$$ = what you get

We recently stayed at the Crowne Plaza, and the only positive comment I have is the price of the room, and the Avis rent-a-car desk. Our ultimate destination was not Rome, so we did not mind being far from the center. We had a less than pleasant experience with Yvonne (although she was very pleasant via email), and on our return to Rome, the front desk, actually gave us an occupied room (all the person's belongings were still there), and said we could stay there until the person returned so they could move him to another room. Rather ridiculous. Then when we asked for assistance in moving all our luggage, we were told the bell person would be unavailable for quite a while, since he was busy moving a tour group's luggage. The service and waiters in the restaurant were not friendly at all, and the prices were not worth the quality of the food.

Near city with a pool

If you want to combine relaxation with sightseeing this is an OK choice. As a Chain 4 star hotel you get the usual service, good rooms, good facilities, corporate atmosphere and some queues at reception.

Although not in the centre, it's a good base for seeing the city. Roma is easy to get around by walking, public transport and taxis - it will cost you 10-20euros to get somewhere and then walk to the next one as they are all close by.

There is not much to do within walking distance of the hotel, but Roma is near enough so that's not really an issue.

SO.. if you are looking for local character forget it, if you want an easy base with a pool close enough to the sites then this will fit the bill.

TIPS

1) make sure the taxi puts you on a meter otherwise you are about to be ripped off - if you feel you are being ripped off, take their Taxi number and make sure they can see you do it... reception will tell you if you are about to be scammed - alas we were 40euros from the train station instead of 20.

2) Want a cold drink get a token for the vending machines - Coke 2Euros v's 5 for the bar.

3) The street and bus maps are very good

4) Go the sites by night... they come alive more and you avoid sweating as much

Acceptable but not great

We stayed at The Crowne Plaza Rome-St. Peter's on May 23, 2004. The room was clean and adequate. If one wanted to go from the second floor to the lobby, it was necessary to use the elevators or an exit from a stairway that opened to the outside. If you desire a clean place to stay without being overly impressed, it will fill the bill.

Nice Place

I thought this place was very nice- everything was clean, the room was larger than most European rooms and they even included free chocolates and a bottle of water.

Nice Place

I found the Crowne Plaza to be an excellent choice of hotels. It's close enough to attractions that the cab rides don't cost much, but not in the heart of Rome where you get the diesel fumes and noise all day. A very fine retreat! The rooms were clean and spacious. The ice was abundant which is rare for Europe and the rate at 185/nite was very reasonable for Rome. I can't believe anyone would give this place a bad review. The staff was friendly too. A++

Could have been worse

My family and I visited the Hotel in late March of 2004.

Overall, the Hotel service was good. The Hotel posted signs about a pending general strike and postings of a change in time, keeping guests well informed. The Spa amenities were better than average. The lobby has an ATM machine, internet access and phone booths as well as the usual amenities. The shuttle service was good but limited. The carpeting could have been cleaner.

The hotel staff were helpful in suggesting I leave the Avis car rental at the hotel even though the Avis office on site was closed for the day, they did me a favor by calling the downtown Avis location informing them that the car had been dropped off at the Hotel and saving me an additional days' charge.

The only drawback to this hotel was the location. The money you save is lost when paying for transportation to and from the downtown area.

Okay

I recently stayed at the Crown Plaza Rome-St. Peters with my mom and younger brother during spring break. Location wise this hotel is on the Vatican side of Rome, which created difficulties in getting to the major attractions. The Vatican is too far to walk (2-miles away) and their was not any sidewalks near the hotel. The only way to get to downtown Rome is to take the limited hotel shuttle to the city center or a taxi, which could be expensive. The hotel website advertised an indoor and outdoor pool. However, the indoor pool is only for ages 16 and over and when we were there, the outdoor pool was closed. Most of the staff was very friendly, except one of the desk clerks' named Yvonne. We thought the restaurant and bar was very expensive, but considering their was not any other places to eat, we paid the price. My family and I had the breakfast buffet included in our rate, which was worth paying the extra money for. This hotel had a free shuttle to and from the airport, city center, and too the Vatican, but it was on a very LIMITED basis. I e-mailed the hotel ahead of time for their schedule. The rooms are standard for Europe. Everything was clean, except we thought the carpet was really dirty. Overall, this hotel is not in the greatest location, but is decent to stay at.

A Hotel with Great Facilities

Without going over too much information which the reviewer from Dublin gave (I agreed with everything he/she wrote), we stayed in this hotel for 7 nights and our stay was very enjoyable.The rooms were in my view above standard and had all possible extras, eg a hairdryer, iron and ironing board, tea/coffee making facilites - which not all hotels have these days. The indoor and outdoor pools were great, especially as the weather was so hot when we were there. The staff were efficient and friendly enough.The only minor downside to this hotel was the price of food and drink, eg around 4 Euro for a can of Coke at the bar.The buses into downtown Rome were fast and efficient and a taxi home cost around 11 Euro.All in all, a great place to go if you want to see Rome, but want to have a relaxing break also away from the hustle and bustle of downtown.

Enjoyable stay

In stark contrast to the other review we found this hotel to be well worth the money spent. Our double room with King Size (very comfy) bed cost us €125 a night between two of us. Balcony, very clean, excellent bathroom facilities, mini-bar, room service etc. We found most staff to be nice and friendly with an exception of one or two. Guests have full access to the health spa downstairs with beautiful pool, steam room, jacuzzi and sauna - wonderfully peaceful. The only bad thing about this hotel is the price of food and drink - it would be advisable not to eat or drink in the hotel to save yourself a few euros. Dinner is not great and costs the world. A bottle of beer costs €8. Shuttle buses are excellent and handy. Overall a pleasant stay and worth the money spent.

What a dump!

My family stayed here because they have a free shuttle to airport (which worked out fine)and we had just come back from Sorrento to catch our flight out of Rome. We figured for 1 night we'll take 1 room with 2 queen (hah) size beds and a rollaway (which they did not deliver until 10:30PM after 3 requests). The beds were so soft that when you got on them you felt like you were sleeping on the floor. The bathrooms were a disgrace. Rust, chipping and tiny! The rooms were warm, dirty and terribly small for the $185 Euro we paid. If you get this room for under $69.00 it might be worth it otherwise, dont' stay here!