Relais La Torretta

I booked a February 2025 trip to Rome for myself and three friends. I’d accidentally chosen the wrong dates, but after a hefty fee we managed to rebook through our travel company. When we arrived, the owner had double-booked our room, leaving us without a place to stay. He was aggressive and shouted at us over the phone before we’d even met him, then continued in person, though he spoke very little English. We contacted the holiday company straight away. We explained that we felt uncomfortable and didn’t know what to do, but got very little support. We were a group of young women left in Italy to sort out a hotel ourselves. Thankfully we managed to work something out with the owner, but felt abandoned by the travel service and uneasy about staying at a hotel they’d promoted to us. We paid for four nights and stayed for [unclear in source]. We also faced verbal abuse from the owner. I had a panic attack while he shouted at me over something that wasn’t my fault, and the lack of help from the travel company added to the stress. The room was disgusting. There was black mould, ants climbing the walls, a TV that didn’t work, and our towels and bedding weren’t changed once during the stay.

The host was amazing and so helpful, and I’m really thankful for her. The place is lovely and comfortable, with coffee, tea, and more. It’s more like an Airbnb. Ponte Lungo metro station is about a seven-minute walk away, and there’s a bus stop right beside the hotel for bus 87. I highly recommend it.

The hotel owner had double-booked our room, so we couldn’t stay there at first. Rather than admit the mistake and sort it out, he got aggressive with my friends and me, a group of young women. After more than an hour of being shouted at and denied service over his mistake, he paid for us to stay at another hotel for the night, then return to his place for the rest of our visit. He said we’d have to reimburse him for that hotel and pay him too, but later denied this to the other hotel owner. In the end, we paid him €96 in city tax for the rest of our stay. We came back two hours after checkout the next day, to give them enough time to get our room ready. Even so, we had to wait another hour after arriving and paying the city tax. Then we found mould on the bathroom ceiling, which I presume was black mould, ants crawling up the wall beside one of the beds, and a TV that didn’t work at all. I’ve attached photos of the mould and ants. We didn’t feel safe raising these problems with the owner in case he left us without a place to stay in another country. He’d been extremely aggressive, and we felt unsafe at the hotel overall. It was unhygienic, inhospitable, and honestly a nightmare. I definitely wouldn’t recommend staying here. The only upside was the proximity to the Metro line and the little cafe around the corner.

For the price, both the accommodation and service were very reasonable. I liked how friendly the boss was. It’s a three-minute walk to the bus stop, but we usually took the train, about seven minutes away, since the bus often ran late. The room isn’t luxurious, but it has all the essentials. It was quiet and comfortable to come back to after a day of sightseeing, and the room was arranged neatly each time we returned. I’m very satisfied.