Where to start.....my wife and I were on honeymoon in Amalfi and were flying out of Rome so decided to book our last night in Rome for convenience. We booked online for one night at the Hotel Europa, a sister hotel of Hotel Nizza, and on arrival we were told by the receptionist at Hotel Europa that we were staying at Hotel Nizza and she then proceeded to give us directions to Hotel Nizza without explaining why we could not stay at the hotel we had booked. I questioned this as we had clearly booked Hotel Europa and there was nothing in the Terms and Conditions stating that they could transfer us to another hotel. The receptionist said she did not know why we had to go to a different hotel and only when pushed she went to discuss with a colleague, whereupon she returned and explained that Hotel Europa was full. Then why did their website accept further bookings?

So we trudged across Rome with our luggage to Hotel Nizza, which looked a bit shabby from outside and in the main reception, but we were tired and just wanted to get out and enjoy the last night of our honeymoon in Rome so we agreed to stay at Hotel Nizza, and the receptionist demanded payment upfront. We questioned this as we had given our credit card information when we booked Hotel Europa online. The receptionist assured us that we would not be double charged and stated that we were getting a bargain paying €68 for a room at Hotel Nizza as they normally charge €170. So we were pleased with this, if a little dubious, and he gave us the key to our room. It subsequently transpired that this was a complete lie, as looking at the Hotel Nizza website, the most expensive room on offer was around €80.

When we got to our room, not only was it the pokiest, shabbiest hotel room I have ever seen - it had also not been cleaned since the previous guests had left. So i returned to reception to remonstrate with the receptionist, and I told him we were not staying at the hotel and I asked for a refund of the cash paid in advance.

Firstly, the receptionist assured us that there is no way we would find a room at another hotel as they would all be fully booked on the Saturday night we were there. Whilst debating this, he sent someone up to clean the room.

I said that I would take my chances finding a hotel elsewhere, and that I really didn't want to spend the last day of my honeymoon in Hotel Nizza, and asked again for my money back. The receptionist said that it was not possible to give a refund on Saturdays because the administration team did not work on weekends, and we could not therefore obtain a refund until Monday. Now, I am no expert on credit card machines, but we disputed this at the time as being complete nonsense - if he can take a payment on Saturday he can also issue a refund. We have subsequently spoken to a number of other people who have confirmed that his assertion was absloute nonsense.

So I left my wife in reception whilst the room was being cleaned and went off to another hotel at which we had stayed previously in Rome - Hotel Oceania, just around the corner and contrary to the receptionist's nonsensical ramblings we managed to get a room at Hotel Oceania no problem.

I then returned to Hotel Nizza to collect my wife and explained to the receptionist one last time that we were not staying at Hotel Nizza and that i wanted my money back. He maintained that a refund could not be given until Monday, and I said that was no problem, I would wait for the money back so instructed him to refund the money on Monday. He said that he would do this.

When we returned to England on Sunday, I emailed Hotel Nizza reminding them to issue the refund, and six weeks down the line, several emails and telephone calls later I have still not had my money back.

Hotel Nizza have offered me a free night's stay as compensation - which is laughable as it is a ghastly hotel which would be my last choice of a place to sleep, and it would involve travelling to Italy again to take up their offer!! So whilst, they have basically admitted they owe me, they still refuse to issue the refund and when I threatened them that I would take the issue further they accused me of blackmail and refused to discuss the matter further.

I await a detailed response from them as to:

1) Why their receptionist lied and told us that his machine could not issue refunds;

2) Why the receptionist lied and told us that he would issue the refund on Monday;

3) Why the receptionist lied and said that all other hotels in Rome would be fully booked; and

4) Why the receptionist lied about the real cost of the Hotel Nizza rooms.

They refuse to answer these questions, hence the reason I have decided to leave this review. Normally, I would not leave feedback on these sites, but felt it my duty in this case, as the lack of service received from Hotel Nizza is shocking and I would really like to prevent other people from visiting (assuming all the other poor reviews on this site do not do the trick!!)

I urge everyone reading this site to boycott the hotel which is shabby and completely lacks service quality. The only thing I can't fault the hotel on is location, as it is very convenient for the train station and local eateries - but there are many much nicer hotels in the area surrounding Hotel Nizza. I can highly recommend the Hotel Oceania which is twice as expensive but infinitely nicer!!