I will be spending 3 nights in Trieste in early October after spending time in Slovenia and Croatia. I would like a nice hotel centrally located. Price is not as important as location and service. Any ideas?

I stayed at Hotel Alabarda, www.hotelalabarda.it. It was not fancy, but was comfortable, inexpensive and well located. It had a great bathroom (I'm picky about bathrooms!) and a helpful staff. Breakfast was included. I walked everywhere in Trieste.

We have also stayed in the Alabarda, and it was ok, but it is on a very noisy street, a one or two star hotel, with basic breakfast, i.e., coffee, toast, yogurt, plastic pastries, etc. If price is not a problem, try the Jolly for a bit more. It is on the Corso Cavour, 2 blocks from the train station and walking distance from everything. It is an international-class hotel, i.e. airline crews and lots of business people stay there. CNN, BBC, Al Jazeera, & Herald Trib are available, but no swimming pool or those kind of amenities. There is a huge buffet breakfast included, and several of the dining room staff, Aida and Sonjia, are really special, and go out of their way to be helpful. Request the no-smoking rooms facing the Via Cavour on the upper floors for less noise. The restaurant and bar are ok. The hotel has parking but the Silos (public parking) is next to the train station for about 8 Euro per night.

Try the Jolly Hotel website if you are not familiar with this Italian chain. And every night they put Baci's (yum)next to your bed!

You couldn't do better than the very lovely Grand Hotel Duchi d'Aosta, located right on the main, beautiful square. The service is wonderful, and our meal outside the first night was so great we broke our own cardinal rule and returned to eat there the second night.

Napoleon, thanks for the Grand Hotel info. When we investigated it, it seemed dank and in need of renovation (and our Trieste friends/family said the same).. We werein Trieste in March.....have you stayed there recently?

It was three years ago. Our room was beautiful. Certainly not "dank".