I read about this hotel in the Frommer's Guide on Italy. The Guide gave this hotel 3 stars out of 3. It raved about its newly renovated decor and location. Well, at least Frommer's got one thing right - the location is hard to beat. Right at the top of the famed Spanish Steps and a short walk away from the beautiful Gardens and a Metro station. Opposite the much larger and more glamorous Hassler Medici Hotel. However, the raves about this hotel should end here.
Firstly, this is a very small hotel. It only has 2 floors and I think less than 20 rooms. That in itself is not a bad thing. The hallways are narrow as is the staircase. I saw nothing newly renovated in this hotel so I am certain that the Frommer's Guide was probably written many years ago and never updated. So much for Frommer's.
The rooms are old, worn out and poorly maintained. My room (a junior suite) was facing on the front facade of the hotel and was very old, dusty, with worn and torn carpets and the mattress bed was sagging and I am sure that the whole room and bathroom was not very clean. The toilet bowl did not flush well and the shower curtains were old and dirty. All in all, it was the worst value for money I had paid for some 300 Euros per night for the junior suite. My friends who stayed in a double room on the same floor got it worse - with a tiny room and lousy beds. They paid 200 Euros per night.
The breakfast was so-so and was served in a small room on the 2nd floor. On some mornings, there was not enough room to house everyone so I noticed some guests had to wait. The food was also not replenished in a timely manner. All in all, a rather losy level of service.
In short, I would not recommend this hotel to anyone except those who want to splurge on a hotel with a good location. Just be prepared for a forgettable (or maybe unforgettable, but in a bad way) stay there.
