by Andrew H Brown

Created on: January 22, 2011   Last Updated: January 23, 2011

The Holiday Inn Express Udine North is exactly where it says it is. It's located just off the A23 at junction called, you've guessed it, Udine North. It's relatively easy to find, in fact you can spot the building as soon as you leave the motorway but it takes a little determination to arrive at the front door having to negotiate a series of unnecessarily complicated junctions and avoid ending up in the huge centro commerciale just along the road.

It's located about 3 miles from the city centre along a road that most definitely has Roman origins - it's as straight as a die, and getting in and out of town couldn't be easier. There are frequent bus services (although you have to walk a few hundred metres from the hotel to the bus stop) or it's a very easy drive which takes you to a large, and inexpensive parking area literally next to the town walls. Even handier, it's also next to one of the town gates (those walls are a bugger to climb).

So, it's exactly where it says it is, but not, it seems, exactly what it says it is. Since I stayed here last June the hotel has changed hands and is now the Idea Hotel but a quick spin around the web shows that it's hardly changed, if at all. In fact the sign outside still seems to say Holiday Inn. Confused? you will be.

We arrived after a somewhat convoluted journey from lake Bled which took us into Austria then downhill all the way through some stupendous Alpine scenery. As soon as the road levels out, you're pretty much there. Parking is not a problem as the car par is huge...and free.

The hotel is brand new (at least it was last year) and is spotlessly clean. The reception area was more like a bar than a hotel reception what with the front desk continuing into a serving area. It's minimalist, with just a few large potted plants interfering with the sofas, tables and chairs and, well nothing else really. It's all very shiny. Every time we entered, there always seemed to be people using the bar but as there's not a lot in the immediate area, that's hardly a surprise.

The staff were welcoming and soon had us checked in to our room even though we were a little early.

We had a twin room with two reasonably sized single beds. They were comfortable enough - firm but not hard and as is usual with a Holiday Inn, a pillow menu (or as I like to call it, extra pillows). Furniture was of the functional variety with a desk and chair, another comfier chair, and a 'doorless' wardrobe with shelves etc. A flat screen TV sat atop the

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>