Precise House Mantegna Roma — Hotel in Rome

I stayed at this hotel for a school trip over New Years. There were definatly some issues. The biggest was the bathroom which my roommate and I were lucky with compared to some others. Nobody's bathroom doors, which were glass, closed all the way leaving a very awkward gap. In my room, the door at least had wallpaper on it and was very opaque, however, other room did not and some rooms didn't even have a door. The shower was good however, the shower door also didn't close all the way and made the bathroom very slippery if not blocked with towels. There was also no conditioner. The bathroom was very clean though. |The hotel room itself was very nice and clean. There were two beds and a couch, not every room had a couch. The two beds were either singles or twins but they were pushed together, so it was like one bed. This was really good since I was staying with a friend and it helped us sleep better. However, at night the room turned into a sauna. Maybe it's just a cultural difference between the US and Italy, but the heat should not have been on for how warm it was when we were there. We had 50-60 degree weather all week (Fahrenheit) but the heat was blasting the whole trip. There was a thermostat in the room but even when we turned it off it was still boiling hot. |We ate 3 dinner and every breakfast of the trip at the hotel and the experience was mixed. Since it was a big group, every meal was a buffet. The breakfasts were fine and there was a lot of variety, so even though not everything was good, everybody found something that was good enough. It was hotel breakfast so I wasn't expecting much but I was pleasantly surprised. The dinners on the other hand were not very good. One of the dinners was on New Years Eve and it was the best one because there was actual variety. The other two dinners had no variety, especially compared to the breakfasts, and what they did have was not very good. The pasta dishes they had featured odd flavor combinations with overcooked pasta, undercooked meat, and cheesy fish. The sides and salad options they had were pretty good though, but the entrees were barely edible. |The location of the hotel wasn't an issue for my trip since we had buses to take us everywhere. However, inside the hotel the elevator system needs a revamp. We had to wait for 15 minutes to get an elevator sometimes and couldn't always take the stairs since we were transporting heavy instruments. Sometimes elevators would just pass the floor we were on when we had every button pushed. Other times though, the elevators were great so I have no idea what it's queuing system was. |Overall, it was an okay hotel with a few big issues. It was very clean, the beds were great, the shower was nice, and the breakfast had a lot of variety. If you are staying with someone you know really well, don't stay for dinner, and like the heat, then I would...

There are many reasons for my poor rating.

1- The air conditioning in the hotel is not effective at all. So, if you are considering this hotel in any hot month, I strongly recommend that you think otherwise. This does not only apply to the hotel rooms, but also to the foyer, and another public areas. There is no AC at all in the corridors. My husband and I were given a room, it was very small, the fridge was out of order, and the temperature inside was more than 32 C. Trying to sleep when the temperature inside the room was 32 or more, was virtually impossible, as it felt like we were in an oven. When we complained, they said that they cannot do anything because the hotel was fully booked. On the second day, we managed to have the room changed. Unfortunately, because the windows do not open, and the AC is ineffective, the situation did not get any better even though the second room was slightly bigger.

2- When we arrived at the hotel, we had to wait for an hour because believe it or not, there was no electricity!! YES, no electricity, and in the absence of back-up electric generators meant that we could not check-in, in and had to wait in a very hot lobby on a hot day with a temp of 38 c.

3- The hotel is worn out. There is mold on the side of the bathtubs. You can find an accumulation of months of dust behind the couch. I am surprised that it is given a 4-star rating!!

4- I had booked and paid for 10 nights, and unfortunately I received the sad news of my mother passing away, so we had to leave on the third day. I checked with the front desk, considering the situation so that I get a refund back, in line with many airlines and hotels' policies in such sad situations. The answer from the front desk person was that he cannot make that decision and that I will have to write to the manager, and he gave me a card with his name and contact info. I sent several emails and contacted them by phone 3 times with a promise that I will hear back from them, but there was no reply whatsoever. I cannot believe that they felt that it was OK to rob me of the cost of 7 nights out of the 10 that were paid!

5- The hotel is in an area that is far away from the center of Rome. So if you are a tourist, then I don't recommend it because it will take you a long time to arrive at any of the attractions.

All in all, staying at the Barcelo Rome was a very bad...

One hotel staff's behavior was unprofessional, she kept repeating in a rude and absurd manner when we were getting out of the hotel on the second day "Hello, you must return the card". When we asked what was that about they said they thought were checking out. Our room wasn't cleaned for 3 days in a row, we called the réception staff on the 3rd day at 2:00pm and asked if we can get it cleaned, they confirmed to it that it will be cleaned that day and when we came back in the evening it was not. The room was quite hot even with the heater turned off, so we asked the reception to open the window. They sent someone to open it and said that it is broken and they will try to fix it the next day or offer us a different room if it can't be opened. None of that happened, we stayed in the same room with the same broken window. There is no door in the bathroom, so the room gets very humid after taking a shower. There is also no proper ventilation in the washroom. Toilet smells also come in the room because of no door or sealing. There is a carpet in the room which is dirty and causes dust allergic reaction. It doesn't make sense to have a carpet in the room unless it's properly clean very often. The bathroom had mold and rust, and had a broken shower holder. The location is very far from the city center and any metro stop. There are a few bus stops nearby, but they don't come always on time and are unreliable. All the taps in washroom are old style which aren't seen nowadays in any modern hotel, with different handles for cold and hot water. It made it very difficult to set a constant temperature without wasting water and time. Some of the lights in the room flicker or don't work and there isn't enough light anyway. The main light source is the bathroom. The sofa in the room wasn't cleaned properly either. There was no kettle in the room.

For a 4 star hotel, this hotel is bad value for money. The cons outweigh the pros to a point that I can't really think of something positive about it to mention. Perhaps the only positive thing is that they provide a toothbrush, and they gave a complimentary water bottle and cookies, And also the cleaning staff was professional. The rest of the things are just basic for 4...