Hotel Giada

We were a group of 16 staying in seven rooms. The location was great, with the best-known places close by, and service was friendly and professional. The rooms were clean and comfortable. Only two still need redecorating soon, though they were fine as they were; the rest were brand new. There was hot water, quiet air conditioning, and everything worked as it should.

Francisco made our visit especially memorable. He helped us through check-in and gave us tips for seeing the city, then surprised us with a complimentary breakfast buffet. After checkout, he let us leave our luggage safely at the hotel. When we returned from our city tour, he even treated us to coffee and a croissant, although our booking had ended. Thank you, Francisco, for being so kind and generous. My wife and I stayed at Hotel Giada in central Rome. The location is ideal, with the major sights within walking distance, and our cozy room had lovely vintage furniture that suited the hotel's charm. It's a hidden gem and good value with such thoughtful service. We highly recommend it. Our rating: 4.5/5 stars.

The air conditioner leaked water across the room, and when I tried to charge my devices while it was running, the power went out. Staff acted as if that was normal and I should know not to use several things at once. The bigger issue was bed bugs. After one night, I had hundreds of bites all over my body. The staff laughed and offered no solution. The owner pushed me out onto the street, quite violently, and the manager assaulted me when I tried to get my money back while I had hundreds of raw blisters. The staff didn't know what to do and put all the bedding in with the rest of the laundry, so it could spread. Avoid this hotel and the others in the complex if you can. Edit: The hotel says I don't understand bed bug biology, but I stayed one night without any bites. My bedding was changed, and I was given a blanket infested with bed bugs, presumably from the previous guest. That's why I was bitten overnight and my family wasn't. The bugs were in the blanket. I stayed in the room because the only choice they gave me was to move with my family and possibly infect them, or stay put. I had already been bitten, and couldn't afford another room just for myself. I didn't choose to remain there; the hotel forced me to sleep in an infested room. Before this stay, I had only slept at home, where there are no bed bugs. I couldn't have brought them to the hotel. They're there, and the staff don't know how to handle them. I can't believe what happened. If I could leave zero stars, I would.

We picked it for the low price and the short walk to Termini. There’s plenty of good food and shopping nearby, and we could reach Roman sights on foot in about 20 minutes. The attendants were kind, and the area felt safe even early in the morning or late at night. It took us under five minutes to get to Termini at 6:00. The room’s air conditioning seemed broken. I told an attendant, but it didn’t seem like anything would be done. We were lucky Rome was cool during our stay; in summer it could have been a nightmare. Smoke from other rooms or outside also came into our non-smoking room, depending on your tolerance, especially with the AC out. It made sleeping uncomfortable. Still, it was a great bargain and a good option for our trip.