Hotel Cortina

We found the reception staff friendly and helpful, and the location was handy, about a 15-20 minute walk from many major attractions. The room was small, as expected, but the bathroom wasn’t clean enough for us. The shower looked dirty and had visible mildew, and there was hair on the toilet. It was an okay budget place for sleeping during our two nights in Rome, but I probably wouldn’t return.

The reception desk was pleasant enough, and the women there were friendly and helpful. But for a scruffy, dated room, I felt I paid far too much. The bathroom was mouldy and stained, which seemed to reflect poor cleaning, and there were marks on the bedroom wall. The soft furnishings looked like they’d been picked up from a skip. Breakfast didn’t help: the pastries were stale from the day before, the coffee machine’s milk ratio hadn’t been sorted, and other guests were complaining at their tables. There was no arrival drink, either, unlike what many European hotels offer after guests have traveled for hours. Outside, it was a collection of bins, a rat poison box, and building works. Sorry, Hotel Cortina, guests should know what they’re paying their hard-earned money for.

Be very careful when booking here, especially a “no view” room, since the actual conditions aren’t properly explained beforehand. I chose the hotel for its location, but the stay was extremely disappointing. My “single room no view” had no real window. The fake one looked onto what seemed to be a storage room, with no daylight or fresh air. Getting there felt like navigating a maze: garbage containers, several coded doors, narrow corridors, stairs only, then a room below ground level at the corridor’s end. I went straight back to reception and asked for a different room. Staff initially refused, then eventually helped me find another hotel in the same BZAR network. I moved out right away and stayed at that other BZAR hotel, but Cortina BZAR still charged me the full price for the room I didn’t use and refused a refund or any compromise. After this, I’ll personally avoid the entire BZAR hotel network.

I got room 8, though I don’t know whether all the rooms are like it. They’re EXTREMELY small. I didn’t take many photos of the hotel itself, just a mirror photo in the bathroom and a video of the stairs going down. We had hand wash and shampoo, but no body wash or conditioner. I didn’t mind the missing conditioner, but no body wash? Seriously? There are TWO HAIR DRYERS, but no body wash. Reception was phenomenal, and so was the breakfast, which explains all the photos of Cortina’s luxurious food. The food is delicious, but get up early, since most things aren’t refilled after guests take them. Juice does get replenished, and it’s spectacular. I don’t get the noise complaints either, because it was really quiet during my stay from Thursday evening to Saturday morning. A lot of the staff don’t speak English well. I wouldn’t expect fluency in their own country, but it’s a hotel in a tourist area, so I’d like a bit more. Still, they did their best to understand us, and the service was spectacular. The hotel had a cute view, but I was more than joyful to finally get out of that claustrophobic, small space.