Rome Cavalieri, A Waldorf Astoria Hotel

My wife and I had the distinct privilege of staying at this 5 star hotel during the Italian Open. Rumor has it that Janik Sinner was also staying there, but we did not see him. The hotel is fabulous - breathtaking beauty and attention to detail. The pool area and view of Rome the city is wonderful, and we also took advantage of the clay tennis courts, for some hitting and lessons, since we are tennis fanatics. Overall, very pleased with the value at this hotel. It's uber expensive, but worth it for a splurge. No complaints whatsoever - just a lovely stay.

Fantastic hotel, brilliant rooms , we loved the hotel! The reception staff friendly and the breakfast delicious. The pool is amazing. Great for kids too, we hope to return soon! The staff at concierge were super helpful as were reception and the bar staff.

My daughter and I stayed here for four nights during the Rome portion of our trip. We knew it would be slightly inconvenient for sightseeing but having a pool during the August heat was our top priority. I can't say enough great things about the staff. We felt so welcomed from the moment we arrived. The experience was so over the top that it was hard to stay at other hotels during our trip because the bar was set so high. The room looked exactly like the photos. We had a room on the 6th floor with an amazing city view. It was clean and comfortable. The air conditioning was the best of any hotel on our trip. Our room was always made up while we were out and we had no issues. Similar to another review our minibar was never restocked during our stay. I rarely use the minibar but we had resort credits from the Hilton credit card and there are no convenience stores nearby. My daughter used the kids club 2 of the days of our stay while I used the fitness center. Had I known how much my daughter would love it we would have used it every day. It was open daily from 2:30 - 7:00. It's a room filled with every activity imaginable and had two nice staff members including Flavia who has been mentioned in reviews for years. They have activities, sports, video games, and special snacks (popcorn the first day, cotton candy the second day). The fitness center is large and stocked with modern equipment. It's on the same level as the spa and pools so you can get a key for the locker room and use the showers. The pools were amazing especially with the 100F temperature. As others have said they are deep and the definition of lifeguard is a bit different than what I've seen at other resorts. The lifeguard brings you towels and chair cushions and is often not watching the pool. Even the smaller pool is over four feet deep. There are also hedges around the smaller pool so you cannot see into the pool from most of the chairs. Swim caps are not required. I had brought some after reading other reviews but that must have only been a pandemic time requirement. Because the resort is isolated, food and drink by the pool is quite popular. The service and wait times for food are honestly pretty awful. There are so many amazing employees working in every area of this hotel to make it perfect. It's quite surprising that they only have 1-2 people serving the really large area that covers two pools and then the orders take so long to prepare and deliver. If your primary goal is sightseeing Rome this is honestly not the best choice unless you are prepared to drive or take taxis everywhere. If you want a resort with pools to lounge at during the day then it's a good choice. The shuttle was comfortable and on time, but only runs hourly and the breaks and end of service line up with when you would likely be eating. We had the same driver most of the trip and he was a very safe driver and took the curvy hills at gentle speeds. Lunch in Rome is typically 1 PM so if you sight see in the morning and then eat lunch you will need to take a Taxi back to the hotel or be stuck during the hottest part of the day. Similarly dinner is typically late and the last shuttle leaves at 9 so we needed to take a Taxi back almost every night. There was only one pizzeria Al 384 that was in walking distance of the hotel in a local neighborhood. It was fantastic and filled with locals as well as one other family from the resort when we we went. The hotel has two restaurants. The Michelin star La Pergola was closed for August break during our stay. We ate lunch at Uliveto one day and I was honestly jealous of the kids menu. It wasn't even a price issue, it was just a lack of light dishes during lunch time. I think it contributes to the massive amount of people ordering room service or eating by the pool that you will encounter during your stay as those menus have much lighter options. The breakfast which was included as Diamond members was quite honestly one of the best buffets I've ever seen at any property in the world. It was a multi-room array of every type of breakfast food you could ever ask for with special touches like a smoothie bar. There was an older gentleman who was constantly walking around the buffet making sure the fresh juices were stirred and that every dish and utensil looked perfect. A sad child learned that the giant Nutella pump had run empty (yes thats a real thing they have) and this guy was on top of it in seconds quickly returning with a full one. I don't think I'll ever be back to Rome in August, but if I did return I would certainly consider this hotel again. I think if I was back purely for sight-seeing I would probably stay in the city center. But this hotel will leave a lasting impression as one of the most amazing properties I've ever visited.

