Palazzo Montemartini Rome, A Radisson Collection Hotel — Hotel in Rome

My boyfriend and I recently stayed at Hotel Palazzo Montemartini in Rome, Italy, for three nights, drawn by its promising pictures and descriptions. Unfortunately, our experience fell drastically short of the 5-star standards we expected, leaving us deeply disappointed.

Arrival and Check-in: We arrived at 10 PM, only to find no baggage porter to assist us, setting a poor first impression. The reception area gave off cold and dirty vibes, with inadequate lighting and no refreshments offered. This initial experience was far from welcoming and certainly not what one would expect from a 5-star hotel.

The Room: We booked a premium room but were given an attic room that was nothing like the advertised pictures. It was poorly lit, had small windows, and lacked basic amenities. The room condition was unacceptable: uncomfortable bed, no bedside chargers, broken luggage rack, unrefilled water bottles, and no night service from housekeeping. The bathroom was equally disappointing, with no space for toiletries, insufficient towels, and a poorly maintained shower.

Service: When we requested a room change, we were told it would be possible the next day. However, the next day, the staff informed us that the hotel was fully booked, indicating that we were misled and our request was not properly handled.

Dining Experience: The rooftop dinner was another letdown. Despite the late hour, the table was dirty, and the service was abysmal. Staff members were inattentive, busy with their phones, and drinking, making it nearly impossible to get their attention. The food was the only redeeming factor, with the pasta being decent.

Spa and Facilities: Our attempt to use the spa was marred by poor service and subpar facilities. Despite needing a reservation, we found no staff present, the sauna was out of order, and the area was not properly cleaned.

Breakfast: The breakfast offering was far below 5-star quality. The selection was limited, and the hot food, particularly the eggs, was poorly prepared. Only the fruit met our expectations.

Room Change: On our second day, we finally managed to change rooms after much insistence. However, the suite we were upgraded to still had issues. The welcoming letter was addressed to someone else, and the bed was uncomfortable, consisting of two beds pushed together. Although it was cozier and had a better bathroom, the service remained unprofessional and rude.

Departure: The final straw was when we left our luggage with the hotel while attending a concert. Upon our return, the porter rudely pointed at his watch, insinuating we were late. When my boyfriend apologized, the porter raised his voice and insulted him, displaying shockingly poor customer service. Simultaneously, the receptionist was seen shouting at another guest, further highlighting the staff's inability to handle complaints professionally.

Overall Experience: In summary, our stay at Hotel Palazzo Montemartini was the worst hotel experience we've ever had, especially considering the €1800 we paid for three nights. The quality and service did not match the price, and the overall experience was far from a 5-star standard. We received no compensation or apology for the numerous issues we encountered. We cannot recommend this hotel to anyone seeking a luxurious and pleasant stay in Rome. It was a profoundly frustrating and disappointing...

We have travelled a lot and as this trip was for our 30th Wedding Anniversary gift to one another decided to go ahead and book this as it has a roof terrace, water feature in the restaurant and seemed to have all what we wanted.

Notified a week before arrival that rooftop terrace closed due to maintenance. Then the water feature did not work for our Anniversary meal in their restaurant.

These were 2 of the things my wife especially liked about this choice of hotel. Would not class this hotel as 5 star - the only thing 5 star was all the prices!!! Be warned.

We stayed in room 101 (avoid if possible, unless you are deaf or have hearing loss).

Nice size room and bathroom. Even had a lounge upstairs albeit in need of serious maintenance as they obviously had a major water leak as the entire laminate flooring was coming up.

The bath plug got stuck on the second night and was then was left on the side of the bathtub.

Really loud in terms of traffic noise and people as there was a bus stop right outside the bedroom window. If you wanted to know peoples business you just record what they were saying over the phone, they were that loud!

Could not be bothered to move so wore ear buds, you could even hear all the noise after that. They need to make some major improvements to this room - double glazing!

The hotel is surrounded by dirty bins, rubbish and its a homeless hotspot. Bin lorries even empting glass bins at 10.30pm Sunday night! Tues night was bin night - 12 pm midmight! Also got another surprise at 4am when someone collects all the white laundry and he could not care less about the noise he was making.

Got back to hotel after a long day out and wanted a nap...no chance as builder was drilling and banging and it may as well have been in the room with us.

Not all bad though, location is good, the staff are great and service from the guys at the front was fantastic, especially Lorenzo. The waiters and bar staff were top notch too.

To maintain its rating of a 5 Star Hotel in our opinion it needs investment into the hotel, it's rooms and double glazing.

Also be warned the bar and restaurant are extremly expensive. £8 euros for a small beer, £6 euros for a coke. £28 euros for a salad! Even the water is expensive!

We tried not to let the issues get to us as we just wanted to enjoy our time in Rome, its a real shame this hotel didn't meet our expectations.

The Duputy Manager had a meeting with me on the last morning and apoligised for everything we had reported, even offering another free stay to reassure us that he would do everything possible to fix the issues listed above.

I have now received an email with the invitation to stay again and feel he and the hotel would do all he could to make this hotel better.

I hope I will not be dissapointed. Many thanks to all the staff who were wonderful...

What really sell's this hotel, is its location and great staff. What lets it down is how noisy it is and how some guests have not realised there are specific utensils in place so there is no touching of food at the breakfast buffet.

Being a Radisson VIP member, there was no room upgrade even-though higher grade rooms were available for sale on their web-site shortly before our arrival. Not a deal breaker as we do not expect anything other than what we have paid for, but it's part of one of the perks being VIP. What did bother us, was we probably got the worst room in the building. Did get a bottle of ice cold complementary Spumante and macarons delivered to our room, shortly after we arrived to the room, which was nice.

Staff: Extremely friendly, helpfull and talkative if this is what they sense you're up for.

Location: Literally a 3 min walk from platform(s) 23/24 at Termini (i.e. the incoming direct train from FCO). Everything for first timers is around 20-30 min walk from here, so could not be better. Remember you walk a lot when in Rome, so it's key to have a well located hotel. Some really good inexpensive restaurants in the area, and more importantly, some solid supermarkets for your snacks and drinks to bring back to the hotel. Huge private parking space in front of the hotel.

Room: Booked a "standard" room and was allocated room 319. Size was nice, and happy enough to get a room with shade and not facing a busy road/area. Well, that was short lived. Elevators (Lifts) made a thumping sound every time it was in use, people walking past out on the corridor could as well have been in the room, and kids running up and down the corridor above was not pleasant.

Breakfast: Included as VIP members, Great selection, but could not eat all, as certain groups of people had the tendency to touch all with their hands rather than using the allocated tongs for the specific purpose. Very unappealing, but luckily meat products were not of their interrest. Staff great but a tad odd, that the vitamin juice shot (the orange coloured multi vitamin drink) only was offered once during our 5 days stay (not a deal breaker just that expectations/consistency was missed).

Verdict/Thoughts: So, based on being a RH VIP paying EUR 400 per night (Sun to Fri - non refundable) and been given an awful (in sense of its location and being very noisy) room, this will not be our first choice for our next Rome visit. Yes, the location is unbeatable especially for first timers, but for us it quickly...