Hotel Giolitti — Hotel in Rome

This hotel had a great price, but was not a well executed operation.||||First note the name Gordon 1, next door to the Gordon. So to get into Gordon 1 you have to ring the buzzer next door at Gordon, go down into the basement front desk and get the clerk to go up and out and unlock the door!||||Since they insist on keeping your keys when you are not in the hotel, you need to do this every time you need to get to your room, ring next door, go down, fetch your room keys and get the clerk to go up and unlock the front door! ||||Some of the Gordon/Gordon1 desk clerks belong in the hospitality industry and some did not, and having to do this every arrival and departure (to drop off keys) was inconvenient. The Gordon 1 did have a "front desk" but it was not manned.||||Breakfast...we were told there was breakfast, confirmed this with the clerk at check in who said it was served in the room next to the "lobby". Next morning we went to get our breakfast and were told that it was not a buffet or such but that we had to have ordered what we wanted the night before and they would deliver it to our room. That night we went over to the lobby to order our breakfast and the next clerk on duty said it wasn't included!||||I wasn't expecting the full English! But coffee and a croissant would have been nice. We got the run around instead.||||The room...is the same square footage as my master bedroom and closet. Certainly adequate and fair for the price. The bed was hard, a cheap memory foam would have done wonders.||||It's window opened up on the the street and sidewalk and traffic was literally 15 feet from the bed. It was sometimes noisy with the trolly line and people on the sidewalk. It did have steel shutters and nice double pane windows so security was not an issue and the noise not to bad.||||The bathroom was interesting...one of those shower drain in the middle of the floor and you shower in the same space as the toilet (no bidet) and sink. The bathroom was perhaps 3 feet square, not enough room to hold your arms completely out.||||Its door was a bifold steel contraption and the cleaners never closed the door when they cleaned, so never saw the mold growing on the inside folds of the bifolds. ||||The Gordon 1 was about a 15 minute walk to Termini train station, Rome's transport hub with trains to the airport, the subways, intercity trains, and local busses. Looking at the satellite view on google it seems to be right across the street but actually was a 1/4 to 1/2 mile walk. Termini has a shopping mall and some nice eating places in an open environment on the west side.||||As is common in major urban cities, the area around the train station has sketchy characters and litter. I never felt unsafe walking even at night, but large groups of young men hanging out, the smell of urine and graffiti and trash were common.||||Overall it was OK. We paid about $25 a night plus a few euro a night per person paid in cash at check in. I think we got one of the less desirable rooms, other rooms in the back have a courtyard view and balcony and this is what we thought we had booked. ||||If we had got our breakfasts and a room that looked like the photos on the website and not had to have the hassle of getting to our room by going next door, I would have rated it better.||||I wouldn't be afraid to book it if you are on a tight budget, just don't have high...

This hotel had a great price, but was not a well executed operation.||||First note the name Gordon 1, next door to the Gordon. So to get into Gordon 1 you have to ring the buzzer next door at Gordon, go down into the basement front desk and get the clerk to go up and out and unlock the door!||||Since they insist on keeping your keys when you are not in the hotel, you need to do this every time you need to get to your room, ring next door, go down, fetch your room keys and get the clerk to go up and unlock the front door! ||||Some of the Gordon/Gordon1 desk clerks belong in the hospitality industry and some did not, and having to do this every arrival and departure (to drop off keys) was inconvenient. The Gordon 1 did have a "front desk" but it was not manned.||||Breakfast...we were told there was breakfast, confirmed this with the clerk at check in who said it was served in the room next to the "lobby". Next morning we went to get our breakfast and were told that it was not a buffet or such but that we had to have ordered what we wanted the night before and they would deliver it to our room. That night we went over to the lobby to order our breakfast and the next clerk on duty said it wasn't included!||||I wasn't expecting the full English! But coffee and a croissant would have been nice. We got the run around instead.||||The room...is the same square footage as my master bedroom and closet. Certainly adequate and fair for the price. The bed was hard, a cheap memory foam would have done wonders.||||It's window opened up on the the street and sidewalk and traffic was literally 15 feet from the bed. It was sometimes noisy with the trolly line and people on the sidewalk. It did have steel shutters and nice double pane windows so security was not an issue and the noise not to bad.||||The bathroom was interesting...one of those shower drain in the middle of the floor and you shower in the same space as the toilet (no bidet) and sink. The bathroom was perhaps 3 feet square, not enough room to hold your arms completely out.||||Its door was a bifold steel contraption and the cleaners never closed the door when they cleaned, so never saw the mold growing on the inside folds of the bifolds. ||||The Gordon 1 was about a 15 minute walk to Termini train station, Rome's transport hub with trains to the airport, the subways, intercity trains, and local busses. Looking at the satellite view on google it seems to be right across the street but actually was a 1/4 to 1/2 mile walk. Termini has a shopping mall and some nice eating places in an open environment on the west side.||||As is common in major urban cities, the area around the train station has sketchy characters and litter. I never felt unsafe walking even at night, but large groups of young men hanging out, the smell of urine and graffiti and trash were common.||||Overall it was OK. We paid about $25 a night plus a few euro a night per person paid in cash at check in. I think we got one of the less desirable rooms, other rooms in the back have a courtyard view and balcony and this is what we thought we had booked. ||||If we had got our breakfasts and a room that looked like the photos on the website and not had to have the hassle of getting to our room by going next door, I would have rated it better.||||I wouldn't be afraid to book it if you are on a tight budget, just don't have high...

We were aware when booking this place that we shouldn't expect luxury and splendor. Honestly, I don't mind staying in cheap places: Having experienced both 5 star hotels and no-star hostels in the strangest of countries, I prefer the more basic offerings because at least I know what to expect.||Hotel Gordon has a decent location with several good dining options nearby. The neighborhood is not the most inviting (to be honest, I wouldn't want my wife to wander around alone at night) but has several grocery shopping options and public transport is a 10 minute walk away. ||Breakfast selection was limited but decent, the room equipment was alright and size was enough to fit a baby bed which was available on demand.||However: What I cannot accept in any sort of lodging is dirt. Here, the shower had quite significant amounts of mold in between the tiles and on the rubber seals, making the showering experience very unpleasant. To top it all off, the ventilation / air conditioning also had huge mold stains coming out of it. When you turned the a/c on, it would stink like mold in the whole room, effectively making it impossible to use. Even with the vents off, if you let the windows closed during the day, you could smell it.||||A request to change the room was not accepted due to the place being booked out. Also, the clerk's comment after my complaint was "why do you want to use a/c anyway, it's October and it's not hot anymore" - I'm not joking!||||Overall, staff was grumpy and unpleasant. The exception was a young gentleman who did the late shifts from 3pm to 11pm. He was doing his best to help but you could tell that his hands were tied.||||The rooms were loud overall, as walls seem to be quite thin. Those facing the street were the loudest as the noise from passing cars and trams made the beds shake. ||||WIFI somewhat works on ground floor, on the upper floors it is pretty much unavailable.||||Hotel Gordon needs signifciant improvements in terms of cleaning (also the floors and beds did not appear clean) and staff friendliness. Until that is done, i CANNOT RECOMMEND this...