Relaxing Abano Terme

Sunday, March 15, 2026 

At 17:00, we started our drive from Verona to Hotel Mioni Pezzato & SPA in Abano Terme,  arriving at 18:15. Just one receptionist was working at the front desk at Mioni Pezzato, and she seemed overwhelmed with phone calls & requests. We had to wait our turn (but we were warned about slow & uneven service from our friends). 

After checking into our room #271 (on the 2nd floor), we unpacked our bags and relaxed for a bit. I tried connecting to WiFi, but it required an email account (and afterwards did not connect). Our room was also too hot and lacked air-conditioning. Thankfully, we could open windows to cool down the room. How does a 4-star hotel lack air-conditioning? (We ended up with a few other problems in our room, including the following issues:

• bathroom door not closing (not fixed)
• slowly draining shower (not fixed)
• running out of hair conditioner
• not being able to run off the heater (disabled heater, but cooling was slow)

Dinner seating was from 19:30 to 20:45. We decided to eat dinner first and then try the pools. One major pool closed at 19:00, the other at 23:00. I was surprised to hear so much Russian and German being spoken. 

At 19:40, we came down from our room for dinner at Mioni Pezzato, and there was a huge line to get seated. We had a table assigned for us (in the middle of a long corridor, which we tried to change to another location). We were given menus (first in Italian, then in English), but no one came to take our order. Eventually, a waitress came up, but she did not speak any English, and when we asked her questions, she ran away and proceeded to serve other tables instead. 

The normal process for dinner at Mioni Pezzato was to visit the buffet to sample various appetizers (salads, poke, breads) and then sit down and order the entrees. We found the restaurant manager and told him what we wanted to order (fortunately, he spoke English):

• Drinks; still water, 2 x hot tea
• Appetizer: 2 x Thyme & Parmesan Ravioli
• Boris: Roasted Duck Breast, leek, lamb's lettuce, and orange sauce
• Inna: Seabaass with sauteed carrots
• Dessert: Tiramisu

The ravioli was pretty good and came quickly. We had to wait a long time for the duck and seabass. They were not bad, but nothing special. There was a wide variety of desserts at the buffet, but I only liked the tiramisu.

After we finished dinner at 21:40 (taking almost 2 hours), we quickly changed into swimsuits to enjoy the large pool (before it closed at 23:00). The pools were amazing, and I really liked the lazy river.

Monday, March 16, 2026

After waking up at 07:00 to my iPhone alarm, I showered and quickly dressed. My allergies started to worsen (I was frequently sneezing and had watery eyes), so I took my daily dose of Flonase (but it was starting to run low).

We ate our usual buffet breakfast at Mioni Pezzato, which included the following:

• Drinks: still water, cappuccino (from the machine)
• 1st plate: eggs with salmon
• 2nd plate: plain yogurt with strawberries, pineapple chunks, and seeds
• Dessert: pain au raisin, croissants with marmalade

The yogurt with fresh strawberries was excellent. The pastries were hit or miss. I liked the pain au raisin, but the plain croissants were just average.

We decided to head to Vicenza for a few hours to see the best sights there. I write about Vicenza in a separate blog entry. From Vicenza, we returned to Abano Terme, first parking downtown, but soon realized that parking there was complicated. Some cars had special stickers, and we did not want to risk a parking violation (we saw local police handing out tickets). I reparked in Hotel Mioni Pezzato & SPA's parking lot for guests.

From the hotel, we decided to have lunch at Enoteca Cicchetteria La Tinozza, about 11-minutes away (by foot). We strolled through the town (which was mostly empty) and sat down at a table inside. We ordered the following items:

• Drinks: Red (Merlot) wine, White wine, still water
• Appetizer: Plato Crudo di Bufala
• Main: Crescia dell'Oste (mortadella, mozzarella di bufala, tartufo nero on Italian flatbread)

The Crescia dell'Oste was served on a thicker (than I expected) dough, but was delicious. The Plato Crudo di Bufala was good too. Service was a bit slow, and it took a long time for our waitress to get us menus or water.

After lunch, we returned to Hotel Mioni  (with a quick stop for cappuccinos at Bar Saggitario). We quickly changed into our swimsuits and swam around. Inna had a massage appointment at 16:00, and I used the time to relax and read my Kindle (finishing up The Buried Giant).

At 19:50, we returned to Hotel Mioni for our dinner:

• Drinks: sparkling water
• Appetizer: Asparagus Soup, Tortellini
• Boris: Beef Cheeks
• Inna: Octopus
• Dessert: Tiramisu

The Tortellini were delicious, but I found my Beef Cheeks a bit bland. For dessert, there was nothing I liked other than tiramisu. We tried to order hot black tea, but it was no longer possible. We ordered it yesterday, but today it's no longer served at dinner (only at the bar). Every day, there is a new surprise.

After dinner, we noticed some live music at the bar (but it did not entice much interset in me), We decided to walk around after dinner and stopped by the Opel, to retrieve our warm jackets (and my camera bag).

Tuesday, March 17, 2026

Links

• Hotel Mioni Pezzato & SPA
• Enoteca Cicchetteria La Tinozza