Metropolis

"The Metropolis Hotel in Rome was the worst experience we ever had with a hotel and we have been to a vast number in our decades of travel. It should be avoided at all costs. Where to start, at the absolute beginning. We arrived there at 1:30 pm and knew it was before the 3 PM check-in, however, many hotels typically accommodate you based on the room that was assigned to you. We spoke to a gentleman at the front desk and he said both rooms that we booked were not ready. We saw there was a bench in the reception area and a vast lounge right next to the receptionist. We asked if we could sit there and the gentleman said no because our start at the hotel did not begin until our 3 PM check in. He advised us to go to lunch because there were lots of restaurants in the area. We had a very early start to our day and had a morning of extensive travel. We were exhausted and just wanted to sit and we were told we could not but then he said we could. My husband and son went out to get some bottles of water at a store and I, along with my daughter and son-in-law, went to the lounge area. We had not even sat down when the manager whose name was Anna Maria told us we were not allowed to be in the hotel. I politely asked her why not and she said they needed to clean the area. The area was absolutely empty, immaculate and spotless! The television was on and no one was watching it. I asked her since we were not taking the seat of any other hotel guest why we were not permitted to stay and she continued to say they needed to clean, and we were not their guest until 3 PM. I told her I did not feel welcomed and didn’t understand why she was forcing us out of the hotel. She told us we could go to some restaurants. We returned to the reception area where our luggage still was standing by the reception desk and I stated that I was not able to leave the reception area until my husband and son returned because they wouldn’t know where we were. I also stated I wanted to stay (standing in the reception area because I was not allowed to sit on the bench next to the receptionist) until all our luggage was secured. Anna Maria told me that there’s a lock on the door to the hotel so it’s perfectly OK for our five pieces of luggage and for carry-ons to be there in the center of the reception area and that we could leave. I politely told her as soon as my son and husband returned and our luggage was secure we would leave. She was not happy. The five of us were sent out the door once our luggage was secured. Again we were told to go find a restaurant. We were not allowed to check in until someone opened the door of the hotel to let us know our rooms are ready. That’s right, we were waiting outside the hotel, like a group of stray animals. When we were finally allowed to check in, late at 3:15 pm, they proceeded to write down our credit card number on a piece of paper. We told them we were not comfortable with that and that we would read the numbers out to them to put into the computer directly and they said they would put the numbers in later. For security reasons we stated they would need to input the numbers in the computer as we read them out to them. They were not happy. The rooms were tiny, tight and dark, as well as hot. The room was clearly not meant for three people and that’s what we had. My daughter and her husband also had an extremely small room. Our room for 3 would’ve been too tight for two people as well. Huge concerns with the room started with issues with our room key and ended with someone from the staff entering our room without our permission. Throughout our stay, we had a do not disturb sign on our door. One night when we returned, there was a huge box on our bed that had an electric steamer in it. We did not request a steamer and had no idea how it got there. We went to the front desk and spoke to the manager. They seemed to want to brush it off as an honest mistake. We stressed to them that there was a do not disturb sign on the door and management said if someone requested a steamer, the staff were going to enter the room regardless of the signage on the door. I was absolutely flabbergasted by this response and upset as well. They said they would make it known to staff not to disturb us. I stated what if I was being intimate with my husband when they walked in. They had no response to this other than that the staff is very good and it was just a mistake. Even though they continued to ask us if we requested a steamer, which we did not. The following day after a whole day of sightseeing, we came back about 7:15 pm to the hotel and found out that someone was in our room again!!!!! Apparently we did not remove our room key from the device in the wall which provides electricity and air conditioning to the room. We went down to the front desk and were told that the rooms are monitored and that if we leave and the air conditioning is left on, staff is allowed to go into the room, take the key card out to turn off the air conditioning and the electricity. We stated again: what does the do not disturb sign mean?! Management stated that they will make a notation that no one should come into our room, however, they reserve the right to come in if the air conditioning is running and no one is in the room. I asked, how do you know that the rooms are empty? How do you monitor who comes and goes? And they had no response. This is incredibly disturbing and troublesome. It’s bad enough that this hotel does not know how to do hospitality but the fact that they come in to your room like your mom without permission is totally unacceptable. And their responses to our concerns were laughable, if not insulting. Breakfast! I don’t want to be unfair to the staff because it does seem that something is going on there that is not good. The staff that does the breakfast as well as housekeeping are extremely stressed and curt with hotel guests. There is a giant chafing dish when you come in for breakfast and they will tell you there’s no food in it because they rather you order it so you’re guaranteed a hot breakfast. This puts a tremendous amount of work on their staff, not to mention time is lost for the guest who has to wait for the breakfast to be cooked. All the other hotels we stayed at have chafing dishes with food ready to go. When we requested bacon and eggs we were told there could be a 20 to 30 minute wait for the bacon. The staff at breakfast does not greet you. It’s as if you’re in the military. As soon as you walk in, in a very abrasive voice, they look at you and say “room number”. On our last day there we got to breakfast before it opened. We got there at 6:50 AM. They opened at 7 AM. We wanted to ensure we would be able to have a hot breakfast. As soon as we walked in, we got the abrasive shout out of “room number”! When we requested our hot breakfast, we were told that bacon was not available for at least 25 to 30 minutes because she was still setting up the breakfast buffet and getting ready for the day. We told her we were the only five people there and she said she couldn’t do it. A manager happened to be there said something to her and the bacon came in 20 minutes. I asked the hotel manager if this young lady was the only one who was working at the breakfast and the manager assured me that the young woman was not working alone. We did not see anyone else working in this area, but her. I asked the hotel manager why it would take so long to make bacon. My husband stated the same and asked if we were the only people there why would it take so long to make bacon. He also stated why couldn’t the eggs and bacon be in a chafing dish and the hotel manager said that the eggs would change color and be overheated. We told her all the hotels, serve eggs in a hot chafing dish and they never change color or get over cooked because people are constantly taking the food and the kitchen is constantly replenishing it. Again, things just did not add up. They always seem to have an answer for the question that you have but the answer is always illogical. It did look like this young lady on this particular day was setting up the buffet, was taking coffee orders and was clearing dishes as other guests came at 7:30 AM. If this is the case that she was the only person down there working for breakfast I do feel badly for her but again the hospitality at this hotel is a zero! They don’t welcome into the hotel, you can’t use the lounge area, you can’t use a little bench at the reception area, they can come into your room anytime they want and do whatever they want in your room because apparently you can trust the staff and having a hot breakfast made is extreme in imposition for them to do even though you paid for it and are the only ones there! They also stated that breakfast was from 7 AM to 10 AM daily yet the guide booklet that you receive in your room states that breakfast is from 7 AM to 10:30 AM daily. The signage on the empty hot chafing dish at the breakfast buffet says “Dear guest. To guarantee a hot dish the scrambled eggs are made on request. Please ask our staff and enjoy your breakfast.” Another sign stated “Dear guests. We remind you that it is for bidden to bring food independently in your room. If the breakfast is included and you prefer to take breakfast inside your room, ask the reception and will do it for the room service charge of €15.” One gentleman left breakfast with a glass of water in his hand and the breakfast police basically followed him to the elevator to take his glass. Another warm and friendly sign (sarcasm) read “For hygienic reasons, please do not refill water bottles using the water of this dispenser.” Every hotel we stayed at allowed us to do this. But this hotel is a very special hotel as mommy doesn’t let you touch anything as if you were three years old. It’s embarrassing, humiliating, disrespectful and degrading. But the sad thing is the people at this hotel do not see anything wrong with what they are doing. It’s as if the guests are in reform school. One day while we were getting ready to go sightseeing, there was a guest who checked out early at 10 AM. She wanted a cup of coffee before she left and the hotel manager Anna Maria said that she couldn’t have one because she already checked out. The woman politely tried to explain her situation and that she just wanted a hot cup of coffee before she went to her business meeting and the hotel manager spoke down to her as if she were a child. The woman was so polite and tried to reason with Anna Maria, but Anna Maria would not hear of it! Again, they don’t understand what hotel management is, how to welcome guests and how to treat hotel guests in a courteous, warm and friendly manner. It looks like everyone in that hotel was absolutely miserable and I’m not sure if that was due to management that was present or management above that level. It was our very worst experience and made our time at Rome absolutely horrible. We were counting the days till we could go to our next hotel. Paola was the only bright light in our entire experience there! Unfortunately he was not there for our entire stay. We wish he was because he was extremely professional, polite and courteous - something this hotel is in great need of! There are not many restaurants near this hotel. The ones that were recommended were not that great and they were only about three and very far away! I’m not quite sure why there was such a push for us to leave when we first came to check in, but it seems from the check-in process everything continued to go downhill. I would strongly recommend that you not go to this hotel. Very depressing when you are on vacation!"

