4 Star Suite SPA

4 Star Suite SPA is at viale Angelo Masini 22, on the ring boulevards in the Irnerio area of the Santo Stefano quarter, between Porta San Donato and Porta Mascarella. The location is practical: Centrale station is about six hundred metres on foot and piazza Maggiore with the two towers is a twenty-minute walk. On the portal the property appears as a guest house under the full name 4 Star Suite SPA con self check in, and belongs to the 4 Star Bologna house, which also runs rooms and apartments in neighbouring buildings; this listing concerns only the suites with a private spa, the part reserved for adults.

How it is laid out

The accommodation consists of six suites, all for two people, and they differ in the fit-out of the spa: the one with a sauna, the Deluxe with a sauna, the one with a whirlpool tub, the one with a steam room and home cinema, the one with a steam room, sauna and home cinema, and the Prestige with a massage chair. Sizes range from 40 to 52 square metres. Every suite has a double bed, a private bathroom with a bidet, air conditioning, soundproofing, a desk, a minibar, a coffee machine, a safe and a TV with Netflix and Prime Video. Entry is independent with a personal code, with no reception, and assistance by WhatsApp twenty-four hours a day. There are a lift, room service, daily cleaning and private paid parking. Check-in is from 15.00, check-out by 11.00.

The wellness area, told for what it is

Here the spa is not a shared department and has no timetable: it is inside the suite and used exclusively. The fit-out changes from suite to suite, so you choose the room and not the property. The 40 square metre suite has a Finnish sauna and a steam room in the bathroom for exclusive use, with chromotherapy, an emotional shower and a whirlpool tub for two with Bluetooth audio; above the tub a projector forms a screen of about one hundred inches. The Prestige adds an XXL Finnish sauna and the massage chair. The portal also lists a fitness room, massages and a beauty centre. There is no pool, and neither source declares one.

The access rules

The portal writes in so many words that children are not allowed, that cots and extra beds are not available and that the minimum age for check-in is 18. The official website presents the suites as a getaway for two but publishes no minimum age. This listing therefore records the full ban on minors and the fact that the property declares no threshold in figures: the only number available is the portal's, referring to whoever registers on arrival. Anyone travelling with a sixteen or seventeen year old should ask for written confirmation. Pets are not allowed, smoking is not permitted, parties are not accepted, and quiet is required from 22.00 to 8.00. Cash is not accepted and on arrival a deposit of two hundred euros is blocked on the card, returned within seven days of departure.

Who it suits

It suits the couple who want a night of private sauna and whirlpool in the city centre, without travelling to a thermal spa, and anyone arriving by train, because the station is ten minutes on foot. It suits anyone who prefers to let themselves in with a code at any hour. It suits less anyone looking for breakfast served, which is not provided here, anyone who wants a pool and anyone travelling with a dog. Pay attention to the choice of room: only some suites have both a sauna and a steam room, and the difference in price corresponds to a real difference in fit-out.