Casa Anita & Corona del Mar

We booked through our usually reliable Expedia account for a month in December, hoping to spend Christmas somewhere with a better climate. The weather was fine, but the accommodation was the worst place we've ever stayed. Getting to our room meant climbing an unbelievable number of stairs. We've even walked the Spanish Steps, and this was beyond anything we'd encountered. We complained within the first hour; that was not acceptable for a month-long booking. The listing was right that there was no elevator, but the rest of the advertising was misleading. After six days we left, and they charged us half the month's cost. Our Visa counterparts fought the charge, but apparently the accommodation clause is ironclad. Be very wary of booking here.

There's no AC, and the patio door has no screens. At night, music from a local bar was deafening at 10:30, so loud I couldn't hear the TV. To reach the room, I had to climb 105 stairs on a steep, narrow stone staircase. That's after walking half a mile uphill along a busy highway to get to old town, with no pedestrian path on some stretches. Worst hotel I've ever stayed in.

The rooms are beautiful, but the road right outside is very busy and noisy at all hours. We wouldn't choose this place again, mainly because of how staff handled an issue during our stay. Our child got sick around 5pm and soiled the sheets. We cleaned them as well as we could and asked whether we could get a clean set to change ourselves. The staff member said no, the maid had gone home and the sheets were locked away. When I asked if we could use the advertised laundry facilities, he said those weren't open either. It was 5:30pm, and he seemed anxious to leave even though he was supposed to finish at 5pm. I emailed to ask for help and never heard back. The next morning we left the stripped, partly cleaned sheets for the maid to wash. When we came back, the front desk had left a bill on the fridge for changing them. I'd never heard of being charged for a sheet change halfway through a four-night stay at a $200-a-night hotel. I checked the following day and learned the front desk staff also leave at 5pm, so there is no service after that if something goes wrong.

The place has an interesting home-and-hotel feel. Our room was spacious and clean, the service was polite, and we could walk to the romantic zone. But finding your room takes a good sense of direction, and all the stairs make it unsuitable if you're not in good physical shape. I felt unsafe walking out because the sidewalk is too narrow and cars pass close by at speed. Crossing the highway seemed even worse. The room had no AC, and the light bulb inside the fridge made it feel warm. There were several wifi networks, but I couldn't connect to any of them. Given the location and amenities, I thought it was pricey.