Baglioni Hotel Regina

Our stay at Baglioni Hotel Regina was fine overall, but it wasn’t particularly memorable. The hotel feels tired and dated, and while our room was a good size and clean, the overall experience lacked anything special. Breakfast was served in a beautiful, spacious room. The buffet was fairly typical of a large hotel, although the coffee was good and the service excellent. The small bar was another positive, with great cocktails and attentive service. The location is something to consider carefully. The hotel sits uphill from the Spanish Steps and the main sightseeing areas. After a full day exploring Rome on foot, that final climb back felt like an effort. I imagine it would be even less appealing in warm weather. There was nothing seriously wrong with our stay, but nothing that would draw us back either. Next time, we would choose somewhere closer to the areas where we spent most of our time eg: Piazza Navona with less of an uphill walk home.

A Leading Hotels of the World member that failed at basic hospitality Membership in The Leading Hotels of the World creates expectations. LHW describes its member hotels as delivering “superlative service” and evaluates them against demanding quality standards. Measured against that public commitment, the Baglioni Hotel Regina failed miserably during our stay. The hotel is beautiful, its location excellent, and its food very good. Its service was another matter entirely. We stayed for our tenth wedding anniversary, following exemplary hospitality and service aboard our cruise and in the restaurants we visited during our sixteen-day vacation. The Baglioni became the conspicuous disappointment. Our suite was unavailable at the confirmed 2:00 PM check-in time, with no advance warning—even when we dropped off our luggage that morning. We had organized our afternoon around that time, allowing us to change before an appointment and then on to our anniversary photography session. Instead, we had to carry our luggage downstairs to a tiny room in the spa, unpack and change there, then carry our luggage back upstairs. This disruption forced us to cancel the appointment preceding our photographs. On our last evening, we simply wanted to enjoy the complimentary champagne the hotel had provided. I requested ice for the champagne so that it would be chilled before dinner. It never arrived. Such a simple request, yet it went unfulfilled. When I asked at the front desk about this, the response I got was, “I told them to do it!” A gracious gesture was undermined by the inability to complete the most elementary accompanying service. On departure morning, we followed instructions to telephone for luggage assistance. My wife and I called repeatedly. No one answered. We carried our luggage downstairs ourselves, only to discover that maintenance work on the lobby floor prevented us from exiting the elevator. There was also a water interruption, which I accept may have been beyond the hotel’s control. After the water was restored, my wife barely had time to shower. I had no time at all. While my assessment does not depend on this incident alone, it certainly made our experience more frustrating. The preventable failures in communication, responsiveness, and follow-through were sufficient on their own. These were ordinary requests and expectations with foreseeable responsibilities. None required exceptional ingenuity. However, we eventually lost enough confidence in the hotel due to their fumbling and bungling that I arranged our airport transport myself rather than risk another complication. The general manager subsequently acknowledged the service deficiencies, offered gracious apologies, and said the team would learn from our experience. I accepted his apology. However, we booked a distinguished luxury hotel expecting it to have already mastered the fundamentals of hospitality. Though we received a beautifully written, carefully crafted apology from the general manager, the care evident in that correspondence should have been evident during our stay. We paid a premium for what we thought would be an experience commensurate with LHW standards. What we got were courteous apologies for our Hotel 6 experience. A prestigious affiliation raises expectations; it does not excuse failing to meet them. At the Baglioni, it was clear that if you want to experience even the most elementary components of hospitality, you must pursue them repeatedly. Based on our experience, dependable service at the Baglioni is questionable, and I urge travelers—particularly those celebrating a special occasion—to consider many other Rome hotels first.

I have stayed at luxury hotels throughout the world, and I can honestly say that our experience at the Baglioni Hotel in Rome was one of the most disappointing I have encountered. What should have been a wonderful conclusion to an extraordinary 12-day trip through Italy with my 87-year-old mother turned into a complete disaster. The problems began the moment we arrived. Despite having a confirmed and prepaid reservation arranged months in advance through our travel agency, the front desk insisted that we had no reservation, only an unconfirmed offer, and informed us that the hotel was fully booked! Imagine arriving at what is supposed to be a five-star luxury property with your 87-year-old mother, only to be told that you have no room despite having paid for one. Our travel representative immediately intervened and confirmed that the hotel had incorrectly recorded the reservation under another name, even though our correct names had been provided in July. Because the hotel initially insisted that it was sold out, I was forced to secure alternative accommodations nearby rather than risk being stranded. Eventually, the hotel located our reservation, but then informed us that our room was not ready and could not tell us when it would be available. After further intervention, they finally provided a room. Unfortunately, this was only the beginning. The housekeeping and attention to basic guest requests were equally unacceptable. We had requested a twin-bedded room, yet the beds were not properly arranged. Despite repeated requests over multiple days, including directly asking housekeeping to correct the problem, the beds remained separated and improperly made. My mother also had to specifically request that the bathroom be cleaned, and she felt that housekeeping seemed annoyed by these basic requests. Even after the hotel’s management and sales team had been made aware of our complaints, the problems continued. At approximately 10:00 p.m. on our final evening, the beds STILL had not been corrected. To its credit, the hotel offered a room upgrade and a complimentary dinner in an attempt to apologize. However, an upgrade and a dinner cannot compensate for repeated failures to deliver even the most basic standards of hospitality. The experience was so unpleasant that we made the decision to leave Rome and return home a day early. We canceled our final day’s activities, including a planned golf outing, because we simply did not want to spend another night at this property. What makes this particularly disappointing is that we had spent nearly two weeks enjoying exceptional hospitality at other luxury properties throughout Italy. Every other hotel and golf club went out of its way to make my mother feel welcome and comfortable. Baglioni was the single negative experience of an otherwise extraordinary trip. A hotel that markets itself as a luxury five-star property should be judged not simply by its décor or room rates, but by its professionalism, organization, housekeeping, service, and ability to resolve problems. In our experience, Baglioni failed miserably in these fundamental areas. I would never stay here again, and I cannot recommend this property to anyone expecting genuine five-star luxury hospitality, particularly when traveling with an elderly family member. Extremely disappointing, completely avoidable, and simply unacceptable for a hotel of this supposed caliber.

We booked the 2 bedroom family room. The setup was very strange. It was two separate hotel rooms that shared a small entry way. Each room had its own key. There was a main door with an actual metal key and deadbolt. There was no way to have both rooms fully open to each other. Instead of a large connected 2 rooms, each room felt very isolated. Each room also had two bathrooms (4 total) which seemed like a complete waste. It could easily be reconfigured to create a shared space or sitting area. On a positive note, the location is fantastic. The staff were very welcoming and attentive.

A very nice hotel with friendly, professional staff, a very nice breakfast buffet, and a great evening restaurant.