AC Hotel Vicenza by Marriott

I just got back from a week in Italy with my mother. I had thought this week would be traveling with special needs, but I am not ready for that one yet. I may do it next week, and then get to the beautiful and wonderful places and eateries, or I may do them first. It does make sense to get the bad review out of the way.

There were several things that were frustrating. I chose the hotel partly because I read that it had a laundry room. This was a lie. It has laundry service, but that is not the same thing. It is also not located near a laundromat, which could also have been fine.


I wanted to like them. They were conveniently located for some things, and one of my cousins had even worked for them for a short stint, but they disappointed me every time I gave them a chance.The service in the restaurant was terrible, in that it was impossible to get service. There was always something: "We're closed." "We're out of that." "Could you go to the bar instead?" Being closed is at least valid, though having hours posted visibly could have avoided that.

But where I really want to spend some time is on the bathroom, because there are some interesting points there, and I think we can have some fun with it.

On a side note, it's the first place I have ever stayed with a bidet. I didn't use it, but I did check it out. I have heard of people getting sprayed in the face, but in this case the water just flows down out of the faucet, like a normal tap. If it is for "washing your backside" (as Crocodile Dundee deduced), the spray seems like it would work better. I have heard you can use it for washing other things, but if it is ever used for backsides, I don't want to put anything else into it. I may be too American, but it doesn't seem practical.

And practicality is really the key.

The bathroom was sleek and modern and lovely. Look at that clear counter. You can also catch a glimpse of the half shower door.

One of the cute ideas was soap in the shape of a golf ball, with a box that acts as the soap dish.

It does not stay good looking, getting worse with each use. That is a good summary of the issues with the bathroom.

That sleek counter develops water spots and streaks with each use. Yes, it cleans, but it spends most of its time looking dirty in a way that marble and its imitators don't.

The half door lets a lot of water out. That is a little worse because the adjustable shower head is hard to get into a good spot and have it stay there, but that particular problem is a little more common.

The towel rack hanging at the back of the shower is not as perilous as it looks - the towel stayed dry. However, what may not be obvious from the photo is that the tub is really high. There was a sign to hang the towel if you did not need it replaced to conserve water. I admire that, but if you got out of the tub to get dry (which is the only way to get all the way dry) you were not able to reach the rack to hang the towel back up.

With that high tub, there was a rail in the tub, but it was on the far side. If you were lying it the tub it was probably helpful for getting up, but for getting in and out of the tub, there were no good options for bracing.

I know that some of the issues were due to a lack of space and attempts to maximize it. That comes up a lot with hotels. A lot of it was still putting form over function.

I read once that "design" is merely a way of solving problems. That is probably an oversimplification, but it feels reasonable to say that a design that creates problems was done badly.

That applies in this case.

Would not stay again.

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/vicvi-ac-hotels-by-marriott-vicenza/