"While 3 stars out of 5 might be viewed as unfair, especially in view of some of the higher ratings on here, I found too many negatives that prevents me from giving a higher score.
Reception staff were a little slow. I suspect that one of them was new as had to ask for help from a more experienced staff member on many occasions. Otherwise, friendly and helpful.
The subsidised €12 taxi voucher is OK as long as you show it to the driver on entry as it is for a fixed destination near the Colosseum. You can't ask for a different destination, however close to the Colosseum and expect the driver to take the voucher as part payment. We ended paying €24 for one journey as would not accept the voucher. Luckily, we were able to use it for another journey the next day.
Uber Cabs are OK although they are sometimes difficult to book via the app. They seem to be reluctant to pick up from certain locations such as the area near the Spanish steps. It is often easier to flag down a local taxi as long as their light is on. They charge according to the meter and generally good value.
Our room was very clean, spacious and comfortable albeit some might find the bed a little too firm. No kettle but the mini fridge was handy for keeping some affordable beer purchased from near by convenience stores of which there are a few. There are also plenty of bars and pizzerias in the neighbourhood. Do make the effort to visit Trastevera and Borgo regions. Buses, metro and trams are easy to navigate with Google Maps and extremely cheap using Tap and Go. You'll need a contactless method of payment for each member of your group. Can't tap twice with the same card to pay for someone else. The area around the hotel is very residential and can give the impression of being rough. We didn't experience any antisocial behaviour and found the locals reasonably friendly.
The hotel bar was a little disappointing. A tad expensive at €8 for a 40cl beer. They ran out of beer at one point and also glasses. Call me a traditionalist but I would expect an €8 beer to be served in a glass. The pool bar was only staffed on the first day of our stay with a 33cl bottle of beer costing €7 or €8. Again, a little steep, even for a hotel.
I am grateful for any European hotel that makes an effort to deliver a hot breakfast. However, if you're going to do so, at least serve it as described; hot! As far as I could tell, the "hot" breakfast items come out of the kitchen luke warm at best and then presented on worktops with no hotplate or hot lamps. My advice would be to stick with the continental breakfast which is adequate and certainly better than cold eggs and bacon. The toasters also take forever to brown the bread. I could feel myself aging while waiting for my toast, which incidentally was the only truly hot part of my "hot" breakfast. 🫤
We didn't try any other meals at the hotel.
To end on a positive note, the house keeping staff are amazing and a credit to the hotel. Always with a friendly buongiorno! 😊"
