Hotel Fedora Riccione Bike Hotel Review

[Marek]

So, for all those of you that enjoy taking your bike on holiday with you, but have the task of also keeping your wife and kids happy then this is the solution. I have just got back from a week in Riccione which is on the East coast of Italy, just south of Rimini. Myself and one other mate with our 2 kids each and wives flew to Bologna and then hired a minibus to take ourselves to Riccione with our bikes and families.

Hotel Fedora is a 3 star hotel. The rooms are very comfortable and very clean. Every day the rooms were cleaned and tidied up which was a nice touch. The hotel has a kids room which between 10.00 and 18.00 is manned by a young lady called Betty who looks after the kids. The format is painting, taking them to the beach to play games and getting ready for a show to give to the parents at the end of the week (which was really sweet watching all the kids singing and dancing). The hotel has 2 small swimming pools and one outside Jacuzzi. There is a spa and sauna in the hotel but we did not use this. We chose this hotel because it is right next to the beach, so the kids don't have to cross any roads to get to the sand. Oh, and not forgetting the basement in the hotel which houses a garage for the bikes with workstand, track pump and a few tools. Also a big water cooler to fill up your bottles from every morning.

The package that we went for was half board, this was dinner bed and breakfast. For the cyclists you also get a big plate of pasta and potato and some cakes on your return from the ride. Every morning we had brekkie at 7.30am, there was a vast array of goodies, all organic, one of the things this hotel prides itself on. The eggs were awesome. Plenty of fruit, cereals, yogurt etc to choose from as well as cheese, ham, croissants etc.

We would then meet up with the other cyclists in the hotel and our guide would turn up at about 9.30am. This gave us enough time to sort out the wives and kids and say goodbye before they started their day on the beach or in the bar on the beach, which they spent a fair amount of the Euros in.

The first day we rode was a Saturday, there was no guide on this day, as people usually arrive on a Saturday, so Gareth and I just did a 60km route in the afternoon after settling the girls into the hotel and the surroundings.

On the second day we went out with the Espresso group, unfortunately there were not many other cyclists in the hotel at this time, so there was just Rudi (the guide) myself and Gareth (my mate). We went out and did a rolling ride that took in one of the big hills in the local area and the coastal road to Pescara which is quite a hilly route. We went at a fair old lick and did 100km in 3hrs 30mins. Gareth was struggling to stay on at times as me and Rudi were ramping up the pace a bit. Was good fun. Got back quite early about 1pm and we had our pasta and potato, fantastic.

Day 3 we went out with the slower Cappucino group and were joined by 4 Belgian riders in their early sixties. They were a nice bunch, our guide was Ivano, a 63 year old tanned short Italian. He was really good fun and knew all the back roads, certainly taught me how to improve my bike skills as we were up and down some really interesting lanes. This group was quite relaxed, although Ivano set a reasonable pace on the hills to keep myself and Gareth amused and then we would wait a bit for the Belgians. Stopped for a coffee and cake en route. One point it started to rain, only bad weather of the week, we hid under some trees and sang different songs from our different nations. When the rain stopped we carried on up a steep climb, Ivano must have been cold as he jumped off his bike and ran up the hill pushing his bike, he got up it quicker than the Belgies, when I am 63 I want to be like this dude, he was cool. Did 100km in around 5 hours or so but was a lot of climbing and quite gentle pace. Was what was needed after the day before.

Day 4 and the night before I had asked the manager Claudio if we could have a quick guide to take us up into the higher mountains. This was not a problem and next morning we were presented with a very heavily set Paulo, amateur racer and sprinter. Really nice lad. We did a route that took us up to Tuscany into the hills that Pantani used to train. I had quite good form and Paulo was strong, so we set a pretty quick pace. Gareth was finding the going quite tough so just sat in. Did laugh at one point when Gareth sprinted past us to the foot of a climb for Paulo to then sprint past him with both of his hands clutched behind his back to then turn a corner and look at Gareth and flash him a grin. I had not seen anything like that before. We then climbed the big mountain Carpegnia 1100m and then had a great descent through Tuscany and then back down toward Montecchio. We really hammered it along here and then climbed up to Tavullia which is where Valentino Rossi comes from. Then the fast ride back to the hotel. On the way back with about 10km to go Gareth sprinted past Paulo on the flat, Paulo turned to look at me and I was pretty beat, he started to sprint, unfortunately he was in a too heavy gear and he unclipped as he put the power down. He went down quite hard, I just managed to get around him and then had to brush him down. He was ok, a few scratches and grazes, think his pride was hurt more. 152km in about 6 hours with lots of hills and sprints for lines etc, was awesome but have to say I was pretty beat at the end, was the highlight ride of the week though.

