Good clean hotel, with great staff, very helpful, a bit pricey but ideal location for exploring the city

My husband and I had stayed in several different hotels during our 18 days in
Italy. This was by far the worst. We had no other problems, complaints,
complications etc until we stayed here. The biggest disappointment was that the
rooms are not upgraded with a secure entry. it is still to old fashioned key on
the key ring. So we had placed our do not disturb sign out and turned on the do
not disturb light. However, an employee from the hotel enters our room for no
reason as I am dressing as I just got out of the shower. I screamed and he
immediately shut the door. I immediately called the front desk. The hotel
clerk said she would look into it and return my call. We never got a return
phone call, so my husband and I went to the front desk. The clerk stated that
she was sorry but this happens alot with this employee and there is nothing that
can be done. Then we it came to check out we were told that there was not
record of our payment in advance and we owed 495.00 euro. I showed them the
papers where we had made reservations and paid with our travel agent. They
would not accept and we had to pay twice. We are still trying to get a refund
and the hotel is VERY rude, obnoxious, and does not value customer service.
There atmosphere is also bad. There are homeless people begging for food and
money sleeping on the sidewalks outside the hotel. We arranged for an airport
transfer from the hotel.. We were charged 50 euro. I plan to spread the word to
everyone and inform them of the horrible hotel and lack of customer service.

Booked Hotel Mondial because of its Best Western affiliation and from the reviews i read it seemed to be well located. Hotel is very close to Termini station and within walking distance of the major sites and there are a couple of nice restaurants very nearby. Check in went OK hassle free. We were assigned room 301 which was very clean but definitely not up to 4 star standards - if anything it reminded me of a university dorm room. It was all rather basic and finished in a ghastly pink: pink walls, pink carpet, pink furnishings; pink desk etc. Internet you have to pay for, bathroom was big but nothing special. Our room looked out over the street (Via Torino) but be warned it gets pretty noisy from the constant traffic outside, and particularly on Via Nationale. Also room was a bit stuffy and we had to sleep with the windows open because the air-conditioning system wasn't working. Breakfast was fine, but the waiting staff were a bit over-eager and will lift your plate (finished or not) if you so much as take your eyes off it. They made me pay an additional 60 Euro when i was checking out because they said i didn't stipulate two guests per room - even though i booked and paid for a twin room on the Best Western website. Didn't fight with them because we were rushing for the train back to the airport.

Overall good location but the rooms, while clean, are definitely not 4 star and other bits of the hotel look rather run-down (eg elevators). The Best Western affiliation I am convinced means very little - this is the third BW hotel I have stayed in with really inconsistent quality compared to say Marriott or Holiday Inn. Also, lack of air-conditioning I would find a MAJOR problem if I had to stay there in June or July, while traffic noise would be a problem if i were a light sleeper. Having been to Rome now, I would book elsewhere again.

Good things - great walking distance to the Termini station and general points of interest. Lots of nice shops, cheap food places (great little cafes on Via Cavour serving fab paninis and sandwiches) and bars, and an excellent very modern restaurant next door to the hotel that does a brilliant lasagne, gnocchetti and tiramisu. The guy on the front desk on arriving was lovely and couldn't have been more helpful. Beds were firm but comfortable, and rooms were clean.

Bad things - definitely not a four star, more like a budget 3 star, if that. Dated shabby decor, bathroom not properly cleaned or re-stocked, breakfast felt like a chore with some surly staff and the breakfast room being very small and incredibly warm due to poor air conditioning throughout the hotel. I dread to think how it feels in August. The lifts were ancient - we ended up taking the stairs most of the time as it was quicker.
The rest of the hotel staff were a mixed bag, cleaners and porters were very pleasant- the person who checked us out was probably the worst with his stroppy manner. Bit of a pity, as a lick of paint and freshening up of furniture, and a bit more customer service training for some staff would go a long way to making this a nice hotel to stay in.