The Royal Victoria Hotel hosts training sessions, work meetings, professional seminars, press reviews, book presentations, wine tastings, small exhibitions and receptions for up to 70 guests, in three connecting rooms, a smaller meeting room and a terrace. The hotel stands on the Lungarno Pacinotti, on the bank of the Arno in the historic center of Pisa, and is run by the Piegaja family.
Seminars and company events
The meeting floor combines three connecting multipurpose rooms that together hold 70 people. The Sala del Leone is used for conferences, assemblies and presentations. The Sala Ida Marchesini suits training sessions and tastings, with the Sala della Musica next to it as an annex for coffee breaks and aperitifs. The Sala Lungarno Regio is a more intimate room for meetings, with a view over the river. Free Wi-Fi is included. On request the hotel provides a sound system, fixed and wireless microphones, a large screen and flip charts, and it can arrange audio and video technicians, interpreters and support staff. The hotel asks for three weeks' notice for an event and applies surcharges to bookings made in the last three days. It has also hosted small theatre performances and seminars for professional associations.
Weddings and receptions
The Terrazza dei Gerani, the geranium terrace, is offered for aperitifs, birthday parties, graduation receptions and weddings, as well as book launches in fine weather. The hotel serves coffee breaks, aperitifs and the Italian apericena, a buffet-style aperitif that stands in for dinner. Seated wedding dinners are not described, so couples should check the format and numbers with the events team.
Rooms and capacities
The indoor event rooms are the Sala del Leone, the Sala Ida Marchesini, the Sala della Musica and the Sala Lungarno Regio. The hotel gives one combined capacity of 70 for the three connecting halls rather than a figure per room, which makes the suite best suited to a single group of up to 70 or a plenary with a breakout. The Terrazza dei Gerani adds an outdoor space for receptions.
Accommodation
Delegates can stay on site in four room categories: Junior Suite, Classic River, Classic and Standard. Two rooms are named after past guests: room 102 after Guglielmo Marconi and room 202 after Gabriele D'Annunzio. The hotel does not publish a total room count, so larger groups should confirm availability early.
Catering
Event catering covers coffee breaks, aperitifs and apericena served in the meeting rooms or on the terrace. The hotel's site does not describe a restaurant for full dinners.
History and setting
The hotel traces its site back to 1050, when records place the guesthouse of the winemakers' guild, the Corporazione dei Vinajoli, at this address, and it presents itself as the oldest hotel in Italy. It became a stop on the Grand Tour and, by its own account, received some 150 notable figures in its first ten years. Writers, scientists, artists, aristocrats and heads of state followed, and the hotel says it still welcomes Nobel laureates, ministers and members of royal families. In Pisa it is also known as a host of cultural events of national and international reach.
Getting there
The address is Lungarno Pacinotti 12, on the riverfront in the historic center. Pisa Centrale station lies on the other side of the Arno, and Pisa International Airport is a short drive away. The cathedral square with the Leaning Tower can be reached on foot.
