Hotel La Fortezza

“Stay in the heart of Assisi”

If you would like to get the feeling of a medieval setting, Hotel La Fortezza is a great choice. It is located on a narrow pedestrian-only street, uphill from Piazza del Comune. The street is brick steps and the walls are stone making it easy to imagine this lane 100+ years in the past. The entr… more

If you would like to get the feeling of a medieval setting, Hotel La Fortezza is a great choice. It is located on a narrow pedestrian-only street, uphill from Piazza del Comune. The street is brick steps and the walls are stone making it easy to imagine this lane 100+ years in the past. The entry gate is an iron grill, reminiscent of a portcullis. The hosts are a young couple that are helpful with suggestions on every thing from where to park to restaurants to try. They even came to get our luggage for us from the car. Breakfast during our stay was on a sunny roof-top terrace overlooking the city. It is a postcard setting. The breakfast offered had many choices, including fruit as a welcome change for Americans not used to just coffee, rolls, sliced meat, and cheese. We travelled with a Service Dog and welcomed her warmly. Drawbacks for some will be the access is walking only and there is no lift to the upper floors. For us, it wasn't an issue. Because the walls are thick stone, the internet is slow. Again, not an issue for our party. We chose Hotel La Fortezza for its central location, its character and ambiance, and were well rewarded in our stay.

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“Special warm feeling”

The hotel is central and close to both the Townsquare and Bus station opposite the school. It is tucked away in an unassuming corner giving a sense of detachment from the bustle of the city. We took some time to sync with the slower pace having been in Rome for 4 days. But it was all worth it. The … more

The hotel is central and close to both the Townsquare and Bus station opposite the school. It is tucked away in an unassuming corner giving a sense of detachment from the bustle of the city. We took some time to sync with the slower pace having been in Rome for 4 days. But it was all worth it. The streets were filled with tourists and pilgrims excited about the anticipation to walk the very streets St Francis of Assisi once walked. The host was very friendly. It is amazing she maintained the hotel very well. Breakfast was great with a view on the terrace on top of the hotel. It was truly a marvellous experience.

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“An oasis of peace in the heart of Assisi”

The hotel is situated in a pedestrian only side-street just off the piazza del comune, and benefits from the resulting calm. The rooms are comfortable and clean, my only gripe was the open shower in my bathroom, that set the entire bathroom under water; it took ages to dry. Breakfast is plentiful a… more

The hotel is situated in a pedestrian only side-street just off the piazza del comune, and benefits from the resulting calm. The rooms are comfortable and clean, my only gripe was the open shower in my bathroom, that set the entire bathroom under water; it took ages to dry. Breakfast is plentiful and was served in a room right under the roof and when the sun shines one can also sit on a small terrace up there, and enjoy impressive views across the rooftops of the city! A fine place with friendly staff.

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“Cute but in need of some upgrades”

I must say that my expectations for this hotel were considerably higher based on the ratings and reviews it has received. While it feels ridiculous to complain about amenities in the hometown of St. Francis, there are some simple things this hotel could do to vastly improve the experience. On the… more

I must say that my expectations for this hotel were considerably higher based on the ratings and reviews it has received. While it feels ridiculous to complain about amenities in the hometown of St. Francis, there are some simple things this hotel could do to vastly improve the experience. On the positive side, Jenny is a very kind proprietress and everything was very clean and clearly kept in good shape. It's certainly the 'real' Assisi experience in that you have to climb numerous stairs to get to the hotel, and that you're only a (very old) stone's throw from one of the main piazzas right in the center of the beautiful old town. The hotel building is very old and possesses very distinctive charm. The rooms are quite spacious, with lovely views and light. Jenny was very helpful in ordering us a cab for our departure, and the driver arrived 5 minutes early -- considering this is Italy, our minds were sufficiently blown. Our number one problem with the hotel was the shower setup. The shower is entirely open in the small bathroom -- no curtain, not even one of those ineffective European plexiglass panels, nothing. I assumed there was some magic in the way the water would only run directly into the drain and would miraculously neither flood the room or spray everything in it. Sadly, I was wrong. While I'm happy to forgive the rather odd pulsing of the water flow (imagine someone holding the tube shut for a second, then letting go, then holding it shut again), it didn't help mitigate the fact that the entire bathroom floor was under water within about 30 seconds, along with a drenched toilet seat and sink area. After a long day traveling and then hiking around Assisi, all you want is to be able to relax and enjoy a nice shower. This was not possible, especially if you're two people and you go second. This problem is SO EASILY FIXABLE. I cannot for the life of me understand why they wouldn't install a small curtain and a small lip in the floor to keep the water at bay. I checked one of the other rooms, and the setup looked identical, so I'm assuming this is true in most, if not all, rooms. The other main problem for our stay was that the breakfast room is on the top floor, above our guest room (and others, I'm assuming). Being an old building, it was not possible to sleep through the breakfast setup, which started around 7am and involved several items falling on the ground. I'm reluctant to write a negative review since clearly Jenny is a nice lady, the place is very reasonably priced, and St. Francis is probably rolling over in his (eminently visitable) tomb at the thought of these complaints. But given that this was our honeymoon and my wife is very unfussy except when it comes to having at least a comfortable showering experience, I wish I'd known this information going in, as it might have allowed me to book somewhere else for us.

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