We have just returned from a 4 day stay in the Hotel Genio - I was slightly aprehensive having read other reviews however I think these reviewers must have been staying in a different hotel to the one we stayed in. The Hotel is in a fantastic location approx 1 min walk from Piazza Navona and within walking distance of all the sites in Rome. It has cafes, bars and great restaurants right outside the door. The rooms were excellent, extremely clean, crisp bed linen and wonderful bathrooms. The reception staff were friendly and efficient and the breakfast was continental style and very impressive with a large selection of pastrys, cheese, ham, fruit, etc. you could not leave the breakfast room hungry. The hotel is great value for money and we would high recommend staying here we will certainly do so again on our next visit to Rome.

Hate to say it but there really does seem to be a trend with this hotel. We booked on-line for a romantic anniversary break and on arrival the guy on reception cleary wasn't expecting us. After some huffing and puffing we were given the key to room 503 and on entry saw that we had twin beds - not the double we'd confirmed directly with the hotel.

Whilst the good woman went downstairs to sort it out I reviewed the room. Clean, nice balcony, big bathroom - result I thought!

What was really nice were all the expensive toiletries in the bathroom. Then I noticed a toothbrush (used), slippers on the floor and a suitcase by the bed - now I was feeling a bit like Goldilocks!

When I went downstairs the guy on reception was adamant that the room had been checked out and that the people must be returning soon to clear their stuff. He even suggested we leave our things in the room and return later!!

Episode 2 - he gave us a key to another room (303) this time a double-bed but it hadn't been made, the bathroom was filthy and there was rubbish everywhere.

Back downstairs only to be told by the receptionist that "Well I did only say it 'should' be ready"

Anyway, we eventually got a room (2 singles pushed together with a double sheet over, one hard mattress, one soft, the breakfast was ok and the location great but none of it compensating for not 1, but 3 sour-faced receptionists who clearly wanted to be somewhere else.

I stayed several times at the Genio, usually with friends on a fun trips. The location is great, the rooms are ok for the price, always clean. The breakfast room is a bit small, but the food is ok. What I love in this hotel is the staff, very friendly and helpful.

Had to smile when I read through all the other bad comments of guests who stayed at the Genio cause we share lots of the experiences behind them also.
Arriving at 11 at night with my brother and my father, it was not very pleasant to have a rude hotel guy telling us that in both of our booked rooms there was a water damage. He got upset when I asked him to show us the damage since we had difficulties in believing him and he sent us without any apology away to the Hotel Pace Helvetia where we were also not welcomed in a friendly way. The hotel category was the same, however, and the taxi transfer was paid. My father stayed there in a room which in other 4-stars hotels would have served as a store place, meaning only a small window in the cyling and all night the sounds of water pumps which prevented him from his sleep. Next day we were told that we could stay another night in this hotel (for that night my father got a really nice room though with great view on the Vatican), but for the following two nights it was doubtful if we can stay, for whatever that means he would not tell. 3rd and 4th night we returned to the Hotel Genio. The receptionist said Hello with a smile which after two days in this Leonardo empire we considered as extremly friendly. My room was sticky, with a window to a dark yard, bad airconditioning, dirty bathroom, disgusting toilette and a matraze so bad that I almost did not sleep for a whole night. A warm shower the next morning was also not possible since the water was cold and the fact that i put on a pullover which I bought the day before but was already musty since I hang it in the closet did not really help my mood. Made a huge effort to get a decent room for the last night .
Some good points: the roof terrasse in Pace Helvetia was absolutely fantastic! Overlooking complete Rome (but you dont sleep on the terrasse overnight). The locations of boths hotels were also very central. If you are lucky and get the rooms they promise you on the internet, it is for sure a place to recommend, but I would not count on that.
Some tips: dont drink the wine in the minibar which we did on the first night - both my brother and me got the feeling of being poisoned the whole next day. Check the fruit basket at the breakfast table - a complete white fruit made me wonder what it is till i figured out it was an old orange.
But still, we loved Rome!