Hotel Gemma Riccione

mmuk

has anyone ever stayed here? Is it OK?

cheers

MM

ilsassocycling

Hi there,

I've been to Riccione quite a few times as its just up the road but not stayed at the Gemma. I've used Hotel Dory quite a few times and it gets better each time we stay!

Please get in touch if you need any other info :-)

Jon

canamdad

+1 for the Dory. Had a great 10 day stay there myself in April.

knedlicky

I’ve stayed at the Gemma and at the Adlon.

I liked the location of the Gemma better, it being slightly closer (by 300 m) the town centre (although still a km away). Also somehow the beach seemed more accessible there than from the Adlon. Breakfast was usually on an outdoor terrace on the beach side of the hotel, one of the evening meals too, and this eating outdoors I liked a lot (sadly, all Adlon meals had to be indoors, the way the building was laid out). I thought the evening meals tastier, and the restaurant personnel more friendly at the Gemma than at the Adlon. Also the trainer-guide cyclist (only one) at the Gemma was both a real friendly guy (of the Italian charmer type) and a super cyclist.

On the down side, the room I got at the Gemma was on the front side of the hotel (so the, sometimes busy, road side) with only a tiny balcony (called French balcony, I think) and there weren’t many other cyclists there, so little camaraderie and a wide range of abilities in the one small cycling group (although admittedly I was there close to the end of the Spring Bike Offer season, and it might not always be like that). Also the bike storage at the Gemma was annoyingly in the cellar, so each ride started by climbing up the outside steps carrying the bike and finished with climbing down them with it.

The room I had at the Adlon was bigger, and on the side of the hotel, so the beach was visible from its balcony, even if the sun had gone by the time we got back from a ride. The afternoon snacks (when back from a ride) at the Adlon were ready-waiting and very generous and very good-tasting (at the Gemma they also tasted good but were only moderate in size and had to be asked for rather than simply there waiting - though at the Gemma you could eat them outdoors, on their front garden patio). There were lots of other cyclists and triathletes at the Adlon so there was some camaraderie at the hotel and always someone of one’s own standard on the rides. More cyclists also meant 3-4 cycling groups of different levels, and you could ride each day with a different group if you wanted.

I wasn’t struck by some of trainer-guide cyclists at the Adlon, who ranged from not even my level to super, but who rotated groups, so some days you might find yourself with a guide no better than yourself. But a couple of the guides could speak English and/or German (unfortunately, the one at the Gemma could only speak Italian).

One day at the Gemma, we joined the cycling group from another hotel and rode out to have a free huge banquet (with flowing wine if you could manage it and still ride back) at a restaurant in an ancient restored building up in the hills, and that same evening we were invited by the trainer-guide cyclist from the other hotel to a bar in the town centre for free beer!
As far as the Gemma goes, that may have been a one-off invitation never to be repeated and I just struck lucky. I can’t remember the name of the hotel which organised it.

Diogenes

Not stayed there myself but Tripadvisor shows generally very positive responses from those that have.

See http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Revi ... magna.html

D

andymiller

Diogenes wrote:

Not stayed there myself but Tripadvisor shows generally very positive responses from those that have.

See http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Revi ... magna.html

D

The exchange between francesca d from Bologna and the hotel owner is a cracker.

riccionerider

Hi, i know the area extremely well as i have been working as a guide for 2 hotels there since 2009 and will be returning in April for another 3/4 months. Its a great area to ride in, hilly rather than mountainous but as challenging as you want to make it.

I work at The Milano Helvetia and whilst not as 'glitzy' as some of the other hotels it offers comfortable accomodation, is friendly and family run. We run 2/3 groups each day depending on the amount and level of guests there and the wetaher is usually very nice, the later you go then usually the better. The rides are great and you get to see some great towns and places and we try and keep off the main roads as much as possible.

I started as a guest in the area myself and loved it so much i ended up working there!!

If you want any more info on the area then feel free to mail me....i can even mail you some examples of typical tours we offer. Otherwise check out the link below. The Milano does not operate on a big a scale as places like The Dory and The Sarti and others but on the plus side you receive more personal attention and dont usually end up in a extremely large group which can often be the case with some of the bigger operators. If we get more guests then we get another guide in and put on an extra tour to keep the group numbers reasonable and not overcowded. Prices are usually 70 euro per person per day and include all food, guided rides, bike clothes washing, internet wi-fi etc so you really dont need lot of spending money unless you want to visit the local bike shops!!! . The beach is literally a minutes walk from the hotel too which is nice to chill out on if you dont fancy the hotel pool after your days ride.

Hope this helps but wherever you go you should have a great time there. Check out places like Urbino, Republic of San Marino, San Leo, Pesaro, Gradara, Mondaino etc as they are typical places all the hotels stop at for coffee breaks on tours.

http://www.hotelperciclisti.it/holiday- ... ort_6.html