Rome in August

Rome in August is very hot, and empty of Romans; as a result, hotels there run a promotional rate for the month of August and part or all of July. Just make sure you get the right rate.

The entry, lobby, dining areas and other public areas looked good and quite clean.

My family and I stayed in two rooms. Both of our rooms had reproduction period furniture, hardwood floors and air conditioners that really did a great job. Our room was larger, had a seating area and a balcony large enough to hold a table and some chairs.

Since the hotel was under renovation, there was a great deal of debris on both balconies on either side of us.

The bathrooms had recently been renovated and included a make up mirror, a towel warmer as well as a large fluffy robe. The staff was attentive, and readily answered our questions.

The location, near the Spanish Steps, and the Trevi fountain was perfect. Close to sights, but far enough for some quiet.

All in all, not a bad place to stay, just make sure you get the discount.

'Okay' Hotel in Great Location

I just returned from a 4 night stay at the Ambasciatori Palace Hotel in Rome. While I usually don't follow up with my opinions on hotel stays, I feel compelled to share my opinion on this site since I relied on it heavily to decide where to stay. For context, I'm a 28 year-old single woman who travelled alone and usually likes very nice / almost luxurious accomodations.

PROS

- Nice location: Via Veneto is a charming street that provides a nice refuge from the hectic tourist areas.

-Convenient location: The hotel is a short walk to the Barberini subway station, the Spanish Steps, and a 10 minute walk to the Trevi Fountain. I'm not much of a walker, so I'd like to emphasize that 10 minutes really means 10 minutes.

- Nice public spaces: Lobby, breakfast room, hallways, etc. are all nicely decorated

- Polite / generally helpful staff: I read a lot of reviews on various Roman hotels where the staff was found to be rude / unhelpful. While the staff at Ambasciatori hotel wasn't overly nice (which I think is just an Italian thing), they were never rude or unfriendly.

- Modern bathrooms: My bathroom was recently renovated with pale green faux-marble tiles. Very spacious and modern

- Quiet room: My room faced one of the side streets, and while this didn't give me much of a view, I didn't have to deal with any traffic noise, even when the windows were open.

- Air conditioning worked!!!

CONS

- Outdated Room: My room looked NOTHING like the pictures on the website. The carpet and bedspread were worn and simply ugly. Worse yet was the 70s-inspired wood paneling on the walls. I walked past a few open rooms that were being cleaned and they looked much nicer than mine (which was a single), so perhaps the larger rooms are better decorated / appointed.

- Uncomfortable Bed: Mattress was hard / lumpy, and the sheets were incredibly rough (I would approximate the thread count at about 100 - seriously)

- Expensive / Unappetizing Breakfast: I thought that breakfast was included in my rate, but I was mistaken (costs 22 euros). Luckily for me, I only had breakfast at the hotel once. The scrambled eggs were runny and the bacon fat-laden (which again, I'm beginning to suspect is a European hotel thing). Those are the only hot-food options - there are also cereals, fruit, and pastries from which to choose. Not worth it in my estimation. Just be sure to confirm with the front desk upon checkin whether breakfast in included.

Overall, I had an "okay" experience at the hotel. If you're planning to spend most of your time sightseeing / outside of the hotel or if you're not greatly concerned with the room quality, then I'd recommend this hotel. You could always call ahead and request a nice room without carpeting etc.

Hope this is helpful.

Very good hotel. Great location.

The rooms were very nice, the bathrooms were spacious will all the amenities. The service was exceptional. Just too hot.

Over-rated

This establishments advertises itself as a 5 star hotel. We stayed there in December 2004, our room was 2 star at best. At a rate of about $450 a night, we felt this was an outrage.

Also, we had booked through their association, WSL hotels, and had received an email from them offering airport pick-up for 47 Euro. When we tried to order that service, we were told it would be 70 Euro. We protested, and they reduced the fare to 60 Euro, still a big mark-up from the offer in the email.

Not what we expected

We stayed at this hotel 9/13/2004 - 9/16/2004. The location was great. We booked our room through hotels.com. Our room was a good size, but not very nice. The bathroom was huge, but old, with a broken toilet. On the other hand, another couple we were with had an absolutely gorgeous room, complete with a sitting area and full length windows that opened onto Via Veneto. Our room was supposed to include the buffet breakfast, however we were charged 40 Euros per day when we checked out. Unfortunately the hotel staff had kept our confirmation when we checked in, leaving us no proof that the breakfast was included in the rate. The breakfast was the worst ever, runny eggs, warm milk and stale breads. Had we known that we were being charged 40 Euros, we would not have eaten there. Except for the location, the hotel was absolutely terrible. No question in our mind - we won't stay there again.

Rooms Could Use Refurbishing

Stayed at this hotel for three nights in July. Front desk staff were okay but not overly friendly. Location was good; we walked everywhere except St. Peter's/Vatican. Lobby was attractive but our rooms were sadly in need of refurbishing. We had connecting rooms which were quite large, however, they needed painting, walls were pretty bare. (I think there was one small picture.) Rug had big ripple across the room. One curtain was ripped. It was interesting that most hotels have hotel pens in the room and this one had a tiny pencil like you get at mini-golf. The bathrooms were good; our room actually had two bathrooms. Breakfast was good. There was a Hard Rock Cafe right next door if you felt the need for a burger (without a service or cover charge). Probably would try someplace different next time but it wasn't awful.

Loved every moment of my stay at the Ambasciatori

I stayed 5 days in the Roma Ambasciatori, and loved every moment of it. I had a single, and it was very nice and big. My room overlooked the front of the hotel, which was a pleasure. The bathroom was gigantic with peachy marble. Everything was very clean and well maintained.

I had carpet, which was okay, but the other people i was staying with had doubles, and they had beautiful hardwood floors. They both had large balconies, and i had one, too, but it was within my bathroom.

The front staff was very helpful and friendly. The location was superb, too. We were surrounded by banks, so it was very professional and not seedy at all. This is a really nice hotel, and my stay was comfortable and flawless. I loved going back to my room at the end of a long day of sightseeing, which is exactly how it should be. Breakfast was nice, as well, and i was never disappointed.

Great location - Poor Room

After a great and tiring day of touring it was very dissapointing to come back to our hotel room in the afternoon. We booked a special rate through Amex and basically you get what you pay for. It was a corporate room and one of the worst appointed hotel rooms we have ever stayed in. It did not include breakfast so can't comment on that. The staff were okay, not the happiest of chappies but did their job in helping us with directions etc. The location is fabulous, a few steps away from the Metro station and Via Veneto is a lovely road to walk up and down. I would not stay here again.

Nice lobby / not so nice room

The lobby and other common areas of the hotel are beautiful but our room was quite a disappointment. The room was a nice large size and the bathroom well appointed. However, the decor of the room was not very impressive. There were no pictures on the walls and the matresses were from "ancient Rome." The walls in the room were so thin that I could hear our neighbors talking and could smell cigarette smoke from next door. On the other hand, the staff was extremely nice and helpful, giving us directions and arranging a ride back to the airport. The location was also excellent.

Great location, clean and neat

Great location, friendly staff, clean rooms. We would happily stay there again! We had 2 rooms for our family for 3 nights in June, 2004 and were quite happy with everything about the hotel. Breakfast was good also.