The best thing about hotel Garda is the location – 30 meters from via Veneto, in a lovely and safe neighbourhood. Transport connections are good (if they can be good in Rome), with metro stations Barberini and Spagna within 10 minutes walking distance and numerous bus stops even closer to the hotel. There is a big GS grocery store near the hotel - in the undeground passage leading to metro station Spagna.
Now to less enjoyable points. Access to the hotel from the street is inconvenient and complicated: one has to pass through at least 3 barriers. First, there is a front door, which is usually closed, so one has to ring the bell to get the receptionist to open the door. After that, there is a long hallway with another door at the end, and the same procedure is needed to open it. Then one has to take a rather slow elevator to the 5th floor where hotel’s reception is. Finally, with the room key received from the reception, one may need to climb the stairs one floor up (hotel rooms are situated on 5th and 6th floors of the building). All in all the procedure of getting in or out of the hotel takes several minutes and, when repeated several times a day, becomes tiresome.
My single room was of a decent size but had some problems that made the stay less enjoyable than it could have been otherwise. The bed was inconvenient – too small and too soft. The blanket was an old woollen one, also inconvenient, as it was difficult to keep it over the sheet that served as a blanket cover. Bathroom was small and had an inconvenient layout. Worse, there was a problem with water – it was neither hot enough nor cold enough, always something in the middle. The pressure was extremely poor and it took time for the water to warm up. The shower cabin was old and inconvenient. The room had a mini-bar and an old, small TV (with two English language channels – BBC and CNN). The window overlooked a narrow courtyard.
My room had yet another problem – every evening there was a distinct mechanical noise coming from within the building (as if some machinery was operated somewhere). This noise would disappear around midnight, but was quite annoying before that. Also, all noises in the corridor or neighbouring rooms were clearly heard in the room.
Hotel’s public areas seem to have been recently renovated and look nice, especially the reception and the breakfast room.
My rate (60 euro/night) included breakfast, which I never had, (couldn't find anything edible there). The breakfast offer consists of coffee, croissants and low-quality flakes.
Hotel staff was generally friendly, except for the lady that seems to be in charge of other staff, who was somewhat pushy. They are not all knowledgeable about Rome however – I once asked for directions to one very well known attraction near Rome and the advice I got was of little value. Other receptionists were more knowledgeable, though.
One tip: one can get a lower price by booking directly from the hotel web site just before the stay (some kind of last minute discount).
In conclusion, at 60 euro/night hotel Garda is good value for money, but only due to very good location. Otherwise, lots of minor inconveniencies spoiled my stay, so I will probably not consider Garda again.
