Summit Roma Hotel in Rome, Italy - 3 stars: interesting hotel, almost gave it 2 stars ... but let me explain. This hotel was built for another day and age. It appears it was built in the late 1950s to serve the expected crowds at the 1960 Olympics. It is built in a grand style inside - double curved winding staircases, grand ballrooms, marble over all the common room surfaces, mirrors from floor to ceiling. Also has a nice pool and patio area. But the Olympics have come and gone, as has the prime time for this hotel. Today it is pretty much a tour bus hotel - most stays are booked tours that drop off 50 or so passengers at a time. That said, it was a pretty nice tour bus hotel.
The front desk was always helpful and well-informed. Rooms were typical European-style, and were adequate in every respect. Bathrooms were nice and clean. From the rooms, the view out the windows was unremarkable. As to amenities, well ... there were TVs in the rooms, but pretty much only showed BBC - no movies, no cable to speak of. Around and in the hotel, there was nothing to do ... other than maybe jump in the pool. The hotel is located about three blocks from a train stop, but service was spotty and the neighborhood was a bit cheesy. So if you didn't drive and were not on a tour bus, you asked the front desk to get you a cab - cost roughly 25€ to get downtown Rome. Since there was nil to do at the hotel, you really didn't return until it was time to sleep. Not a place for young children, unless you have wheels and aren't afraid to use them.
Most groups have their meals one floor down in a common dining area - the food was 3 stars and reasonable. They even sold wine by the bottle at a reasonable price. Breakfast was a nice meal also. While there was a full-service restaurant up on the main floor, they really only served whatever was on the tour buffet meal schedule. They had a large menu, but it was deceiving because the fresh stuff was exactly what was on the tour menu. The full-service restaurant was pricey too - another sign they encouraged all to eat at the tour buffet downstairs. read more