Rome Cavalieri, A Waldorf Astoria Hotel

Rome Cavalier, A Waldorf Astoria hotel. For its luxurious atmosphere and exceptional service. Staffs were very welcoming and friendly. Room was immaculate and luxurious. Amenities were high-end bath products impressive Spa was beautiful and amazing Spa helped me relax, therapist Carmen was amazing. She is dual, hydrated my face skin and relaxed my muscle

It was 35 Deg C and the city was mental with crowds. We loved every minute of the Vatican, Colosseum and more... but this hotel made it all come together. First, the breakfast is AMAZING. As a Gold member we received it complementary and it was out of this world. From the freshly made juices (you pick your fruit and veggies and voila!) to the coffee, breads, hot foods and more. Even pancakes for the little dude and the staff could not be nicer! super helpful and kind. All overlooking the beautiful pool. Speaking of which - the pool was incredible! HUGE! Cool! and DEEP (note for non-swimmers this is not for you as even the shallow end is deep - although there are a lot of pool noodles to help). We spent hours in it and met fabulous people from all over the world. There is a kids pool too and one day they had this huge blowup water slide thing which was epic! our 11yo beyond loved it. The food and drinks at the pool are expensive but worth it for a treat. The gym is also OUTSTANDING and showers spotless (we checked out and spent the afternoon and then showered at the gym/spa and it was perfect). LOCATION: We walked to the Vatican no problem - it was a 20ish min walk down hill. We are city people and found it an easy walk with sidewalks... there are a few restaurants close by for dinner - one fabulous pizza place (al 384) but MUST have a reservation. And there are supermarkets for drinks and such. ROOMS: are HUGE and perfect for 3... We had the side without the good view but nice sunset - but request the view of the city as it is out of this world. OVERALL - our only regret is that we couldnt stay longer. we will be back!

• Breakfast (main issue): As part of a congress, we were forced to eat breakfast in a separate hall, not in the main restaurant. The room was noisy, smelled strongly of bacon, had large round tables with oversized tablecloths (a tripping hazard), dirty chairs, and an atmosphere more like a cheap mass event than a 5-star hotel. Service was below 4-star standard. When I asked to eat in the main breakfast area, I was told it was the same breakfast but I would have to pay €25 extra just to sit there. Very disappointing and not acceptable for a luxury hotel. • Room standard: Spacious, but not 5-star level. Very confusing light switches, outdated bathroom, noisy and inefficient air conditioning, no bedside phone charging (only at the desk). • Service: Staff often unfriendly and dismissive. At check-in, the explanation about the credit card deposit was given in a condescending way, in front of other guests. • Bar experience: Six drinks (mostly beer) cost nearly €90. Service was slow, and when we went to the bar to pay (because we had to leave), the waiter’s attitude was rude. Overall, this feels far from a true 5-star experience. The breakfast situation in particular left me very frustrated and disappointed. I expected much more from a Waldorf Astoria.

Let me start off by saying that there is a lot of historical significance to this hotel, having been opened by Conrad Hilton himself. This property has housed some of the world’s finest dignitaries from all over the world, including US President Barack Obama, as well as having housed several celebrities on multiple occasions. From the moment you enter the property, you are greeted by a grand lobby that brings you back in time to an era where luxury hotels set themselves apart by amazing decor and furniture. However, it seemed like throughout the entire stay, I found myself trying to justify little things that kept on going wrong throughout the duration of the stay, until I finally gave up trying to make excuses for the property. First, I’ll start with the Pros. We were greeted very nicely by Nicola at reception, who I am sorry to say would be the first, and last, time we had a truly above-and-beyond experience by any of the staff members. Check-in was a breeze, and he did a great job at making me and my family feel at home. We also had room service upon arriving the first night, and the service was fast and the food was excellent (by the way, the room service hamburger is of the best hamburgers I’d had in a very long time). Also, the view from the room was absolutely amazing. The view itself was a big selling point for this property, and it did not disappoint. For those that are wondering, there is a shuttle that leaves you at the “city center”, within 20-30 minutes walking distance of most of the city’s famous attractions. This hotel is at the top of a hill, so do not expect to walk to any of the main ‘sites’ of Rome. Now, let’s stat with the Cons. While the room service was good the first day, there was no menu to be found anywhere in the room (I found myself asking the telephone operator if X was available to order, ultimately landing upon a cheeseburger and a margarita pizza). There was a “menu” on the television that was so glitchy that it was just not usable. In fact, it wasn’t until the second night that I realized there was a small QR code by the television that had said menu, and even offered the opportunity to order room service through the QR code. I was taken to a website that had a large menu of offerings, and I attempted to order via the website the next day, however the order kept glitching, until ultimately I ended up calling the operator to place my order again. The second time around, my bottle of sparkling water was not delivered, with the person delivering my meal at first not acknowledging the missing item, even though the receipt clearly labeling the item. He went back to get the bottle, and my family and I waited about 30 minutes before he would ultimately return with our sparkling water. By then, the meal was cold, and while still good, made for a less than delicious experience. The room… was dirty. When we arrived, there were stains in the walls of the room, as well as in the bathroom itself. There was also masking tape on the ceiling of the room, as if they had painted the room and forgot to remove the masking tape from parts of the room. Throughout the duration of the stay, the housekeeping staff did do a good job at cleaning the room, but when we first arrived, it was not the clean, pristine room you’d expect to arrive to for a luxury property. The bathroom… I realize this is an older property, but we kept having multiple issues with our toilet. At first, the toilet would only flush “half the time”, meaning that sometimes it would flush, sometimes it would not, as if there was no water pressure. I made a request via the Text Message service (I received a message when I first arrived to let them know if I needed anything), and received no response. Nothing was fixed. I then let the staff at the lobby know about the issue, and when I messaged the property on the Hilton App to confirm that the bathroom was fixed (we were out and about), I never received any confirmation. We thankfully arrived to see that it had been ‘fixed”, to the extent that the toilet did work for about 6 hours, only to get stuck again in the middle of the night with water running. I called, and someone came by to fix it again… The toilet would continue to half-work throughout the stay, working for a while, then not working for 30 minutes or so at a time, before working again… It was a nightmare, especially when 3 people were sharing the bathroom. Staff… was what I could best describe was not wanting to be there. This wasn’t just one or two people, but throughout the property, including at the restaurant. But the most memorable experience was probably when I was checking out, where the person checking me out just rudely gave me my receipt and said “You better check everything now, because we won’t allow for any dispute on anything once you leave.” Excuse me? Not even asking “how was your stay?” Or “We wish you a safe travel back,” but rather a very rude accusation that I would try and dispute the charges. Everything was in order, and not even a smile from his face as he checked me out. I actually was hoping he would have asked me about how things were during our stay, because I would’ve mentioned the less-than-friendly staff, the multiple issues with our bathroom, and other things, including a dirty bathroom upon arrival, and things like masking tape on the ceilings of our room that did not make the property feel “Waldorf Astoria”-like. Like I said, at first I kept making excuses for the staff as well as the inconveniences… “Oh, they have a wedding, so they are probably all busy… Oh, they had a lot of people checking in the day before, so they’re probably swamped with other requests…” but then I had to remind myself that this wasn’t a Hampton by Hilton, this wasn’t a Homewood Suites, this was a Waldorf Astoria property. Why am I making excuses for sub-par service? Next time, I’ll book the Aleph Rome, a Curio Collection by Hilton hotel. I had been wanting to stay at this property for a while not, and now that I have… I have gotten it out of my system and won’t be making the same mistake again.

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.