We keep coming back to Rome because of this hotel. Everything is good, and you get away from the busy center (only 15 min away). Rooms are fantastic- take an imperial room to get access to the lounge and stunning views over Rome and the Vatican. Outdoor area is superb, pool, spa, restaurants, bar and service. Really a 5 star experience. We will be back every year.

The Rome Cavalieri enjoys a commanding position above the city, affording a view which, from the balcony of my suite, could almost persuade one that the inconveniences of the property were trivial. Almost. Its location in Montemario, however, is decidedly outside Rome proper; one depends upon a shuttle to reach anything of interest. My accommodation — an unexpected upgrade — was, I imagine, the result of one of two things: either the spa closure, or the fact that this was the first property all summer at which I had written ahead to note my revenue Diamond status. At other Hiltons in Europe this year, Diamond produced little of consequence: a cramped junior suite in Dublin with a neck-wrenching television and drapes that fell from their rail; a more generous suite in Porto where the service was adversarial from the moment of arrival. In truth, Diamond has been oversold; Hilton ought to distinguish between revenue and non-revenue guests. Here, however, they followed through. Whether that was due to my email, the spa closure, or both, I appreciated the gesture. The suite was furnished in a manner best described as Empire Revival, with swags, tassels, and floral embroidery in a palette that suggested grandeur but achieved little more than weight. Breakfast in the main breakfast room was a far superior experience, both in quality and atmosphere, with commendable tomatoes and friendly, attentive service. The Imperial Club, by contrast, operated on a schedule of four daily servings: breakfast, lunch, tea, and “pre-dinner.” In these other sittings, one felt the weight of entering an established social club: newcomers are ignored until their usefulness is established, while others are greeted with effusion. The edict that “shoes are required after 6 pm” is enforced with the solemnity of a church rule, which is perhaps why the atmosphere tends toward the censorious. Dining was not the property’s strength. My decision to enjoy the evening view with a pizza and a beer resulted in a sweet, unpleasant concoction which was returned. Its successor was only marginally improved. The waiter’s expression conveyed what his words could not: he knew. The spa, one of the ostensible jewels of the establishment, was closed. When I asked whether access might be arranged at another facility, I received a curt refusal through the Hilton app. By that point, however, the matter had already been decided in public view. I had stood within earshot of the spa manager at her own front desk, raising her voice in Italian into the telephone, making it abundantly clear that no guest would be sent elsewhere and that she had no intention of paying for another spa. I understood every word. What followed was a studied pretense that the scene had not occurred. A massage on-site was later offered, but the proposition was hollow: having heard the manager announce her refusal in front of staff and guests alike, there was no possibility of accepting the gesture in good faith. All further attempts I made to register this point went unanswered. The matter was not resolved. It was simply erased. Housekeeping was consistently good; my room was cleaned each morning while I was at breakfast. The marble bathroom was lovely, and the water pressure exemplary — though perhaps it is telling that the plumbing left a more favorable impression than the service. In sum: the Cavalieri presents the appearance of leisure while exuding the unmistakable mood of a Hilton. I’ve been burning through 800,000 Hilton points this summer, staying in Curios, Full Hiltons, Waldorfs, and Conrads. In each instance, I have found an underlying sense of malaise consistent to the brand. People are, more often than not, in a bad mood. I cannot imagine returning.