Day 5 we were pretty tired after the day before so Gareth and I joined the Cappucino group again. This included the Belgians and a couple of Germans and myself, Gareth and Ivano our jolly guide again. They were planning a long ride so we just did about 50km with this group and then we headed back over the coastal road again to get back early. Another 85km in the bag and some great scenery.

Day 6, last day of riding, this day was the Tour day that took us 60km to a fantastic house owned by a friend of the owner of the hotel. He prepared a feast for us of local produce and wine. Claudio the hotel owner brought our wives and children up to the house in the Hotel minibus so we all had lunch together. Was a really nice touch and gave the girls a chance to see a bit more than the beach. This cost 20 Euros per person which was not bad as had a 4 course meal with wine and liquers. Then we took the flat roads back to the hotel, 100km in the bag. Really fun day with me sitting on the front all the way back on the flats pulling the Belgians along.

I have noticed that I have not actually mentioned the dinners. I could almost write a whole review of what we had. Put it this way, it is a buffet and it is awesome. Loads of salads, hot pasta dishes, meat, fish. All fresh and very tasty, I was really impressed with the food. They even had a sorbet machine that you could help yourself too. Total cost for the week in the hotel with the package that we had was 950 Euros for 2 adults, 1 child 7yrs and 1 child 2yrs. We spent some more on the bar etc but it was only another 100 Euros for the week and that was Cappucinos, cocktails, beers, juices for the kids etc. Very reasonable in my mind, in fact I thought it was a bargain considering what I was eating in the evenings.

As we checked out the owner gave Gareth and I a Hotel Fedora bandana and wished us well and hoped he would see us again. Well, I think he may well do as my wife came away saying that she had a great time. Well considering I got 600 hilly km under the belt and had a great time, for the wife to say she loved it just rounds off a great week. Highly recommended. It is not the high mountain climbing of the Dolomites or Pyrenees, but the hotel and the fact the family loved it is enough of a sacrafice to having a well rounded holiday. Awesome.

Cheers

Marek.....

p.s. The wine with the meals is free and they wash your cycling gear every day and it is ready the next day. Awesome.

[Sylv]

Sounds good Marek - no more excuses now though after a training camp like that

[quote="Marek"]Did laugh at one point when Gareth sprinted past us to the foot of a climb for Paulo to then sprint past him with both of his hands clutched behind his back to then turn a corner and look at Gareth and flash him a grin. I had not seen anything like that before.

[quote="Marek"]our guide was Ivano, a 63 year old tanned short Italian.

[Andrew G]

Sounds great Marek. Not been to that Hotel which sounds like a good one for families, but have stayed at one of the Riccione Bike Hotels (Perla run by Ernesto) and they are superb. The food as you say is out of this World and the riding in the surrounding hills some of the best I've done, beautiful climbs to little villages and fortifications.

I'll definately be going back to Riccione in the future and it would be good to get a bit of a band of Addiscombe to go for a training camp. I suspect we could arrange a deal. Ernesto and his wife run the Riccione Bike Hotels franchise and to be a member the hotels have to be to a good standard with workshop etc. He has offered deals for early bookings (10% discount if you book before Christmas for the following year) and expect a further discount could be negotiated for a party booking but numbers would have to be guranteed early bookings.

[quote="Sylv"]Sounds good Marek - no more excuses now though after a training camp like that

[Marek]

You should know me better, there are always excuses.

Cheers

Marek

[Marcus]

Sounds like a very good deal Marek. How much were the flights and where are the pics?