Hotel Sina Brufani

You have to try to be this bad. The hotel offered a guaranteed upgrade at the time of booking for reservations through our “Virtuoso” affiliated travel agent. We paid the price for a guaranteed upgrade to a “Suite Deluxe” (the hotel’s highest category) which was confirmed by email from the hotel both to us and our agent. We arrive and are told those suites are all booked up and we’re getting the next category down. We stay at luxury hotels all the time and that doesn't happen. Obviously, I objected and asked for what we were promised and paid for. This was an extremely unpleasant start to our stay. The agent, Eva, adopted an aggressive stance, claimed she was busy, said we would have to wait for her to talk to the GM. She claimed the copy machine was broken and that she’d have to hold our passports while we left her for hours to find us the room we booked and confirmed. I said she wasn't going to confiscate our passports and (voila) she noted down the relevant info in about 45 seconds. I foolishly ignored the negative reviews and booked this hotel and not the new 5 star hotel next door (Rosetta) or the highly rated Locanda because I trusted the hotel’s email representations to me that our suite would be very quiet and away from renovations. In fact the noise was outrageous and the spa renovations were directly next to the room. Please note that just 2 days before we arrived, we were informed that the spa and pool were closed for those renovations. The “Deluxe Suites” are in the basement. The “Suite” floor is below the ground/lobby floor and above the garage. Our bedroom was directly under the dining room and you could hear the heavy furniture being dragged right over your head as you tried to sleep, with the occasional addition of people walking and things dropping. The “view” is right over a parking area and the main street into and out of the historic center of Perugia. This means you get to hear motorcycles, autos, trucks etc. nonstop throughout the night because the sound insulation is grossly inadequate. The room was unbearably hot at 76F (24.5C). The front desk staff repeatedly misled us by asking us to be patient, that they set a cool temperature for us in the computer, and that it would cool off. It only got hotter. The next morning, a different front desk rep told me that she didn’t believe the hotel would be able to fix the heat problem and offered to move us to another room which was a double downgrade from the room we booked. Unlike their grand suite, it wasn’t right over the major road and in the basement right under the dining room. The first room was so awful that we were considering leaving after 1 unbearable night even though we knew this hotel would demand full payment. The doorman never opens the door or helps bring the luggage into the hotel. The breakfast was a 5 out of 10 for a 3 star hotel and a 1 out of 10 for a 5 star hotel. It was mediocre and they charged extra for basic dishes like avocado toast or omelettes. Hands down the buffet was the absolute worst among the 5 Italian hotels we stayed in on this trip. The GM never introduced himself or offered to make our stay more tolerable, although he was informed of our complaints according to one of the unhelpful, rude front desk clerks. This GM who bears responsibity for this awful hotel always responds to criticism on Tripadvisor by expressing surprise or by attacking the commenter. Let him defend his food service since his Restaurant Collins is rated 3.6 out of 5 on google (pathetic). His hotel is rated 8.6 out of 10 on Booking.com while there are five 4 or 5 star hotels in the historic center of Perugia rated 9 or better. To rebut any false denials, I'm attaching pictures of the temperature monitor showing 24C, the elevator buttons showing that "Suites" are in the basement, the renovations right next to our room, and the "view" of the parking area and road into and out of historic Perugia. I wish I had heeded the reviews here which include plenty of discussions of noise, hot rooms and rude staff. I offer my experience in the hope that you won’t make the same mistake I did.

We have just come back from a week end at the Sina Brufani with the family. I am a passionate of hotels since I was a child (I am 45) and I have been collecting hotel brochures for 40 years. I still remember and have the green brochure of the hotel and I have always thought that the day I would go to Perugia I would try straying there. And here we are! This is one of those hotels in the world that have become “THE” iconic luxury hotel of the town; one of those places that combine tradition, service, location: You are in the best spot in town, with nice views and walking distance from everything. Service is attentive and friendly. The hotel, member of a family owned Italian hotels group, is one of those grand ladies that are not new but charming and that charm is quite unique actually. The services were all very good, including the garage! There were works going on while we were there and in two years the hotel will be almost new. Our room had already been renovated and was great (although I liked also the old version of the hotel). There is a new five stars hotel down the road but nothing to see with the Brufani. It will take 140 years (this place is that old) to match the same soul: the Brufani will always be the Brufani. Personally, I like these hotels. If there are not in the destination I have to reach, then I can go to a budget hotel but if there is one, I am glad to try it! Last but not least: staff were all very kind, with special mention for Giacomo (I hope the name is correct / the guy working at the front desk with a pony tale). We will go back!

The location of the hotel is perfect. We booked for 1 night and were pleased to find the hotel renewed. The entrance of a 5 star hotel could be more charming than the faded poinsettias everywhere. Our room was very nice and had a beautiful view. For an upgrade (?) rather small, especially the bathroom. The original room we booked had to be 20 mq. and this room was certainly not bigger. After we visited Perugia we had a drink in the bar and decided to also have dinner there. Food was disappointing. My husband had toast with avocado, salmon and fried egg. When you put salmon on toast, slices of avocado and a fried egg on top this dish would have been good. But if you put mashed avocado on toast, salmon and egg on top you get a “soggy” dish. My “fish and chips”, 3 small pieces of cod in the wrong batter and served with a lot of fried potatoes. Greasy stuff! Please serve good quality Italian food, even in the bar. Breakfast was good. All in all we like to come back to this hotel and try again. Perugia is lovely.

Everything and everyone at the Brufani are lovely, welcoming and efficient. The hotel is elegant yet comfortable. The food is wonderful and the prices reasonable. The hotel is in the historic center and close to several excellent restaurants. We loved our time at the Brufani

We were a family group with 11 people in six rooms. The Brufani was first rate in helping us set up reservations and going out of their way to be flexible with our arrival and changes along the way. The staff were incredibly kind. The hotel is in a fantastic central location. The rooms were comfortable, spacious, clean and well appointed for the price point. There are spectacular views from the rooms we had. The breakfast that came with the room was excellent and everyone enjoyed the pool and bar. The hotel would be a very good 4* by U.S. standards and we found it to be a great combination of value and comfort.