My reaction on my first visit more than a year ago was primarily disappointment at the location,…read moreseemingly far removed from the tourist attractions of Rome. But having returned to this and other hotels in this area on numerous occasions since then, I have come to consider the location a big positive rather than a negative.
The hotel itself is reasonably pleasant: clean, updated, with rooms that, if not spacious, don't feel cramped. Bathrooms are modern and functional with a rainhead shower in a stall larger than the often seen coffin-sized booths. And the roof terrace on the fifth floor, open to guests, offers is a quiet sanctuary
Also on the plus side I should add the thoughtful treatment I received on my arrival. As is common with early morning arrivals, my room was not ready. But the front desk receptionist went out of his way to get my room cleaned as soon as possible and by 10:30 my room was ready. The dreaded 'wait- until-3PM' requirement was thankfully avoided.
At the same time the staff falls short in some other areas. Requesting restaurant reservations before leaving the hotel in the morning, I always had to actively check the status of the request. No message was ever left. And sometimes reservations had not been even attempted. Also don't plan on wearing to dinner that shirt you sent to the laundry that morning. At 9:30 PM there was a knock on my door (despite the "do not disturb" sign I put out). It was my shirts, finally. I was told this was routine.
I was also disappointed by the lack of any health facilities on site. But most annoying was their wifi internet service. The wifi signal was always low or very low and at times not accessible at all. And the signal was sloooooooow. What's more, several times a day I was frustrated to no end by work interruptions as their system required you to log in over and over again.
What about location? It is removed from the Rome's central tourist areas. However 1.50 euros buys a 15 to 20 minute bus ride to those areas on either the 62 or 63 bus lines, stops for which are less than a five minute walk from the hotel. And if like me, you think of Italian cuisine as one of Rome's main attractions, the hotel's locations turns from a negative to a positive.
The best food is found, not where the tourists go, but where the locals go. And the locals definitely do NOT venture into the heavily touristed city center. Many of the favorites of my food-loving business associates who reside locally are within walking distance of the hotel. Sicilian and Sardinian seafood houses are especially good. Check these out as a start: Osteria Via Mantova*; Eleanora d'Arborea; Piazza Caprera*; Capo Boi; Oseriadell 'Arco; (* these two specialize in raw seafood - salmon carpaccio, tuna tartare, raw shrimp, etc)
And when it comes to good Italian food, think outside the restaurant box. For directly across the street from the hotel is a gourmet food store. Il Fornaio carries Italian cheeses you don't often find back home (gorgonzola dulche (sweet), ricotta pecora (sheep's milk), Robiola cream cheese, pecorino with truffles, etc.) and Italian meats (varieties of prosciuttos, coppa, soppressa, salame, etc,), also prepared foods (quite good eggplant parmesan) and freshly baked breads. To this add a bottle of Italian red and you have a feast for a relative pittance. The attached photo below shows an Italian meal for two or more for around 20 euros (photo clockwise: San Danielle prosciutto, mascarpone-gorgonzola, grilled peppers and eggplant, Tuscan melon, freshly baked bread rolls, ricotta pecora, robiola nonno nammi cheese, and slices of porchetta).
An even larger selection of meat and cheeses can be found a few blocks away at the DOC Tevere market on the other side of Via Salaria at Via Isonzo. So between the food markets and the restaurants, the Fiume neighborhood will serve your appetite well.
