I stayed at the Visconti Palace hotel from 19/06 to 23/06 2009.
The hotel is situated in a predominantly residential area to the west of the Tiber close to Castel St Angelo. The pictures of the outside of the building on this site and on expedia have been photoshopped a little, the external facade is a bit dated but the interior is reasonable.
I booked through expedia and got a good rate which averaged ou at about £90 per night which given the location was the best rate that I could get by miles.
The location is great:
15 minutes walk to St Peters
10 minutes to Piazza Navona
10 minutes to Pazza del Popolo
Most of the popular tour buses stop either at Piazza Navona or St Peters.
The hotel has good sized rooms with comfy beds and big bathrooms (the tub was ok size but a little small for soaking). TV is an old style CRT screen with limited channels but I wasnt in Rome for the TV!
This was my first trip in Europe, I usually go to the US, but I felt the hotel information within the room was lacking, most hotels have brochures or folders explaining the facilities - the best source of info in this hotel was the advert within the lift
The roof terrace is great with plenty of seating space and good sun until 7pm at night.
The communal areas are reasonable - the bar is pretty small and bar staff were not very friendly, the food and drink was expensive as it seems to be everywhere in Rome.
The included buffet breakfast was very good, plenty of choice.
The front desk staff weren't particularly friendly on the day before I checked out I asked if there was a computer that I could use to print a boarding card for the flight and was told I could use the TV based system within my room, when I tried to explain that there was no way to print from this I was met with a blank look, I also asked if the hotel were able to book transfers from the hotel to the airport and was told they could book a taxi or private car only, no shuttles,etc. Given previous experience of dodgy taxis within Rome i decided to use the nearby Metro station to transfer to the main Termini stazione (1 euro) and got the da Vinci Express (11euro)
The housekeeping staff were excellent.
I had the choice of staying here and a couple of more business orientated hotels on the outskirts of Rome and while being close to the attractions was nice, if I booked again I would be tempted by cheaper rates more facilities (e.g. pool) at the other hotels.
Positives:
location
beds
bathroom
roof terrace
breakfast
housekeeping
Negatives:
price of food & drink
bar and front desk staff
dodgy advertising pictures
communal facilities (no pool, small bar, no real restaurant)
poor hotel info in room
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