Angels In Rome

I wish I’d read the reviews before booking. Other guests describe much the same things, so it doesn’t seem like a one-off. I don’t have much to add to what they’ve already written. The owner seems unable to take criticism or learn from feedback, judging by her spiteful replies to unhappy guests. She should get training in how to host properly. I’d strongly advise against staying here.

Please read the reviews before booking, because a string of bad experiences says more than one or two complaints that might be a fluke. I’ve travelled for years and never come across hospitality this appalling. The price may be a little lower than other places, but staying here could ruin your holiday and your peace of mind. After more than 10 hours of flying, I was excited to arrive in Rome, but the welcome at this accommodation was a slap in the face. The strict 9-11am check-in time had been emphasized repeatedly by the owner on Google reviews, but it wasn’t clearly stated on the third-party site I used. She blamed me and said it wasn’t her responsibility to send a courtesy email asking when I’d arrive. On the phone she was rude, wouldn’t let me in, and offered no refund or option to pay extra for her to come back later. She even told me it wasn’t her problem that I had nowhere to stay that night. As other guests have described, the intimidation was real. She insisted I leave the property or she’d call the police. I’ve never seen someone run a business with such an attitude or provide such poor service. Even a dingy Airbnb in Rome treated me better and went further for me. I expect she’ll send this to the police too, and I hope she does so they can investigate what people have written on Google.

I’ve travelled for ages and never had an experience this bad. A check-in after 1pm wasn’t possible, and when we asked for help, she just said no. There was no refund and she made no effort to find a solution. I was disappointed, but I still told her I’d change my flight so I could check in early and enjoy my stay. From the moment I arrived, she was rude and kept trying to create problems. She bothered me on WhatsApp until I had to block her. Then I read the reviews. She accused some people of stealing things from the hostel, so I expected anything from her. We recorded a video before leaving as proof. Now she’s in trouble because of her lies. I still can’t believe what she did. Worst host ever. If you don’t want your holiday ruined, stay away from this horrible place. She clearly has issues.

The property’s location was a problem for me. It felt like there was nothing nearby, the closest subway line was a 35-minute walk, and Rome’s two lines, A and B, don’t make many stops. I waited for three different buses at three different times, at least 20 minutes each time, but none came. Google Maps just kept showing “Delayed,” so I had to take a lot of taxis during my one day in Rome. The subways are usually on time and frequent, but getting anywhere from here meant taking a bus or walking. I booked a private room through booking.com and foolishly didn’t read the reviews first. The negative ones were true, and I suspect some of the positive ones are fake, at least some seem impossible. It was a tiny single room in a five-room apartment, and the host rents out all five rooms. There were two cameras in the living room, which is about 10 square meters. I felt watched. When I got back at 6PM and went straight to my room and locked the door, at 6:05PM the host messaged me on booking.com and WhatsApp to say I should always lock the apartment door. I’d never given her my WhatsApp, so she must have searched for me using my phone number. At 6:30PM I knocked once on another tenant’s door to ask about the wifi password after hearing people talking. They didn’t answer, so I assumed they didn’t want to be bothered and went back to my room. I immediately got a message saying not to knock on other tenants’ doors and “harass” them. After I showered at 7PM, I was sure I’d cleaned everything, left no hair or dirty paper, and left no water on the floor. Five minutes later she messaged that I should clean up after using the shower. I suspect she gets a phone notification whenever someone moves in the living room and then checks what they’re doing. It made me very uncomfortable. The room had just a twin bed, a small desk, and a chair, which was okay, but it was very, very small and cold. It was late December, the heater didn’t work, and there were only two very thin covers. I piled everything on myself and still froze and couldn’t sleep all night. There was no sheet on the bed, only a cover on the pillow, which didn’t seem hygienic when you’re in direct skin contact with thousands of tenants. Check-in is very strict, and if you’re late, you lose your room for the day. The host was rude, not due to cultural differences. I had the same experience as other negative reviewers. Within five minutes of meeting me, she said she’d call the police because I didn’t have cash for the 6 euros city tax and only had a credit card. While I tried to work out another option, either getting cash at a nearby ATM or sending the money directly through Venmo, she casually threatened to call the police if I didn’t pay. It felt like her way of intimidating young people. After I left an honest review on booking.com, she messaged to say she’d report me to the authorities for not paying the 6 euros city tax, even though I definitely paid it. She was doing that to get back at me for the bad review. That says a lot about her. Rome has been my favorite city since I was young, but this place completely ruined my vacation. I know you can’t judge a group of people based on one person’s behavior, but it still left a bad taste and I probably won’t visit Rome for a long time.