"Stayed here over the weekend of the European athletics championship. Typical 4 star European capital hotel : relatively small but decent rooms. It stood out for a couple of reasons : Lepanto metro line very close by which opens up easy access to/from the airport via Termini station & many of Rome’s attractions like Vatican City,Trevi Fountain & Spanish steps; lovely bar & Trattoria round the corner ;easy walking distance to Piazza de Popolo & a bit further away the Olympic stadium which we walked back from (40 mins) ; very helpful front desk & breakfast staff. We’d go back."

"We really enjoyed our stay at Hotel Metropolis. Our daughter had studied abroad in Rome & highly recommended the Prati neighborhood for safety. We were glad we listened to her. Felt safe the entire trip at this hotel & it was so centrally located to everything we needed to see & do. The ideal location of the hotel & the hospitality of the staff made our stay a wonderful one. We would book here again without hesitation & will recommend it to everyone we know headed to Rome. Very impressed with the hotel staff. Paul was hotel manager, concierge & front desk lead; he was quite helpful, courteous & extremely professional. He helped us during our entire stay, with all our questions & with anything we needed. John (sp?) was night staff & was also very kind & helpful, too. Sebastian was night desk help & helpful with WiFi but Paul is the perfect person to lead your hotel with all the guests & to be the face of the hotel when guests first arrive. His professionalism is hard to match! The room & bathroom were a nice size compared to what we had been told about room size in Europe. Our only suggestion for our room (room 305), to better improve the experience, is to secure the desk. It was a loose & needed a bit more care. That’s only a very small suggestion as we really did enjoy all of our stay at Hotel Metropolis! All around, it was an incredible visit & enjoyed our experience very much. It’s ideal location, safety & cleanliness makes this a hotel to recommend to our loved ones & friends back home. Thank you for your help in making this an unforgettable trip to Rome! Terri & Gerry L."