A Roma Lifestyle Hotel

"My wife and I are both in our 60s. We stayed at A.Roma Lifestyle Hotel before joining our cruise, looking forward to a holiday I had saved for throughout the year. What happened outside reception, and the lack of support we felt afterwards, has left us deeply upset. We were standing beside the wall outside reception with four new friends, waiting for the coach to take us to the ship. My wife took a photograph, returned her phone to her shoulder bag and placed it beside her. There were six of us together, yet within a few minutes her bag had disappeared. It contained our passports, her new iPhone, money, credit cards, glasses, new perfume and a brand-new pair of sunglasses. We were shocked and frightened. We continued to the ship, only to be refused boarding because our passports had been stolen. We then faced a wasted journey back to Rome. When we returned to the hotel, we asked for help. Instead, we were charged **€705 for the additional stay**, with no meaningful practical support offered to us. The staff were polite, but politeness alone was not enough when we were standing there distressed and unsure what to do. The hotel had CCTV, but when we asked for assistance with it, they refused to help. I also asked whether they could reduce the accommodation cost given our circumstances, and was told no. My wife cried for three days. Watching her suffer while trying to sort out our passports and salvage our holiday was heartbreaking. She has a pacemaker, which made this ordeal particularly worrying for us. This morning, we received a call from her hospital informing us that her pacemaker had gone into backup mode and needed immediate replacement. She is still unwell. I cannot say what caused the device issue, but this has added further fear to an already extremely distressing experience. I approached the hotel and asked why there were no visible warning signs reminding guests to keep their bags in their possession, particularly outside reception where people wait for transfers. A simple warning might have prompted us to be more cautious. Their response left me with the impression that the hotel’s reputation mattered more than warning and supporting its guests. I do not blame the hotel for the actions of the thief. I do, however, feel deeply let down by how we were treated afterwards. We needed compassion, practical assistance and some understanding of the exceptional circumstances we were facing. Instead, we felt that our distress made little difference once there was another room bill to pay. My lasting memory of A.Roma is of my wife in tears and the feeling that we were left to cope alone when we most needed help. Please keep your bags physically in your possession, even outside reception and even when standing with friends. I would hate another couple to experience what we have been through."

"Great hotel on the outskirts of Rome. Room was spotless, modern and spacious. It was a quiet retreat away from the busy streets of Rome. They had a transfer to central Rome which dropped us just outside the Pantheon. It was 18euros for the 2 of us, lots of times and just book at reception. We had no problems booking it. We had breakfast which had everything you would want. The pool was also really nice. The staff were so friendly as well, we were a little early for check in but the receptionist said if we got a drink she would be able to sort us a room within 30mins which was superb service! Highly recommend and would stay again."

"Stayed here twice in the same break recently - first 3 days in Rome we stayed here, then we had to leave due to a big conference going on at the hotel on our last full day so we stayed elsewhere. Then we ended up rebooking back here for 1 night when our flight got cancelled and staying in a different room. Both room stays had breakfast and spa access. The first 3 days when we stayed, I wasn't super impressed with the hotel to be honest. The room was clean enough which was great, the spa was lovely to relax in and clean, but the experience we had in our last night hotel in central Rome seemed much more pleasant - they went out of their way much more in our other hotel it seemed. Staff were polite enough here but didn't feel as warm and friendly as elsewhere and it felt as though the conference guests and incoming conference was prioritised more than us regular guests. For example, they offer a pillow service where you can pick different pillows which is great. I didn't sleep great the first night as the bed mattress is very firm and the pillows are very firm too. We rang down to try some different pillows as it is a service they offer and waited 2 hours or so - nothing. Rang again and they said they would bring some up. Waited another hour and nothing. Partner went down to reception to talk to them and try get some and said he felt as though the staff were reluctant to actually go look for some and help. We did get them in the end but I wonder if with the conference coming they were just more focused on that which didn't feel great when you're staying there too. The breakfast was okay, fair choice, although I think that it isn't as good when delivered to your room - there is an extra 15 euro charge per person which I didn't realise (thought it was just 1 charge not per person) until I was charged in the room. It is not worth it when delivered to you I would say with that 30 euro extra fee. I wish there had been more vegetarian hot food choices but not everywhere does that so I can overlook that, just would be nice to have. They did have other continental choices which were vegetarian and suited us fine. The main restaurant there doesn't have that great vegetarian choices either so we didn't dine there (the garden one) and their buffet is only open Wednesday to Sunday which we missed the first time. The pool is great but has no shade whatsoever so we didn't go in it given it was extremely hot when we went which is a shame. After the conference had ended and due to our flight being cancelled we went back and had a much better experience. The room we had was bigger, aircon was not as good but still worked okay. Again it was clean and we had spa access which was great. This time they did support us quickly with alternative pillows which was nice. The big difference is we got to try their buffet restaurant and oh my god it was just phenomenal. My only gripe is I wish they did it every night because we would have eaten there every night! The food is excellent quality, so much choice, fair price and we really enjoyed it. I feel like we also got more information from staff the second time around on check in which was better. So overall I think the experience with the spa and buffet and options you've got to swap pillows etc all make this place worth the price you pay. But if you're going around the same time as another event, your experience might be hampered a little bit. Just also be warned it is outside of central Rome so if you cab in all the time it can be pricey but they do offer a shuttle/minibus into Rome at the hotel which is much less expensive!"