building was not open - but what an impressive building! But now it remains to be seen how long it will take before guests once again can enjoy the view from the 124th floor.

A few years back Google introduced the service known as Street View. They basically take  car and drive through the city strrets and they take photos. This is linked up to Google Maps and this means that you can take virtual walks in cities like London, New York, Paris etc. But now the turn has finally come to my beloved hometown Stavanger It seems like the photos have been taken on a pretty nice autumn day last year and you can walk around a lot of the streets in downtown Stavanger. So the only thing missing now Google is a good satellite image of the city center itself!! So start by a walk from the Norwegian Petroleum museum, Or maybe walk past the iron age farm, check out the beach at Sola, check out the view of the city from the bridge leading over to Hundvåg etc.  Welcome to Stavanger…both virtually and in real life

As it is a new year there are articles popping up suggesting where to go and places to see. I never quite understood these lists as it all depends on what you want to see and what budget your are on.  But anyway; New York Times have printed this article called “The 31 Places to Go in 2010” and it includes places like Sri Lanka, Patagonia Wine country, Seoul (apparently Tokyo is soooo 2009), Mysore in India, Copenhagen, Koh Kood in Thailand (the next Samui?), Damascus in Syria (the next Marrakesh), Cesme in Turkey, Antartica??? and Leipzig.

Condé Nast Traveller has also published a list of places you want to stay at in 2010. The list is called “The Gold list 2010” and it covers more than 100 recommended hotels. The “winner” this year is Cliveden in Berkshire followed by the Ritz in London, The Balmoral in Edinburgh, Four Seasons Hotel George V in Paris, Hotel Cipriani in Venice, Hotel Adlon Kempinski in Berlin, Ellerman House in Cape Town in South Africa (now we are getting somewhere ), The Ritz-Carlton in Dubai, The Oberoi Mauritius and The Taj Mahal Palace & Tower Mumbai. I don’t think I  have stayed at any of these hotels…I get a feeling that most of them are on the expensive side Have you stayed at any of them?

We have started thinking about where to go during Easter but we can’t make up our mind. We would like to go for a week or two so we probably want to keep the flight less than 6-7 hours and we would also want to avoid a big time difference in order to not be too jet-lagged We have been thinking of places like Istanbul in Turkey, Egypt, maybe Madrid and Barcelona in Spain. maybe Portugal. So have you got any great recommendation on where to go during Easter (around April 1st 2010)? Have you been to any of the places that I have mention and would you recommend it?