The Smooth Rome

"Great little hotel. We had booked 2 x rooms and pre requested adjoining if possible but at check in we’re told the rooms were next to each other. On getting to the room we found both were double beds but reception were quick to send someone up to turn one room into single beds. The rooms were newly renovated and clean. Lacking in a USB port. One room had a massive walk in shower but my room was a small bath with a hand shower and no way of attaching to the wall so I used the other room. Disappointed that the coffee facility in the rooms were paper cups but I’m sure they would not have minded if I’d raked proper cups from breakfast. The hotel is a 20 min train from Romes main Termini and then a 10 min walk. 1.50 euro. The hotel has a small restaurant where we had daily buffet breakfast. Lovely and fresh food options, home made cakes and biscuits and the staff were happy to make me a fresh coffee rather than from the available machine. We visited the water park one day and this was only 15 minutes away via Uber."

"I booked my hotel through the Chase travel portal. The price was great esp during high season and a lot of other hotels much more expensive. The good: - Able to put three people in a room for a reasonable price. This seems uncommon in Italy. - breakfast nice, continental style. Coffee machine the bomb - free street parking around the block. Surprisingly safe. - nice family style neighborhood pizza/restaurant called 6zero9 down the street - reasonable walking distance and access to Cornelia station with access to metro - did not charge us for city tax for last day when we decided to check out early. - cleaning lady came daily to clean room. The bad - breakfast is not free if room booked through Chase (which is seen as Expedia on hotel side) -8 euro pp - a/c not working pretty miserable as room seemed to generate heat. Mosquitos come if you leave door open to ventilate. No ETA on A/C fix. - shower made entire bathroom floor wet. - toilet super high off the ground. A really weird set up. - poor lighting - bring a headlamp! Lights also generated a lot of heat. - mini fridge does not generate cold. It is more of a cooler that generates more heat. - no luggage rack Would not recommend. Poor experience."

"Terrible Experience – Completely Unacceptable for an IHG Property We genuinely do not understand how this hotel qualifies as an IHG property. It fails to meet even the most basic standards of comfort and customer service. First, the location is directly on one of the busiest streets imaginable. Motorcycles, trucks, and cars are constantly racing by—it honestly sounds like a war zone, with what feels like a nonstop Harley-Davidson parade. At check-in, the front desk associate (Steven) was friendly, but gave us no warning about the major issue awaiting us. When we entered our room, it was extremely small and very basic. Worse yet, the temperature inside was 30°C (87°F). We opened the balcony door hoping for relief, only to be hit with overwhelming street noise and mosquitoes—there is no screen. We called the front desk about how to operate the air conditioning, only to be told that the system had been broken all day, no technician was coming, and there was nothing that could be done. Because of the noise, we could barely hear the conversation and had to go downstairs in person. There, we found multiple other frustrated guests in the same situation—rooms were unbearably hot with no solution. One couple had just arrived from a long flight from Korea with a ticket at 7am the next morning to visit the Coliseum, and two women was from the U.S.—all IHG members, all completely dissatisfied. We requested a refund so we could move to another hotel, but were told that only the manager and the booking department (who would not be present until the next morning) could approve it. We then spent two hours of our vacation contacting IHG customer care, only to be told the same thing—nothing could be done until the next day. Ironically, the lobby and bar had working air conditioning (standalone units), which made the situation even more frustrating. So to summarize: -The hotel had a known, property-wide air conditioning failure on a hot, humid day. -There was no management onsite to handle the situation -Guests were left in unsafe, unlivable conditions with no immediate solution Ultimately, we had no choice but to find another hotel late at night. Fortunately, just behind this property we found the Ergife Palace Hotel, located in a quiet oasis with a huge pool, palm trees, spacious rooms, and a luxury breakfast buffet—all for €50 less than what we paid here. We didn't get to rest until midnight. Even with functioning air conditioning, this hotel does not meet IHG standards due to its location, room quality, and overall guest experience. The complete lack of accountability and support only reinforces this. The next morning, we did go back to speak to a manager for our refund, he apologized and asked us to send him an email regarding the situation in order to process our request. We did as he instructed, but we have not heard from him as of now, nor have seen a refund on our credit statement. This property should not represent the IHG brand. Members deserve far better than being misled into staying at a substandard hotel like this."