Madison Hotel

This is the best holiday we've ever had and that's an excellent review as we have many holidays. We will be returning most years! The apartment was brilliant with a huge balcony over looking the pool. Food was amazing and the staff even more. We made some great friends out there. It even has a heated swimming pool and a children's play room. So family based! Enjoy, but make sure you take plenty spends as most of Italy is more expensive than the like of Portugal etc x

We found the hotel and staff fantastic. while we were there for two weeks we got married in Rimini the hotel staff were excellent they did all they could to make my day very special .They presented me with flowers and made us a wedding cake,they made the whole experience very memorable .the area of cattolica is very beautiful with plenty to do and see .The hotel rooms were very clean the food was superb with a wide variety of choice. This is a fantastic hotel for couples and familys alike

We found the Madison hotel excellent. We loved everything about both the hotel and the town of Cattolica.
HOTEL:
The Rooms:
The rooms were an adequate size, especially by Italian standards. They were cleaned everyday and the bed linen changed regularly. The bathroom was good, spotlessly clean with a shower, toilet and sink.
The Hotel Staff:
All the staff were friendly, especially in the restaurant and the bar. They would all go out of their way to help you if u asked them to. They spoke very good English too, but we always tried to speak Italian which pleased them.
The Food:
We stayed half board and we enjoyed every meal. Breakfast was the usual continental buffet you get everywhere it seems, but there were no complaints on that front. There was also free coffee and fruit juice. The evening meal was actually 4 courses - antipasti buffet, primi (usually a pasta), secondi (meat, fish or vegetarian option)and dolci buffet. With the middel 2 courses you order form the menu the previous night, which is a little strange but quite common across Italy. All the food was high quality, and contrary to another review we did not find the food salty, and we dont ever cook with salt so we'd notice. However that is obviously a personal taste. There is a fantastic variety of wines available, as well as soft drinks. There is also a very popular snack bar for lunchtimes which is cheap and a good quality.
The Pool:
The pool itself was large and always clean, with a shallow children's section. However the area around the pool was quite small, so there was a lot of competition for the small number of sunbeds. If the pool gets too busy, opposite the hotel is a communal pool which is rarely busy and charges very little.
CATTOLICA:
The Beach:
The beach is divided into several sections, which all charge for sunbeds etc, but there is a free section very close to the Madison without any sunbeds which is what we did. They are all very clean, and the water is warm with lots of fish to swim up to and around you which was nice.
The port:
The port, which is a 2 minute walk from the hotel max is amazing. There are seafood restaurants and fountains and it really comes alive at night. Check out some of the boat trips you can book for up to 20Euros.
The Centre:
About 5 - 10 minutes walk from the hotel is the main centre. It has lots of fountains and gardens mixed with friendly bars and trattorias. Again, it comes alive at night, with regular dancing fountain shows and live music. There were some art sales and antiques sales going on in the evenings too, as well as a magician. It all happens here!
Getting Around:
There is a train station in Cattolica which can take you to neighbouring resorts and the big cities, all for very low prices. The staff at the station are all very friendly and helpful. There are also mini trains which do tours all around the town which is great for kids. There are also buses which go pretty much everywhere. Everything is cheap, but everyone must validate their tickets, and its sometimes easy to forget to do that.
Places to see:
SAN MARINO - a bit touristy but well worth a visit (independently is best)
GABICCE MONTE - spectacular views and within easy reach
PESARO - fantastic old town and a great beach at the front - we didnt spend enough time in the old town unfortunately :(
We had a great time, and you'd be mad to miss out on this great hotel and resort!