We stayed here in June and loved it...room was huge and was €110 a night including parking

http://www.anticaresidenzadazeglio.it/en/residenza.html

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g187801-d1544764-Reviews-Antica_Casa_Zucchini_Bed_breakfast-Bologna_Province_of_Bologna_Emilia_Romagna.html

http://www.aemiliahotel.it/index.asp?IDLingua=2

We visited Bologna in the spring and loved it
Sorry, cannot recommend a hotel, .we stayed in private home
Don't miss the amazing San Luca near the city

http://www.sanlucabo.org/start.html

I was going to make a suggestion or two, but I'm stumped by the "We are Californians from San Francisco" statement. Is that supposed to affect people's recommendations?

In 2005, we stayed in the Sofitel opposite the train station. We had a room in the back and it was very quiet. We had train trips planned so chose this location. It was about a 15-minute walk to the center.

I recently resurrected my TR so you can see where we visited/what we ate in Bologna if you wish. How many nights will you be there?

A few years ago we stayed at the http://www.miramonte-bologna.it/ which is near the university. We liked it.

We enjoyed our stay at Hotel NOvecento, one of the Bolgona Art Hotels group. Perfect location, lovely service, large, quiet room. There was a public parking garage next to the hotel where we left our car for the entire visit.

We were in Bologna in May of this year and enjoyed the Hotel Paradiso, near the city center (about a block off the man street. Walking distance from the train station. The room was nice, and the breakfast was good.

Over the years, we have always stayed (four times) at Hotel Porta San Mamolo in Bologna. I just checked tripadvisor and it is rated No. 1 in Bologna.

I must admit, I do a cursory check of the other hotels available, but this hotel is perfect for us. As someone else wrote Al Sangiovese Ristorante is just down the street from the hotel (on a corner); our dinners there have been wonderful.

Another vote for Hotel Paradiso. The location is very good - walkable to most places. Nice sized room, very clean, pretty quiet and free breakfast.

If you win the lottery before your trip you might want to consider the Grand HOtel Baglioni.
We were upgraded to a suite so my view may be prejudiced. Also... the scrambled eggs at
breakfast were almost all egg yolk. -
(And university buildings were right nearby.)

Hotel Paradiso again. We stayed in one of the apartments directly across from the hotel, walked over in morning for breakfast.

The Paradiso looks great (never been), but my formula is to go to www.bookings.nl and simply search your dates by price or by stayer ratings. Then look at a map. For my stay next November I can't decide between the 3* Millennhotel (which has an amazingly cheap rate, but is still a decent business-class place with free bicycles a great breakfast and is a block or so from the train station); or the 4* Il Portici (which is spartan-stylish no-breakfast and only 25e more for three nights, with free wifi and only a bit further from the train station). Matching price, freebies, location and stellar user ratings (on Bookings or Venere or Tripadvisor) is a pleasant bit of algorithmic-endeavor fun - - these websites with current reviews will tell you in vivo far more than writing here will.

We just left Bologna on the 13th of September. We stayed in 2 B & B's. Both excellent. La Stadetta is one and the other is B& B Bologna del Cuore. Both in center of old city. Great hosts: Sabina and Ketty. Check out tripaddvisor.com and see many good reviews. Ennjoy.

LitaP,

You might want to wait to see where your daughter ends up living in Bologna, unless you know already.

dfourh,

Staying so close to the train station means you are in the one of less attractive areas of Bologna. You might enjoy your stay more -- even if you are planning many day trips by train -- if you add to your algorithm the advantages of booking a lovely b&b in the historic quarter, usually cheaper than a hotel, and spending the savings on taxi rides to and from the train station. If you stay near the train station, you will end up doing the walking anyway because there are not many appealing restaurants there (I don't like the I Portici restaurant, and it is very pricey for every day eating).

I'm an outlier here in that I don't like the location of the Hotel Paradise. It's near a lot of moderately-priced restaurants (and very good one, Serghei), but I just find the neighborhood uncharming (and I don't believe the hotel has any parking). I think there a lot of other more interesting choices elsewhere in more congenial quarters of town. The historic center is completely walkable, so if you stay anywhere within it, you are in a good location.

If you like china then visit the museum in Faenza (probably world standard) I went around it on Friday and only allowed 2 hours. 6 hours later I stumbled out.

I'd also look out for walled cities, going north from Bologna are five or six each worth a visit (from memory they are) Monselice, Soave (where the terrible white wine comes from), Mantova (well lakes not walls but..), Cittadella and Montagnana

LitaP: what is the name of the old quarter, so I can search near there? We only have one day in Bologna and I'm trying to figure out where best to stay. I also would like to do a cooking class. Please advise! Thanks.