Cardo Roma, Autograph Collection — Hotel in Rome

I wrote this review as an email to the hotel's Guest Relations manager 2 days after my stay, since it had just opened and I used to love the previous incarnation - I received a very disappointing reply 6 MONTHS LATER, so I decided to publish my email as a review:||-----------------------||I recently stayed in the Cardo Roma for one night, and since I had a few (hopefully constructive) comments, I was advised by one of your colleagues at reception to share them with you, so here goes; this will be a longish email, FYI.||Firstly, let me say that I chose the hotel because I always enjoyed staying there when it was the Sheraton, and since I am actually originally from Rome I was well aware of the location - I was frankly curious to see what it had been turned into, while still working towards my soon-to-be goal of lifetime gold within the Bonvoy context.||- The staff are all extremely polite, friendly and helpful - HOWEVER, they do not wear visible name badges, and it is seriously annoying not to know whom I am speaking to, when they know my name|- The decor in the rooms is pleasant, and the ceiling fan is a stroke of genius (I hate AC) - HOWEVER:|. the endless switches at each side of the bed should be clearly labelled|. the fan is extremely complicated to operate (one of the settings on the remote control seems to be a timer, but is not so marked)|. I had to leave the vanity mirror light on in the bathroom overnight, since the only way I could find to turn it off was to use the mains switch, which also meant no ceiling fan|. the tap of the sink sticks out so much that it is IMPOSSIBLE to wash one's face in comfort|. The temperature in the common areas was extremely cold, so much so that when I went to breakfast, within a few minutes I actually was physically ill and had to return to my room, where I was sick|. The breakfast bar may be long, but the standard of the breakfast is truly poor:|the orange juice was obviously from concentrate, watery and sweet, with little orange flavour (also, there was no grapefruit juice)|. the labelling of the food was spotty (a girl next to me came back to her table saying "I got a glass of mystery juice" - it was the purple one with no label)|. the cheese selection is terrible - no mozzarella cherries but brie? no goats' cheese, no parmesan (also no olives or cucumber)|. the condiments tray (tabasco, mayo and ketchup) was shoved by the tiramisu (? also, at breakfast?) and porridge, instead of by the hot dishes |. the hot dishes included eggs, bacon and sausages, but no potatoes or hash browns, nor grilled tomatoes - I can't remember if you had beans|. the freshly made omelette was very nice but I did specifically ask for a small one, and I got one made with 3 eggs - I left half of it|. I couldn't find any gluten free bakery items, and I tried a little cornetto semplice, it tasted very doughy, like it had been made with maritozzo dough|. the wall directions for the toilets point towards the outside - they may be in use soon, but why not COVER UP the wrong sign with something meantime?|- The swimming pool is very nice and the attendant very helpful - HOWEVER there were some issues there too:|. although the restaurant was absolutely NOT busy, nobody from the restaurant went to the pool side to ask people if they would like a drink (among other things, this meant that customers got up, got a drink, and came back with a glass instead pf a PC cup, and then had to walk back to exchange it)|. there are no little tables by the sunbeds|. there are no sun chairs|. dangerous thing #1: the sunshade bases do not fit well and are way too small/light for the large shades, and it was a slightly blustery day, and the umbrellas kept on falling over the sunbathers! you were lucky nobody got hurt|. dangerous thing #2: the toilet area (very nice) is accessed via a diagonal ramp in white, over diagonal steps in white, the ramp is not marked and there is no handrail, this also is an accident waiting to happen, and, like the above, a big health and safety risk|- The Sheraton used to have a button to call taxis from the car park, now the taxi park is gone, and your colleagues did call me a taxi, however I asked for Samarcanda, and instead they called a 6645 - if I choose a taxi firm, I want that one, or to be informed they are not available, and asked about sourcing a cab from elsewhere|- The most unpleasant thing to me, and the one thing that mostly affected my stay in a very negative way, was the very heavy, musky/amber perfume in the common areas: coming into the hotel is like walking into a Magic Tree, I actually got a blinding headache after about one hour, and did not realise that it must have been an allergic reaction until I got into my 6645 taxi to go to the airport, and within 5 minutes it had cleared - this perfume is not only extremely strong, I could hardly believe it was also on the clothes of the dining room staff, until the hostess came to give me my bill for lunch, and I smelled it on her.||As you can understand, the last item on my list is so serious to me, that it alone means I will probably be unable to return due to concerns about my health, as well as enjoyment of my stay.||-----------------------------------------||As I wrote back today, after THAT reply I will not...

Stay: Late May 2024, 3 Nights.

Grounds/Amenities: Grounds are clean and maintained. The aesthetic choices and design are refreshing and contemporary, with hints of Roman design with arches and stucco, light colors in the main areas and spaciousness in the main restaurant and pool area.

The gym has plenty of equipment, towels and bottles of water. It is very nice and spacious, and the changing room facilities are great and clean, complete with lockers, full showers, amenities, etc.

Spa not yet open, but is said that it should be one of the best in Rome once launched. The pictures of the proposed facilities, hydro-therapy pools, and amenities look great. I would love to see them in person one day.

The restaurant, looks so nice, but unfortunately I didn't not done there during my stay due to our schedule, and also, I preferred to do my culinary explorations whilst traveling inside the city streets instead of at the hotel. I will say, though, they make their pasta FRESH, in house, every morning and in view of the guests due to position of the pasta kitchen and service bar.

