Hotels

We chose 3 nights at Aldrovandi Palace as our Roman Honeymoon stay prior to our Cruise to Athens. The hotel is located in the north end of Villa Borghese away from hustle-bustle part of the city and... more

We chose 3 nights at Aldrovandi Palace as our Roman Honeymoon stay prior to our Cruise to Athens. The hotel is located in the north end of Villa Borghese away from hustle-bustle part of the city and that promises a relaxing, tranquil, surrounded by beautiful green environment. Upon arrival, we were upgraded to a Garden View room as soon as the front desk found out that we were on honeymoon. We explored the Spanish Steps area since our assigned room was not ready; what a surprise that a chilled bottle of bubbly and cookies awaited us in our room! The room was nice size for two of us with high ceiling overlooking the garden and the pool. We didn't feel congested at all. A typical two-singles-put-together King size bed (standard for any European hotel) and a well-lit full bathroom. The breakfast buffet is wonderful, so be sure to include it when booking. The lobby bar serves food even after midnight. The hotel shuttle van runs every 30 min. to the Spanish Steps except between 1300-1400 hours. Reserve your return seat to the hotel especially at night since many guests tend to show up late night at the pickup point, and the van can only hold 8 passengers. We walked everywhere right thouth the Villa Borghese even late night and discovered so many beautiful spots overlooking the city. It's a nice 20 min. walk crossing the Villa. We only used taxi to the Vatican (about 12 Euro). We purposely walked to enjoy everything about Rome on foot and enjoyed side-tracking. Bring a good pair of walking shoes to walk on many uneven serface and hills. If you enjoy walking around the town, this hotel is a truly wonderful place to stay. We are so glad that we chose Aldrovandi Palace and planning on another stay in the future. We highly recommend this hotel. Close

Overall i thought the hotel was excellent.The staff were very professional.The only downside was the bed.It was rock hard,as was my brother in laws bed. We were told that they were all like it... more

Overall i thought the hotel was excellent.The staff were very professional.The only downside was the bed.It was rock hard,as was my brother in laws bed. We were told that they were all like it. Also, the only way of cooling the room was to keep the window open as the Air Con was turned off at this time of year. This resulted in a dozen or so insect bites. My family had not told the Hotel that it was my birthday, but i did arrive in my room that evening to find a bottle of Sparkling on ice. A very nice touch. All in all it was a very nice experience. just a shame about the bed and the temperature. Close

My husband and I ended a 3 week European holiday with a 5 day stay at the Aldrovandi. This hotel truly earns its five star rating. The building and decor are coolly elegant, modern yet richly... more

My husband and I ended a 3 week European holiday with a 5 day stay at the Aldrovandi. This hotel truly earns its five star rating. The building and decor are coolly elegant, modern yet richly Italian in design and "feel". Both the public spaces and the rooms were immaculately clean and well-maintained. They offer a wonderful turn down service in the evenings that makes you feel even more catered to. The breakfast buffet was simply amazing - abundant, varied and delicous food, beautifully presented and offered with gracious, attentive service. Speaking of service, I can't say enough about the staff - we Americans could learn alot from the studying the staff - at all levels - at this hotel. The concierge Mario was especially helpful, professional and just incredibly service-oriented. The shuttle service was great and being out of the wonderful but chaotic center of Rome was very relaxing as was staying in the midst of the beautiful Borghese Gardens. Also, we totally enjoyed the outdoor spaces, which were not at all for exclusive use of guests of Baby, contrary to another reviewer's comment, and we were able to use the shuttle service whenever we needed/wanted it. Close

The hotel is elegant and beautiful, apart from the awkward manekins that greet you in the lobby. The pool/garden area is lovely but you can't sit out during the evening unless you're eating at Baby... more

The hotel is elegant and beautiful, apart from the awkward manekins that greet you in the lobby. The pool/garden area is lovely but you can't sit out during the evening unless you're eating at Baby restaurant and the inside lounge is rather gloomy. The food options are very limited if you're not eating at Baby. The alternative 'Grill' restaurant only serves snacks and salads and strangely nothing 'grilled'. Breakfast is very good but a bit chaotic. The shuttle bus service to the spanish steps would be handy if it wasn't booked up in advance for the times you're likely to want to use it. I enjoyed my stay overall but will rather stay somehwere else with outside space that you can hang out in in the evening and more relaxed dining options. Close

