Hotel Scacciapensieri

Our room was nice and clean, with a lovely beach view. I wasn’t happy with the breakfast, though, or with staff who didn’t smile or return our greetings. It’s not close to the train station. There are shuttle buses, but the receptionist didn’t know the schedule.

The direct beach view was about the only good thing I found here. In the end we gave up a night and went back to Rome. For the money, it felt like a total waste. I think this may be the only hotel in town, but if we return to Nettuno I’d choose an Airbnb, which would be cheaper and, I doubt, any worse. The hotel felt old and dark throughout, with ugly colors and nowhere for people to sit together or interact. Everyone stayed in their rooms. There was a party outside one night until midnight, and I couldn’t sleep or join in. Nobody had mentioned there might be loud events. We also had to sign papers about data privacy, but were told the forms were only available in Italian. The room was fairly large at 18 m2, and the shower had hot water and was acceptable. We’d booked a private shower and bathroom and a “large double bed,” but got two single beds and mattresses joined under one sheet. The air conditioning was an old wall-integrated central system and too weak to keep the room comfortable unless left running all day. WiFi coverage was good, but the speed ranged from 512kb to 2MB, with high ping and an unreliable connection. Cleanliness was a real problem. When we arrived, we were directed to the restaurant toilets, which were horrible, with full trash bins and dirty tissues scattered on the floor. Bird droppings covered the balcony floor and sides. I reported it, but was told to wait until the next morning because housekeeping wasn’t available all day, and they took my room number. It hadn’t been cleaned the next day, though the bed sheets had been changed, so perhaps they forgot. I reported it again, and a woman from reception cleaned some of it herself, but only one corner. There was still what looked like a spilled drink dried on the floor. They apologized with a bottle of champagne, which was nice, but the balcony was still dirty.

The room was comfortable and had a great view, and it was a pleasant 10m walk to restaurants, cafes, and the like. The staff were outstanding. With no taxis available, one of them drove us to the station through a storm. That’s real customer service. It isn’t a fancy place, but the kindness earns the rating.

The breakfast staff were surly, unhappy, and not helpful. When things ran out, I had to ask for more coffee, milk, cheese, and so on. The bread was very dry and unpleasant. Outside, the walkways down to the beach were filthy and covered in litter, looking like a place homeless people might live. The mattresses were dirty, thin, lumpy, sloped toward the middle, and old and stained. The windows might as well not have been there, since they blocked daylight. There were few hangers and hardly any outlets to charge our devices. At 12:30 a.m., my daughter spilled juice on the bed, so I went to the front desk to ask for fresh bedding. The two men there wouldn’t help and said I couldn’t have any. They tried to ignore me. Eventually they brought a packet of clean sheets, but said I’d have to manage without a blanket or bed pad. I’m not kidding, I put three sheets over that filthy mattress so our bodies wouldn’t touch it.