Hotel Relais Maddalena — Hotel in Rome

My friend and I stayed here the night before leaving Italy because she had stayed here before and loved the place and the owner. However, this one night stay was quite different. And when I got home I found a charge on my credit card which I was told was a penalty for the key card to open the room which my friend unintentionally forgot to return. When we both wrote to Francesco that we had no idea there was a "penalty" for not returning the key (which was his first email response to me when I inquired about the charge,) I wrote him back this email which I want to share with you so you get a full picture of the situation we found ourselves in. By the way, do not stay here if you cannot walk up and down one or two flights of stairs and in addition, in our case , cannot carry your luggage up and down those stairs as well.||||Francesco,||I know you have been emailing back and forth with my friend Sara, who raved about your hotel which is why we stayed there last week. ||||Let me address the issue of the key card first: Paola never asked for the card back. Her only interest was in getting the actual key back and making sure all bills were paid (our friend who we traveled with was not pre paid). She NEVER said a word about the key card. I had to make sure I gave her mine but not because she asked for it. But in addition, she did not care at all as to how we were going to get our bags down to the street. As soon as she got everything she needed and gave us the form for the taxi, she disappeared. That is not professional service. She didn't even offer to get us a coffee while we were waiting and I understand breakfast should have been included.||||Now let's go back to the beginning of our stay when we arrived we had no assistance in getting our luggage up the staircase. The woman at the desk spoke no English. She asked for my credit card and I informed her our room was prepaid but she didn't understand and still insisted on my card and assured me in a type of sign language.it would not be charged. I received NO RECEIPT or explanation of anything either in writing or orally. She kept laughing and I had no idea what was so funny and told her I did not appreciate her laughing at me although I have no idea if she understood anything.||||I see you have excellent reviews on trip advisor as to your staff. Somewhere last Wednesday and Thursday those excellent staff members were missing. Why you think we should pay for something we knew nothing about is beyond me. The lack of communication is from you and your staff, not from...

My wife and I stayed here for 3 nights before our organized tour. Taxi service was very easy from the main taxi stand at the airport to the hotel. Flat fee of 50 euros. This is a small quaint hotel with only 6 rooms located on the second floor of a building right in the Piazza Maddalena. This Piazza is one block away of the Pantheon. I had exchanged many email pre-arrival with Francesco who was a pleasure to deal with. Like most of these small hotels, there are no elevators but that was part of the Italian old city charm we wanted. Our room had to windows overlooking 2 sides of the Piazza and all the various dining area within eyesight. For anybody arriving late, there is a great pizza and beer spot right in the Piazza for 1o euro. The room was beautiful with beamed ceiling and very well air conditioned. The bathroom was large and well appointed. Wifi was excellent. There was a small breakfast area managed by a lovely lady Elena who was always eager to please. She would bring you coffee preference the first day then each day thereafter, she knew what you wanted. The location was ideal as we walked everywhere and it was extremely safe even at midnight. I am still amazed how cars and taxi's make their way around all these one way streets criss-crossing each other and weaving in and out of people. We highly recommend this hotel and we would definitely stay again. Fell free to reach out to me for any other questions you may have ...

My wife and I stayed here for 3 nights before our organized tour. Taxi service was very easy from the main taxi stand at the airport to the hotel. Flat fee of 50 euros. This is a small quaint hotel with only 6 rooms located on the second floor of a building right in the Piazza Maddalena. This Piazza is one block away of the Pantheon. I had exchanged many email pre-arrival with Francesco who was a pleasure to deal with. Like most of these small hotels, there are no elevators but that was part of the Italian old city charm we wanted. Our room had to windows overlooking 2 sides of the Piazza and all the various dining area within eyesight. For anybody arriving late, there is a great pizza and beer spot right in the Piazza for 1o euro. The room was beautiful with beamed ceiling and very well air conditioned. The bathroom was large and well appointed. Wifi was excellent. There was a small breakfast area managed by a lovely lady Elena who was always eager to please. She would bring you coffee preference the first day then each day thereafter, she knew what you wanted. The location was ideal as we walked everywhere and it was extremely safe even at midnight. I am still amazed how cars and taxi's make their way around all these one way streets criss-crossing each other and weaving in and out of people. We highly recommend this hotel and we would definitely stay again. Fell free to reach out to me for any other questions you may have ...