We booked this hotel for our honeymoon visit to Rome. The majority of reviews have been really good but I was concerned about a couple of negative ones I had read just before my trip. However, I... more

We booked this hotel for our honeymoon visit to Rome. The majority of reviews have been really good but I was concerned about a couple of negative ones I had read just before my trip. However, I needn't have worried as our stay was excellent. As it is important on honeymoon to keep the wife happy I had emailed the hotel beforehand about my concerns and was told that they took previous guests concerns seriously and had been addressing these. And I am glad to say my experience was they have been. Firstly on arrival the Executive Director Massimo Mainella who had replied and I can see has also been replying to comments posted on here had also taken the time to pop down and welcome us to the hotel, which I personally felt showed they take feedback really seriously and act upon it. They had kindly upgraded our room and a bottle of sparkling wine and biscuits were waiting in our room on arrival. Again this was a very nice gesture for our honeymoon and wasn't expected. We stayed in a luxury room which with a garden view. The room was large for the 2 of us and had a large bathroom with shower, bath, bidet, toilet, sink etc. Room had a good TV with a selection of international channels, not that we were watching much TV with so much to see in Rome. The Goods - Hotel was very clean and elegant. - Breakfast was fantastic and really sets you up for a day of walking around Rome. I mean they even had bottles of sparkling wine in the buffet if you were that way enclined. Personally some nice Italian coffee was fine for me to start the day. Plus it is on until 11am so you don't need to get up too early. - Checkout is 12pm which is good as some hotel make it earlier. - Staff were very professional. Always smiling and keen to help if you wanted it. I didn't learn the Italian word for No as they never said it. "Prego" seems to be the new Italian word I learned :) - Pool area was beautiful, but even though I am Scottish it was too cold even for me at this time of year :) - The management (Massimo) showed they were keen to do all they can to make the hotel as good as possible. Bads - There was nothing bad about the hotel, however location seems to be the one thing that is mentioned and the other about not having free wifi. They do now have wifi in the rooms provided by Swisscom. If you have a wifi account with a Swisscom partner like BT Openzone or some others then I believe you can just login using your account. If not then it was €9 per 24 hours for my iphone. Not sure on other prices as I didn't take a laptop. In another post by the hotel they mentioned the Business Centre was free for people to use, but I didn't go in there so don't know what facilities there were like internet etc. Location - Good or Bad? This I think depends on what you want on your visit. If you want to be in the hustle and bustle in the evening till late then I can see why some may prefer a hotel in that hustle and bustle. If you will be doing most of your walking around Rome during the day and want a nice place to retreat to in the evening then the Aldrovandi is a great place. For us, we were up early in the morning and after being fed and watered at the fantastic buffet, we were out and about Rome until evening. One morning we walked through the park which took about 15mins. However, there is the minibus that can drop you at the Spanish steps every 30 mins and also pick you up for your return for free. But you also have 2 main bus and tram routes that stop at the bus/tram stop 5m from the front door (The hotel should maybe tell people more about this). No 19 and No 3 routes. The number 19 if you get it from the same side of the road as the hotel takes you all the way to the Vatican city with various places you can hop off before if you like. If you want to go to the Colleseum or various other stops then cross the road and get on the number 3 bus/tram and you can get off all the way along the route. These services seem very frequent and also run until late. It was better than the metro in some cases as you didn't need to change. Just get on at the hotel and off at the site. Tricky part was finding the route map. So for location, once you are ready to go back to the hotel, you have various choices. One is the Free minibus from the Spanish steps. Second is a Tram or Bus no 3 or 19 from many places across the city or a taxi (Ours cost about £7.50 from the Spanish steps). And even if you do stay in another hotel in the centre, you will more than likely be using the metro or a tram/bus to get to some sites, so it is more about those times you might want to pop out of the hotel in the evening for a short time vs a very nice hotel a little further away. So all in all, the hotel was excellent, the staff very professional, the buffet breakfast was first class and for me the location was fine. One thing they could consider though it to install a Spa suite as that would really make this hotel a great place to have a luxurious trip to Rome. Hope the review was useful and have a great time in Rome, it's a lovely city with so much to see. Close