Grand Hotel Gianicolo

The location comes with a couple of drawbacks: it sits at a steep hill, and the busy roads at the junction have fast, constant traffic. I believe there are two hospitals nearby, too, so ambulances with very loud sirens pass at all hours. That's unfortunate, though not the hotel's fault. A century ago, I'm sure this would have been a jewel on the historic hill in the lovely Trestevere neighborhood. The hotel itself is beautiful, and the breakfast buffet was very good. Staff were super friendly, especially Sergio at the front desk, whom I want to acknowledge. The walk down to the Tiber and its many nice restaurants, then back up again, is more of a hike and may not suit everyone.

The location was the reason we chose it, and that part was nice. But our room was tiny, with hardly any space around the bed, and the desk chair couldn't be tucked in if you needed it. The shower was cold with barely any pressure, and the showerhead needed cleaning because it was clogged with limescale. We could hear people talking in the neighboring rooms. The bar was shut and the restaurant felt unwelcoming. We expected things to be quiet in November, but still expected the facilities to be open. It cost too much for what it was and is overrated. Definitely not four stars.

The staff were so kind and helpful, and we’re really grateful we got to stay at the Grand Hotel del Giancolo. We could walk to Trastevere, which was amazing, and the hotel was only minutes from our daughter's school in Monte Verde, so the location worked perfectly for us. It was our first trip to Rome, and we couldn't have been happier with the charming, comfortable rooms. The hotel is pretty, with a great restaurant and bar, a beautiful pool, and lovely gardens and grounds.

I booked this hotel mainly for the pool, but it was very moldy. There was black mold visible in the grout and around missing tiles and grates, and you could smell it as soon as you got in the water. At the pool, nobody acknowledged us or brought menus. I eventually went to the bar for a drink. The lifeguard was the nicest person we dealt with, smiling, kind, and helpful when we needed clean towels. The restaurant menu didn't match what was online, so we decided not to eat there, and the bar never opened. On checkout day the lobby AC wasn't working, and employees were trying hard to powerwash very dirty filters outside. Breakfast came with the stay, but we only had coffee, which my husband made himself from a machine. Our room was small, as expected from the type we booked, and it looked clean. But the view was of the tops of the lobby skylights, so it stayed dark and there was no reason to open the blinds or window. The bathroom light flickered, and the shower went from warm to quite cold during my 10-minute shower. The TV didn't work, which didn't matter much, though we had hoped to check the weather for our travel plans. The WiFi wasn't private, so I didn't feel comfortable using it. Staff were mostly aloof, and the front desk was often empty with employees sitting in the back office. We liked the location even though it was far from restaurants and sights. We didn't mind walking, and there was no noise disturbing our sleep. We did use Uber a few times for the uphill climb back, which we expected and didn't blame on the hotel. The room seemed clean, which I appreciated. At over €200 a night, it cost much more than we thought it was worth. This could be a beautiful hotel, but it needs more attention to detail.