Rome As You Feel - Bazzoni Vatican Apt

The worst part was waking up every morning covered in huge insect bites. By the last day my left leg was so swollen I had to see a doctor. I also couldn’t get any rest, since you can hear every sound from the other rooms, and the Wi-Fi didn’t even reach my room at night. The cleaning lady came daily between 8:30 and 9:00 a.m., so expect to lose sleep. They kept pushing me to pay the city tax, even though I needed to go to an ATM to get cash. I’d asked for check-in instructions before arriving and never got them. When I showed up, nobody was there to meet me, and there wasn’t a sign or phone number to contact anyone. Be very careful about this. I wouldn’t come back even if I were out of my mind. If unpleasant adventures are what you’re after, this is the place.

The only good thing was that the maid cleaned the apartment each day. The pictures are fake: the hallway doesn’t look like the photo, and the beds don’t have canopies. We practically kissed the door because breakfast wasn’t available Saturday or Sunday, and nobody had told us. It wasn’t in the apartment either, but a five-minute walk away, and what they served was extremely meager. There’s no reception or hotel manager. The maid is only around from 8-10, doesn’t know English, and speaks only Spanish and Italian. On our first day, no one welcomed us. The maid handed over the keys and left. Aleksandar, supposedly the owner, never came by or even called to respond to our complaints. The maids were scowling and rude, and made too much noise at 8 o'clock in the morning. On day one, the maid insisted we pay her all the taxes for the seven days. Big disappointment, avoid this accommodation.

I stayed here two years ago and rated it highly, but this visit was awful. I’d told them I wouldn’t arrive before 9pm because of my flights, yet nobody was there when I got to the property. The listed phone number hung up on the first ring. The B&B upstairs, a competitor, rescued me by calling them at another number. Otherwise I’d have had to find somewhere else. My room was different from last time and next to the office. In my opinion, both the bedroom and bathroom mirrors looked like two-way mirrors. I’m a retired police officer and have dealt with this before. I raised the concern through my booking agent, and management quickly denied it. I covered them with towels and didn’t see management once during my five-day stay. Everything within my budget was booked, so I couldn’t find another place. If you stay there, test the mirrors yourself and decide. It’s really found on the internet.

The rooms are good, but the cafe where breakfast is served closes on Sundays, so we had to buy our own cereal. Guests were very noisy and ignored the quiet policy on the back of the door, with nobody around to keep an eye on things. I’ll never stay in another B&B again.