Have a nice day at Piazza Navona

The staff were rude and unprofessional from the start. When we asked basic questions on WhatsApp, we got offensive, even threatening replies, and then the messages were deleted or edited. At reception, someone was yelling at a colleague in an aggressive, condescending way right in front of guests. The atmosphere felt hostile. We’d already paid in full, but they tried to charge us again, and they’re still trying to charge us. It all felt chaotic, disrespectful, and dishonest. Stay away, it’s not worth the stress.

At check-in, Receptionist A insisted we had to pay the hotel fee again and said they didn’t accept payment before the check-in date. We’d booked on February 4th, 2024, later extended the reservation by a day, and paid on June 25th, 2024. They wouldn’t let us check in unless we paid again by credit card, so we had no choice. While we were in the room contacting Booking.com, Receptionist A overheard the call. Afterwards, she admitted there’d been a mistake, acknowledged the earlier payment, and gave excuses. She promised the duplicate charge would be cancelled after checkout. I checked my American Express invoice and confirmed the payment had gone through. The hotel’s head office, contacted through Booking.com, had said they had no record of it. Receptionist B later said the hotel had changed payment systems a few months earlier and our records might have been deleted, though that sounded like another excuse. She also confirmed we’d paid twice. We messaged the owner, Navona Nice Room, who replied rudely. Receptionist B said the owner later deleted those messages, which seemed like an attempt to hide the evidence. I’ve attached screenshots showing how unprofessionally this was handled. The owner said the second charge was only a pre-authorization, but that didn’t seem right, since both Receptionist A and B confirmed it was a mistake. The whole thing was highly stressful and unacceptable. I wouldn’t recommend this hotel.

Tourists, be careful. The hotel does look very good, but if you book a long way ahead at an appealing price, the staff may cancel your room a week before arrival when they can sell it for much more because of demand in Rome. I’ve traveled for a long time and rarely dealt with people this unresponsive. They cut off communication after what felt like a scam and denied responsibility. The staff weren’t as professional as they claim.

We booked through Booking.com months ahead, then got an email a week before the stay saying our card number was wrong. We called the hotel and spoke to someone directly, confirmed the reservation, and even received a QR code for the room. The next day, though, we were told the booking had been cancelled. By then, rooms cost more than twice as much, and we had to scramble for another hotel at the last minute. It felt greedy and unprofessional. Save yourself the hassle and book somewhere else. As it turned out, our new hotel seems even nicer and cost less, so maybe they did us a favor.