Crispi relax

The room was freakishly small, with no dresser or drawers, just one bedside table. The only B&B on our six-stop vacation that charged for water in the fridge. The private bathroom was awful too: the toilet was so close to the wall and shower that you had to sit at a 45-degree angle, and the blow dryer was broken. Most of all, the beds were badly broken. We were packed in like sardines, couldn’t move to the sides, and rolled straight back to the middle, which was too hot and made it impossible to sleep. The mattress had gross stains, and the pillows were too hard and overstuffed to use. When we asked for another room, they said they were all this bad. They wouldn’t refund the unused nights either. Worst place ever.

We spent the night on a staircase after getting locked out of the building hallway in the middle of the night. I called reception again and again, but no one let us in until morning. By then I’d slept through the next day and lost a day of sightseeing. There was no compensation or extra night offered. Reception clearly isn’t available around the clock.

We got back at 4 a.m. and couldn’t get through the locked front door, so we were stuck in the hallway at 30°, with no toilet, calling reception until someone answered at 7. They said we’d entered the code incorrectly and offered neither an apology nor compensation. The receptionist was rude and blamed us for coming home late. We were two young women, and I can only imagine how outrageous this would have been for an older couple. The way they handled the incident was unbelievable.

It took four hours for the hotel to call and ask if I was ready to check in. By then, my family and I had already found another place across the street. The caller said her boss had sent her to another property, though this was within the hotel’s posted check-in hours. They still charged my card after learning we couldn’t get inside, and getting that money back has been a headache. Even back home in Texas, I spent two hours on the phone with Expedia, waiting for the hotel to email the owner, and it took them nearly two hours to respond. We arrived in Rome with our child and six heavy bags, but couldn’t get into the building or up to the 5th floor. A tenant let me in and showed me a note on the door. I don’t read Italian, and when I called the number and knocked hard, no one answered. We waited on the stairs while I called Expedia. My husband checked hotels across the street. One was booked, but the other had a room, even though it cost 300.00 more. Expedia also tried calling this hotel and got no answer, including after transferring me to a supervisor. We finally checked into the other hotel two hours later, by which time we should have been out exploring Rome. Do not consider staying here.