De Russie Hotel

Giorgia and Valerio were wonderful. They gave us great service, made fantastic cocktails, and suggested some lovely drinks. We had a beautiful time at the outdoor bar, sipping aperitivo around 6pm just as the sun was setting.

This is only about the patio cocktail service. The hotel is in a great spot for walking around, and I had a really enjoyable afternoon on the patio. It felt spacious and romantic, with delicious cocktails and friendly staff.

Be careful about what “garden view” means here. The garden didn’t really look like the photos and was underwhelming. Much of it belongs to the cafe and restaurant, so it isn’t somewhere you can really relax. We were on the fifth floor and still couldn’t sleep because of the excessive noise from the garden area late into the night. Room service didn’t feel like five-star service. Most amenities were missing on the first day, one towel wasn’t clean, and when we left early and returned around 3pm the next day, the room hadn’t been serviced. When we asked, staff said priority went to rooms being vacated. Staff also struggled with English, which made even simple requests hard to get across. The worst surprise was a “Discretionary appreciation fee” automatically added to the final bill, around 112 euros per night. Nobody had told us about it, and I only noticed at the last second. It was added automatically, and we had to ask for it to be removed if we didn’t want to pay. If it’s discretionary, it should be explained and offered, not added to everyone’s bill. Compared with other five-star hotels at this price, they need to step up their game.

The patio is elegant and high-end, and the staff were friendly and well trained. But it’s surprising that somewhere this exclusive only offers coffee pods, with no proper espresso made from freshly ground beans. In Rome, espresso is such a part of the culture that this feels like a real miss. I hope they offer a good espresso soon, at least on request. Cappuccino should be standard at a place of this level, too. Thank you!