Golden Palace

We stayed here for 4 nights in October 2007. The hotel is in a very good central location, between the Piazza Solferino and Piazza San Carlo. Outside, it looks like a modernized version of Mussolini-inspired architecture: a massive rectangular building with Art Deco sculpted figures and halogen spot lighting. Inside, it feels more like a deluxe Las Vegas hotel -- but in a good way -- with touches of modern elegance, dark colors, sleek lines, and liquid video displays. This is clearly a quality hotel. The rooms are spacious enough and nicely ornamented. They have a great shower, giant flat panel TVs, and motorized curtains. The beds are extremely comfortable, and not surprisingly they provide a turn-down service. The staff are very professional, and they were always (and surprisingly) aware of specific details about any needs and requests regarding our room despite changes in the people on duty. On the negative side, the place is very austere. The staff, while very efficient and on top of things, are very much what you'd expect from an executive Torino business hotel: perhaps a little too professional, with that common stereotyped complaint about the Torinese that they can come off as superficial in their personal relationships. This is not a warm and friendly hotel; nobody makes eye contact unless you initiate it. And because of the business orientation, everything about the hotel seemed centered on additional profit margins. For example, you cannot get an iron for your room and have to pay for a service to do that instead. Internet access wasn't free (unlike some other hotels we experienced in Piemonte) and was actually rather expensive. Lifting any item out of the mini bar resulted in a charge. The level of nickel-and-diming would be less objectionable if you are on a business account, but it can be annoying for leisure travelers. Still, I would highly recommend this hotel. I just suspect there are better options in the area for leisure travelers.

This is a very nice hotel in all respects. We were most struck, however, by the Art Deco style of decor, which is carried through flawlessly from the outside to the public lobby to the bedrooms