Hotel La Rocca, a family hotel on the climb to the First Tower

First, a clarification that saves confusion. If you searched for ‘la Rocca San Marino’ meaning the fortress, what you want is the Guaita tower, the First Tower, which the State Museums also call the Rocca. Hotel La Rocca is something else, a family-run hotel at Salita alla Rocca 33, the cobbled street that climbs towards it. They share a name because they share a street, and not much more.

What is Hotel La Rocca, and where is it?

It’s in the old town of the Città, on Salita alla Rocca, inside the pedestrian and restricted-traffic zone. The same climb takes you up to the Guaita, and Hotel Cesare and Hotel Rosa are a few steps away. It’s run by a family, makes a point of its personal welcome and has its own café inside, DoDà Caffè, serving breakfast, aperitivo, lunch and dinner.

The hotel says it’s the highest in San Marino, crediting its spot at the top of Mount Titano. Hotel Rosa, a few metres away, says the same in one of its offers. I’ve no way of measuring who wins, so I’ll pass it on for what it is, a line from each website.

The website doesn’t give a star rating, and I won’t invent one without a source. To compare categories, look at the four-stars in San Marino’s luxury hotels.

Rooms with names of their own

This is the most interesting side of the hotel. Many rooms have just been refurbished and each has a name. The single looks over the old town. The Superior double, ‘Desiderio’, has a starry-sky ceiling and a balcony over the valley. The Deluxe, ‘Sogno’, has moon-inspired decor and a balcony too. Three doubles, ‘Radici’, ‘Rinascita’ and ‘Origini’, face the old town’s main street, and three triples, ‘Legame’, ‘Speranza’ and ‘Armonia’, have a double plus a single bed and windows over the valley. The quadruple, ‘Incanto’, has a double bed, bunks and a balcony.

All rooms have air conditioning, a private shower room with a hairdryer, free Wi-Fi and TV. The refurbished ones add a minibar and a 40-inch smart TV. I’d ask for one with a balcony over the valley, Desiderio as a couple or Incanto with children. The ones on the main street have more atmosphere, but also more foot traffic noise.

One detail I like. The hotel invites you to message it on WhatsApp for photos of the rooms before booking. Do it, because the gap between a refurbished room with a balcony and an inside one is a big one.

Parking and arriving with luggage

There’s no hotel car park. You’re sent to public car parks P6 and P7, with barriers, a few steps away. Take a ticket on the way in, park in the blue bays and reception gives you the details. No spaces are held for guests. The Italian website mentions €6 a day running until 23:59 on your departure day, the same figure quoted for hotel guests in the public car parks; the English version gives hourly prices instead. The whole system is in parking in San Marino.

If you’re coming by bus from Rimini, the hotel points out that it runs every day, weekends and bank holidays included, and that you buy your ticket on board.

Times, languages and what to double-check

Check-in is from 14:00. After that the two versions of the website part company. The Italian one says arrivals close at 19:00 and check-out is by 10:00; the English one stretches arrivals to 20:00 and check-out to 11:00. The English version adds that breakfast is included, from 07:30 to 10:30 in the bar area, and that the staff speak Italian, English and French. With that many differences, I’d confirm times and breakfast by phone on 0549 991166.

Who it’s for, and the alternative next door

I’d suggest it to families and small groups who want to sleep inside the walls in a roomy, refurbished room, and to anyone who wants to step out in the morning and be at the Guaita within minutes. It’s the wrong choice if you need your own parking or a clear arrival time without ringing ahead.

If you’re driving, Hotel Rosa, a few steps away, has free private parking when you book direct. And if you’d like to see every area before deciding, they’re in where to stay in San Marino.