Hotel Crocenzi, Borgo Maggiore's family three-star

The Crocenzi answers a very specific need, a bed in San Marino when you’re driving, travelling with children or watching the budget, and don’t want to pay for parking or haul cases through the pedestrian zone. It’s at Via 28 Luglio 175 in Cailungo, part of Borgo Maggiore, with the cable car a kilometre off and the old town three. It’s a family-run three-star, opened by the Crocenzi family in 1965, and for that kind of traveller it strikes me as among the most sensible picks in the country.

Where it is, and what you gain and lose

Cailungo is no beauty, and I’d be fibbing if I said it was. It’s the district with the hospital, the public utilities company and streets of shops and houses, as I describe in my guide to Cailungo. What you gain by staying here is quiet, parking at the door and views that in the Città you’d have to walk to a viewpoint for. According to the hotel, every room has a balcony with a panoramic view, some towards the Adriatic and others towards the three towers.

What you lose is the Città on your doorstep. To see the old town at dusk, once the coaches have gone, you have to go up and come back. To me that’s a fair price if you’re staying two or three nights and using San Marino as a base for the area, since the Rimini coast is about 20 minutes away by car.

How do you get from the Crocenzi to the Città?

Here’s what I’d do. Drive or stroll the kilometre to the cable car’s valley station and take a cabin. Cabins leave every quarter of an hour and drop you at the top without any hunt for parking in the Città, which is where you pay. Timetable, fares and closure days are in the San Marino cable car.

The alternative is to drive up and leave the car in one of the public car parks at the top. It’s quicker, but you pay by the hour. If you’re coming back late from dinner, check the time of the last cabin first, because from October to December the cable car runs until 19:00.

The rooms, and the one I’d ask for

All rooms have air conditioning, their own heating, a minibar, a private shower room and free Wi-Fi, and they’re cleaned daily. The single is small at 9 m², though it has a sea-view terrace. The double for single use and the double are 16 m², and in the double you choose a king-size or two singles when booking. The triple and quadruple go up to 30 m², with a terrace facing the sea.

For a family of four, the 30 m² quadruple strikes me as the hotel’s best card. Having everyone in one roomy room with a terrace, without paying for two, is exactly what’s hard to find inside the walls. My other ideas for travelling with kids are in San Marino with kids.

Breakfast, dinner and reception

Breakfast is a generous buffet from 07:00 to 09:30. The hotel says guests can almost turn it into lunch, which is worth knowing if you’ll spend the day climbing hills. There’s a bar serving soft and alcoholic drinks, and a lift.

Evening meals need some planning. The home-cooking restaurant is for guests only, but at the moment it runs only on request for groups. The hotel itself points you to nearby restaurants. I’d eat in Borgo Maggiore or up in the Città and drive back. What the lower town has to offer is in my guide to Borgo Maggiore.

Reception opens from 08:00 to 22:30. If you’ll be later, let them know. Booking on the website gets you online check-in, which saves some paperwork.

Parking and payment

There’s a large private car park, and the covered garage is requested when booking and charged separately. It takes debit and credit cards, cash and advance bank transfer. No prices are published, so any comparison needs real dates.

Who it’s for

Drivers, families, groups, cyclists or bikers using San Marino as a base, and anyone who’d take a sea-view balcony over a medieval lane. I wouldn’t choose it for a single night without a car, when sleeping inside the Città is what pays off. Weigh it against the other hotels in where to stay in San Marino.