REVIEW | The Social Hub Bologna

October 2022. As we wanted to test Trenitalia‘s Frecciarossa 1000 service from Paris to Milan, we planned a rail trip around it. From Antwerp to Paris with Thalys, the ‘Red Arrow’ to Milan and once in Italy continuing to Trieste and Bologna. The return trip took us to Basel in Switzerland to enjoy SBB‘s panoramic coach and Germany‘s Rhine route to Cologne. From there we got back to Belgium.

While selecting hotels for our stay in Bologna we weren’t overwhelmed by most options in and around the city. The only hotel that stood out was The Student Hotel. The name did make us think twice though, it sounded mostly like some student dorm rooms, yet they advertised as a 4-star hotel.

We decided to take the risk as it looked better than all other hotels in the city. A few weeks after we reserved we received a mail from the hotel stating that they changed their name to The Social Hub to reflect that they were more than just student rooms and everyone was welcome there.

Clearly more people were confused with their original name. Apparently the group was started by some Dutch entrepreneurs to provide high-quality student accommodations. Upon refining their business plan they decided it was a good idea to add normal hotel rooms too. They also have a very ambitious growth plan as they have plenty more big openings planned in big university cities, they clearly tapped an underserved market.

The Social Hub in Bologna (being one of the most important university cities in Italy) is located near the station (on the wrong side compared to the city centre) in a new development area with some more big modern buildings. It is a huge building filling a complete city block, with the rooms located in the building around the perimeter encircling an inner courtyard. In the courtyard there where ample relaxation spaces and also a nice looking outside pool. Unfortunately the pool was already closed for winter proofing when we stayed.

On the ground level the building offered all sorts of amenities and communal spaces like a reception area, a café/restaurant, a well-equipped gym, a play room with different styles of games available, a laundry area and communal kitchens where people could cook their own food.

Our room was located on the top floor, almost in one of the furthest corners of the building. Despite also hosting numerous student rooms, we weren’t disturbed by any noise in the hotel part.

The entire building has a rather industrial feel to it, with high ceilings like in a storehouse. The room was well designed with open storage and a nice use of colours and decorations. Tea and coffee facilities as well as a minibar where provided. They also had numerous dimmable lights. Contrary to our hotel in Trieste the air-conditioning was still functional and even on full blast, requiring us to wear a sweater inside to prevent freezing.

The bathroom was a cube in the room and was fairly simple with a large walk-in shower but did lack some storage space. There where multiple use dispensers for shampoo, body wash and handsoap, nothing special but they did the job. They had a nice gimmick on the shower with a small animation depicting a polar bear drowning due to the ice melting if you took a shower for too long.

In the morning there was a breakfast buffet in the café downstairs. For an Italian hotel it was a rather diverse offering, more than I expected. But on the other hand nothing extraordinary, you could find most typical items you would expect but the quality wasn’t exceptional.

All in all we had a good stay at the Social Hub in Bologna. It is clearly aimed at a younger demographic and they executed their brand well. The downside was that at times we already felt a bit too old and out of place. We would certainly consider staying at a social hub again in the future if the price and location are right.