Service/Staff: It is evident that they're still in a soft-launch period, as the spa is not yet open (set for mid-April), and things are pretty quiet in regards to the current volume of guests. This is a good thing, but also may be an issue once volume starts to pick up and they need to operate at full steam. Small things still are being hashed out... For example, I searched for my room and could not find it, supposedly at the end of a very long hallway (5 minute trip from front desk to the door) walked back and forth twice with a staff member staff member to find it didn't actually exist and they wrote it down wrong.

As an example of excellent service, however, a taxi driver heavily insisted on cash payment upon dropping me off, otherwise would need to charge a much higher rate of tapping my credit card. I inquired at the lobby if they could convert some of my money to EUR (which they could not), but when I told them why I needed it, the front staff walked out to the taxi and confronted him on my behalf. Moments later he came in with his machine and let me pay by card for the meter rate. Amazing service.

Coffee (Because this is Italy) The first morning, I noticed they did not have any coffee for guests in the lobby, but the restaurant offer to make us a couple cappuccinos to go, and even threw in a small box of croissants which were delicious. The next morning, they had a cart with drip coffee available at the restaurant.

Although I appreciate the service, almost every hotel of similar caliber I have visited from Venice, Florence, Sardinia or even the airport lounges... Have had, at the very least, an amazing fine-tuned Italian self-serve super automatic machine for guests to use in the lobby that makes your eyes widen when you realize North Americans really are missing out on GOOD espresso. Some places may also of had a barista who could do a handcrafted cafè. I was very disappointed with the Cafe at Cardo Roma, and in not trying to sound harsh, from the off-brand Nespresso compatible pods in the rooms, the drip coffee, to the handmade cups from the kitchen... It was the worst I had in all of Italy. It tasted as if dispensed by a all-in-one machine found at a mall or hospital. They could have at least had actual Nespresso pods. Luckily, I had some saved illy instant -coffee from my previous hotel for such an emergency.

Room Amenities: My wife raved about the quality of shampoo, cleanser, etc throughout our Italian journey, Cardo Roma kept up this expectation. Something about having no sulfides in their ingredients, she loved the products. Our first night, the water would spike in temperature on a 10 second interval, but it didn't happen again for the rest of the stay. Room spotless. No complaints.

Location: Far, you're reliant on taxis or their shuttle service. Shuttle only makes three trips a day, 15eur p/p per day return. Expect 24Eur per taxi to/from town, 20 min minimum from the city edge, 30 from the center...

The hotel is new and aesthetically pleasing but the customer service definitely needs improving. I checked in May 11 so likely one of the first patrons. Location: Depending on traffic, it's about 25-30 minutes from the city center. I knew that before booking and proceeded since it was decently priced. What I didn't know is taxis and Uber will definitely cost you at least $30 USD each way so that can be expensive. The Metro (called EUR Magliana) is a 10 minute walk from the hotel. You can purchase a 48 hour ticket for 12, 50 EUR. The walk to the station is a bit sketch. You have to cross the busy street and then walk on sidewalks full of bushes and trees or doesn't have much sidewalk at all. It's a bit dangerous so you have to pay attention. I did that walk one night from the station to the hotel and didn't feel safe so I made sure to only leave and return during daylight. Staffing/Customer Service: The staff are really nice but they need better training. I booked a room with a King bed. Since I have Gold status I was supposedly 'upgraded' but the room I was given had a double-sized bed so it seemed more like a downgrade. There was no fancy view, not on the top floor or anything so not sure how they thought that was an upgrade. One night I attempted to dine at the restaurant. I was seated quickly and sat there about 10 minutes or so and no waiter ever came by. They were tending to other tables and just kept walking by. I told the lady at the entrance that I'd prefer to just order room service and she said I couldn't order at the podium because she doesn't have the room service menu. We walked to the front desk together and they said they don't have the room service menus and they would print one and bring it to my room in "5 minutes." 20 minutes went by no one showed up. I was tired and frustrated so I just I downloaded deliveroo and ordered McDonalds to be delivered. About 20 minutes after* I finished eating someone called me and said they can't bring me a room service menu but they could take my order over the phone. Which I thought was weird because I clearly asked could I just place my order while I was there in person. I declined and told them I already ordered and ate McDonalds - which was disappointing because I didn't travel 6,000 miles to eat McDonalds in Italy! I actually requested to check out early because I didn't like the service. The first person I spoke to said they would let me know the next morning if I could check out without needing to pay a cancellation fee. I asked why so long and he said he was busy with other customers at the desk. He then said he can have his supervisor contact me. They contacted me within 15 minutes and said I could checkout early but would be subject to a $300+ USD fee. I agreed to pay the fee and said I want to check out in the morning and want to process the paperwork that night. I was told I'd have to wait til the morning and was constantly pressured to stay. The next morning the hotel I wanted to stay at was closer to the city center & was about $480 USD/night and the price increased over night so I was stuck staying at Cardo for all 4 nights of my stay. Hotel Room: The room itself is a decent size. Very clean since it's new. The bathroom was so small I could barely turn around (I'm 5'5" so that tells you how small it is). The AC works good during the day but at night it got hot My TV never* worked. It would turn on but none of the tv channels would display & neither would the apps button on the remote to access Netflix/Youtube, etc. The ceiling fan remote didn't work either The pad in the room to order room service didn't work (hence why I was trying to order in-person).

It's a nice hotel but whoever is head of training the staff needs to do better. Maybe they need more time to work out the issues in their training/systems since it's so new. I'd stay here again but it definitely would not be my...