Platinum Royal Suite

We slept much better after flipping the memory foam mattress on the second day. It had been the wrong way up, and the bed felt very hard until we turned it over. The room itself was large, modern and clean, with a huge bed and a modern bathroom. A towel rail for wet towels and some milk for hot drinks would have been useful, but those are small things. The TV remote was faulty, though the staff fixed it straight away. We appreciated the free tea, coffee and bottled water, and nothing was too much trouble for the friendly, helpful staff. Good value for a hotel in a perfect central location.

The location was useful for what we needed, but that’s the only good thing I can say about this hotel. The room looked as if it was being renovated, and the bathroom didn’t even have a basic towel rack. Don’t trust them to arrange a taxi. They have specific scam artists they recruit who’ll overcharge you. This wasn’t a great stay, and it’s definitely not worth the five-star rating they claim. Stay somewhere else. You’ll be glad you did and can probably find a much cheaper place.

I’ve never been more disappointed by a hotel. They seemed to be trying to make it look upscale, but covering everything, even the walls, in faux suede didn’t work, and the room was very dark. It felt like lipstick on a pig. The air conditioning was badly placed, and when it worked, it blew into the shower. It went down to 16c, but the fan barely pushed out air, and you only felt it standing right underneath. Our evening was uncomfortably hot, with the room not, I think, getting below 80f deg. The shower was huge, with a rain head, but the water pressure was almost nonexistent. It felt like a light spring shower. As a bald person, I didn’t find it too bad, but my wife has long, thick hair and couldn’t rinse it properly before the hot water ran out. The bed was barely more forgiving than concrete. I like a firm mattress, but this felt like sleeping on a table. Little things added to the discomfort: no towel hooks, no tray for shower supplies, a mini fridge that didn’t actually get cold, and a phone that came unplugged whenever it was bumped. At 3:30 am I raised my concerns with reception. The man who answered apologized and said they’d try to find me a room with a more comfortable bed. By 2 pm the next day, nobody had followed up. It was bad enough that we booked at a Marriott and left two days early to finish our stay somewhere we could count on. When we told them we were leaving, despite not asking for a refund, they got angry and acted like they were the ones who’d been wronged. I’d give this hotel negative stars if I could. I won’t go back. Don’t stay here.

The room matched the photos and was comfortable, and the reception team were kind and helpful. The hotel is well placed for seeing Rome, and the decor is nice. I’d read some negative reviews beforehand and was worried, but they seemed out of date: the breakfast room was new, and the breakfast was great. Ask for the cheesy omelette. While we were there, reception was being moved from the fourth floor to a newly decorated area downstairs. The only issue was that the power shower in suite 305 didn’t work.