Italo Club Executive Class Review | What is Salotto?
Italy has a well-developed train network that connects its major cities, making it an efficient and convenient mode of transportation for travelers.
In a bid to explore as much of the country as possible during our 10-day trip to Italy, we traveled by Italo trains from Milan to Venice, Venice to Florence, and Florence to Rome. As I do like my creature comforts, we opted to travel in Club Executive class.
Table of Contents
Italo Overview
Italo is a high-speed train service in Italy that offers modern and comfortable travel experiences to passengers. Operated by NTV, Italo trains run on a network that connects many of Italy’s major cities, including Milan, Venice, Florence, Rome, and Naples, among others. The trains are known for their sleek and stylish design, with a range of seating options to suit different preferences and budgets.
Italo trains offer four travel classes (ambiences):
- Smart
- Comfort
- Prima
- Club Executive
If you were to translate these classes to the airplane classes, it would be:
- Smart = Economy
- Comfort = Premium Economy
- Prime = Business Class
- Club Executive = First Class
Smart class is the most affordable option and provides standard seating, while Comfort class offers more spacious seats with extra legroom. Prima class provides an even higher level of comfort, with seats that recline and on-board catering services.
What is Italo Club Executive & Club Executive Salotto
Italo Club Executive is the most luxurious travel class offered by the Italo. This class provides passengers with a premium travel experience, featuring spacious and comfortable seats, extra legroom, and on-board catering services.
Club Executive passengers also have access to the Club lounge before departure, where they can enjoy complimentary refreshments and Wi-Fi in a relaxing environment. See our review of Italo club in Milan here, and Florence lounge here.
In addition to the lounge access and on-board catering, Club Executive passengers enjoy a range of other amenities, including free Wi-Fi, power outlets, and on-board entertainment systems.
But what is a Salotto?
Salotto is an Italian word that means “living room” or “lounge” in English. In the context of Italo trains, Salotto refers to the lounge in Club Executive train car that sits up to 4 passengers. Your own private room on the train, if you wish.
There are two Salotto rooms in an Executive train car, so you must book your ticket early if you want to travel in one of them.
Booking & Cost
The best way to book Italo train tickets is directly via Italo website.
Below are the sample prices for different classes of service (I am using Florence to Rome train as an example).
There are several types of tickets available:
- Flex. Free changes and eligible for 80% refund.
- Economy. Change fee is 20% of the ticket cost, eligible for 40% refund.
- Low Cost. Change fee is 50% of the ticket cost, non-refundable.
When you book Salotto, you reserve the whole lounge. Meaning: regardless whether you buy just one ticket or all four (the max number of passengers), you won’t have to share the Salotto with anyone outside of your travel party.
Salotto ticket price does go down depending on how many tickets you buy.
For example, this is the price if you change the number of passengers in the example above to three.:
Italo Club Executive Seating
Let’s take a closer look at Italo’s Club Executive class.
The seats in Club Executive class are wider and more comfortable than those in other travel classes, providing an even more enjoyable travel experience.
The seats are arranged in 2-1 configuration.
Each seat has USB and European plug outlets, and a foldable table built in the armrest.
Italo Club Executive Salotto
The Salotto seats are identical to the seats in the rest of the Club Executive train car. There are four seats in the room which is very private thanks to the sliding doors.
As you can see from the pictures below, not all Club Executive train cars look the same. The seating on AGV trains feels more luxurious.
Luggage Storage
There is (usually) plenty of luggage storage shelves right behind the Salotto lounges. The storage is at the end of the train car, away from the car entrance.
On one of the trains, there was not enough room on the shelves for our bags, but we had no problems fitting them in the overhead storage.
Italo Club Executive Food & Drinks
The food options during our travels were either Caprese or Mortadella Focaccia sandwich.
The sandwiches were simple yet delicious.
The drinks offered were:
- Water
- Coke products
- Pineapple & orange juices
- Coffee
The train attendant also brought out a snack basket with an assortment of cookies, crackers, and sweets.
Italo Wi-Fi & Entertainment
Free Wi-Fi is available in all travel classes, however, the speed was so slow that it was unusable during all of the train journeys we took.
There are personal 9″ screens available in Club Executive class on AGV trains that are supposed to provide you with access to the exclusive entertainment content. I never got to load this content either…
Final Thoughts
Italo Club Executive train class offers a very comfortable travel experience for those who want to enjoy premium amenities and services while journeying across Italy.
While the ticket price was higher than other classes, the added benefits and convenience were worth the extra cost to us. We especially appreciated the privacy of the Salotto.
