Monday, March 16, 2026

Relaxing Abano Terme (March 15 - 19)

Monday, March 16, 2026  , ,  No comments

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. Only one receptionist was working at the front desk, and she seemed overwhelmed by 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  and bathroom faucet (not fixed)
  • running out of hair conditioner (taking a couple of days to refill)
  • not being able to run off the heater (disabled heater, but cooling was slow)
  • slow Wi-Fi (unreliable)

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 began serving 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)
  • First plate: scrambled eggs with salmon, tomatoes, and cucumbers
  • Second 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: Piatto 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 interest in me). We decided to walk around after dinner and stopped by the Opel Corsa to retrieve our warm jackets (and my camera bag).

Tuesday, March 17, 2026

After waking up at 07:00 to my iPhone alarm, I showered and quickly dressed. We ate our usual buffet breakfast at Mioni Pezzato, which included the following:

  • Drinks: still water, cappuccino (from the machine)
  • First plate: scrambled eggs with salmon, tomatoes, and cucumbers
  • Second plate: plain yogurt with strawberries, pineapple chunks, and seeds
  • Dessert: pain au raisin, croissants with marmalade

The yogurt with fresh strawberries was excellent. I liked the pain au raisin.

After breakfast, we decided to drive to Padua, about which I write in a separate blog.

When we returned from Padua at 19:24, we rested for a short time and then  returned for our dinner:

  • Drinks: sparkling water
  • Appetizer: Lasagna, Tortellini with Calamari 
  • Boris: Salmon
  • Inna: Veal
  • Dessert: Tiramisu
The Calamari were excellent, as was the Veal and the Salmon.

Wednesday, March 18, 2026

After waking up at 07:00 to my iPhone alarm, I showered and quickly dressed. Because Inna had a spa treatment at 08:30, we decided to eat our breakfast at 07:30, instead of our usual 08:00. We ate a small buffet breakfast at Mioni Pezzato:

  • Drinks: still water, cappuccino (from the machine)
  • First plate: scrambled eggs with salmon, tomatoes, and cucumbers
  • Second plate: plain yogurt with strawberries, pineapple chunks, and seeds
After breakfast, Inna went for her 08:30 treatment (She also had a facial scheduled for 12:00). After she returned at 09:30, we walked downstairs to the spa and tried the various pools. The wind was quite blustery, and we decided to use the indoor thermal pool initially. Eventually, after using the various jacuzzis with various nozzles for feet and back, we returned to the main outdoor pool and swam around the lazy river.

Inna went in for her treatment at 12:00, while I rested indoors and read my Kindle (The Buried Giant). After she returned, we considered driving to a couple of different local villages:

However, I was not feeling well (allergies were acting up, and tree pollen was very high). In addition, the blustery wind made hiking outdoors undesirable. So, we decided to stay in Abano Terme and eat dinner at our local Ristorante La Scala (4 minutes away).

We sat down at La Scala and ordered the following items from the chef's special pumpkin-inspired menu:
  • Appetizer: Piovra Arostita (grilled octopus)
  • First plate: Tortelli Porcini (Stuffed pasta (tortelli) with porcini mushrooms)
  • Second plate: Gamberoni ai Porcini (Large shrimp (prawns) with porcini mushrooms)
  • Drinks: Pellgrino
The dishes were expertly prepared and delicious, but a bit expensive. Portions were relatively small, but the food quality & service were excellent.

After lunch, I returned to Hotel Mioni  (with a quick stop for cappuccinos at Bar Saggitario), while Inna decided to explore the local stores.

When she returned at 16:00, we decided to return the pools & saunas. The Turkish Sauna was the only really hot sauna, and I sweated there for 8 minutes (and Inna stayed longer).

At 19:45, we headed to our last dinner at Hotel Mioni. This time, dinner service was much slower (it's always been kind of random).  We ordered the following (and it took longer than usual):
  • Drinks: sparkling water (took 30-minutes)
  • Appetizer: buffet selections of asparagus, seafood salad, and peppers
  • First plate: spaghetti with clams, risotto
  • Second plate: monkfish, guinea fowl
  • Dessert: tiramisu
The Risotto was too sweet (and neither Inna nor I liked it). The Spaghetti was sort of edible. The Mokfish was pretty decent, as was the guinea fowl.

After dinner, we returned to the outdoor pool for our final swim.


Thursday, March 19, 2026

Time to pack for our trip to Venice.

After waking up at 07:00 to my iPhone alarm, I showered, dressed, and packed.

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

  • Drinks: still water, cappuccino (from the machine)
  • First plate: plain yogurt with strawberries, pineapple chunks, and seeds
  • Dessert: pain au raisin, croissants with marmalade
During checkout, the receptionists requested that both plastic keys be returned; otherwise, a penalty of 4.00 euros per key would be charged. Inna forgot her key in the room and returned to get it. Once we settled the bill, no one asked whether we had a good stay or had any issues. No one really cared.



Abano Terme (Hotel Mioni Pezzato) Review

Highlights
Lowlights
  • Multiple problems with our room #271 (never fixed or even attempted to be fixed)
  • Uneven dinner service at Hotel Mioni (sometimes excellent, other times poor)
  • Allergies due to heavy tree pollen in March
I would rate Mioni Pezzato as a 3.5-star hotel overall. The pools are 5-star, the food is 4-star, and the service ranges from 2-star to 4-star. The main issue is inconsistency in service. It can be excellent one day and abysmal the next. Don't expect anything to get fixed.

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