It was grand!

I'd read some horror stories about Rome hotels, so I did a lot of research, including reading reviews of many hotels on this site before booking.

The hotel is beautifully appointed, from the stained glass ceiling in the lobby to the modern Italian room decor. We had a non-smoking standard room, which was not huge but certainly adequate, with a real king size bed, nice sized marble bath and air conditioning. The breakfast buffet, which was included in our rate, had a great selection of quality hot and cold items. The pastries were especially good. We had excellent service from all of the staff.

The Grand enjoys a fanastic location about a block away from the Piazza della Rotunda and the Pantheon. It's also situated near the major thoroughfares we used to walk to the Colliseum and Forum, the Vatican, Trevi Fountain, etc, and yet it was very quiet.

As for value, I don't think it's realistic to expect what we're used to in North America. So if location and quality are important to you, try the Grand Minerve.

Beyond expectations

I have visited Rome many times over the past ten years and always wanted to stay at the Minerve. The location is just perfect, unlike most of the other luxury hotels stuck out on the via Veneto and beyond. I was encouraged by the positive reviews on this site to take the plunge and pay up to stay at the Minerve on our recent trip to Rome for Easter. I was not disappointed.We booked through the hotel's website ------------------- (pretty hard to find on the search engines). Having read previous reviews we decided to plump for a deluxe room, at €430 a night some €70 more expensive than a standard. I requested a room with a balcony and a view of the piazza, which was confirmed directly by the hotel reservation desk.When we arrived we noticed that only two rooms overlooking the piazza have a balcony but the hotel had honoured the reservation and ours was one of them! The room itself was enormous, tastefully decorated in light colours and modern furnishings, so unlike most Italian "luxury" rooms. The bathroom by contrast was extremely small and a bit basic, but we could live with that when everything else was so right. And having the balcony made all the difference as we began and ended each evening with a drink while we watched life go by in the piazza below.The staff were all friendly and helpful, although there are some Italian oddities like having to register to use the internet access. The only criticism I would make of the hotel is that the price of sundries is extortionate, even for a 5* hotel. €7 for a beer from the minibar, €110 for a bottle of NV champagne! We soon solved this problem however when we found a small supermarket just round the corner.All in all, the Minerve was better than I dared to expect. It will certainly be my preferred stay in Rome from now on.

Fabulous in every way

This was truly one of the most beautiful hotels I have found. The location could not be better, right next to the Pantheon and the nicest staff you could want. The breakfast was hugh and it was the first hotel in Europe that actually had kleenex in the bathroom!!! Rooms were beautifully furnished complete with in-room coffee/tea pot!! I cannot recommend this hotel enough. We are planning on another trip to Rome in November and will be booking this hotel again and I can't wait.

I wish I lived there!

I have been going to Rome regularly for the past 20 years, and I have had every possible hotel experience there, for great to horrid. Only three years ago I started going to the Minerve, and I have not changed my favourite hotel since then. In fact, whenever the hotel was fully booked, I changed my business schedule rather than going anywhere else.

Excellent rooms, superb service, perfect location, easy communication with any part of the city. If you can afford it, stay at the Minerve.

Faboulous Location and Accomodations!!

I had a wonderful time during New Year's Eve 2003. The Hotel Minerva has a wonderful staff that was there to offer a helping hand every time I needed one. A very courteous staff and wonderfully decorated rooms.

The gentleman at the front desk upgraded us upon check in. I had a wonderfully spacious room with a large marble bathroom. I had 2 large windows that you can sit on the ledge and listen to the violin players down the block. Also my view faced the marvellous Pantheon. I loved this hotel in every way. I highly recommend it!

Fantastic hotel

December 2003

We have just returned from our Honeymoon at the Minerve grand Hotel and it was lovely, very plush!The staff were fantastic and we were upgraded to a suite. The bar is expensive but wonderful with a piano player and nibbles of panatone and chocolates. The location is excellent as we were only 40 minutes walk from anywhere in Rome and also right next door to the Panathon.We would definatly stay at the hotel again.

Enjoyed this hotel

Just spent five lovely nights at this hotel. Location was great as was the service. We were upgraded to a suite upon check in! Rooms were spotless and quiet. Most guests were European, so you could not get an American newspaper. Concierge was very helpful. Would definitely stay there again

Generally excellent, but with some lapses

By and large, this is a wonderful hotel. The location is superb, as it is about a block away from the Pantheon -- and right across the street from the Santa Maria Sopra Minerve (a Gothic church that contains Michelangelo's statue of The Risen Christ.)

The rooms are impeccable and large, and both I am some friends of mine had rooms with 12- or 15-foot ceilings. Housekeeping staff are the best I've ever encountered -- somehow they manage to make perhaps 3 visits to each room daily, yet without being obtrusive. My one beef about my room was that the air conditioning -- despite being set to run full-blast -- didn't seem to be able to manage anything below about 75 degrees F.

The front-office staff (check-in, cashier, conceirge, etc.) were generally quite professional, although a friend of mine in a wheelchair had some significant conflict with the concierge over a request for a taxi with a wheelchair lift. While perhaps the original failure to order this kind of taxi might have been due to a simple misunderstanding, the concierge tried to persuade my friend to take a taxi without a lift by asserting that it might be "hours" or "days" before a lift-equipped taxi would arrive. Fortunately, the wonderful lady in charge of transporation managed to order a lift-equipped van that arrived about 30 minutes later, and the concierge was left fuming because the inadequacy of his efforts had been exposed.

A relatively minor but infuriating lapse concerned one of the hotel phone operators. The hotel services guide contained no information on room-to-room dialing, so I would call the operator and ask to be connected to my friends' room. The first day of my visit, a pleasant female operator connected me every time. The next day, however, a male operator said: "Dial the room number. Thank you. Goodbye." and then hung up on me.

Finally, the hotel had a shortage of English-language papers in the lobby. Surely a 5-star hotel can do better than one or two copies of USA Today.

Really enjoyed our stay

For starters the location is wonderful. It is literally across the street from the Pantheon and a short and enjoyable stroll to the Piazza Navona. We ate in all of the restaurants in the hotel and thought the food was terrific. The best part of the hotel is the rooftop restaurant. It has a view which encompass the entire city. Decor in our large room was contemporary, bright and cheerful. People in the hotel could not have been more helpful. I would go back tomorrow for another stay and recommend hotel highly.

Excellant

I stayed at this hotel 2 years ago in one of their suites. I was treated with the utmost respect and thoroughlly enjoyed my stay there. When I return to Rome, I will stay there again. Although it is a bit pricey, the service makes up for it all and the rooms a clean and furnished with everything you could need.