Flat 285

The staff were so accommodating, especially the Filipinos, and I really appreciated that. My room was lovely, had what I needed, and was right across from the Vatican. Thanks so much, and see you next time.

We gave the Hotel a chance to respond and hoped these problems would be fixed for future guests, but never heard back, so I'm posting this review publicly. The shower is in the bedroom and there's not much room, so a couple of towel holders and bathroom ventilation would help. More urgent issues: a screw sticks up from the floor and can hurt you, the shower has weak pressure and doesn't get properly warm, and the bed frame is much too large for the mattress. Worst of all, a hotel employee came into our room and watched Netflix despite our "Do not enter" sign. He left the TV on with his account and didn't even clean it.

The bathroom was better than I expected, and the location is really convenient. But the way we were treated made this a terrible stay, and I wouldn't come back or recommend it. I booked through booking.com expecting a specific suite at 285, but we were put in 295, a place completely different from what was advertised. One person was added to our party after travel plans changed. The check-in staff made a fuss that we'd be uncomfortable, though we knew that already, and still let us stay. We also had to pay a “tourist fee.” The room was decent, so that night seemed fine. The next morning, another front desk worker stopped us and demanded extra money to move immediately. He said we'd violated a policy, but couldn't show it when I asked. Then he claimed we were breaking the law and insisted we move all our things to the 285 building right then. If staying there was against the law, it seems the company would be responsible for letting us in. I tried asking the manager, Grecia, for help, but her behavior was even less professional. She yelled nonstop in Italian and English on the phone for about five minutes without even saying hello. All I wanted was proof of the policy we'd supposedly broken. It felt like they were using tourists' vulnerable situation in a foreign country to get more money from us. We were confused, but willing to change rooms. It was the aggressive, shady, rude way they handled it that made us reluctant. We were threatened and pressured into paying MUCH more than we were supposed to, and it left a very bad feeling about Rome and this company. If decent customer service matters to you, look elsewhere. Owners, train staff to treat paying guests respectfully and handle their emotions, or fire Grecia.

We couldn't find other accommodation during peak season, so we ended up staying in the apartment despite the awful experience. It was advertised as a “luxury apartment,” but the whole place had a strong, lingering smell of faeces that was nauseating and made it hard to even be indoors. I contacted the host straight away. They eventually acknowledged the problem, then stopped replying and did nothing to resolve it. There was no apology, explanation, or follow-up. The apartment also didn't match the comfort or quality it had been presented as having. The host's lack of care made an already unpleasant stay worse. One of our worst stays, avoid at all costs.