Golden Tulip Bellambriana - Rome, Italy     

My wife and I stayed here for 6 nights in June while I attended a conference. The hotel is located in a suburban area outside of Rome, nowhere near the city attractions. The buses are unreliable, it's a 25 minute walk to the metro stop, and the cab drivers can't find it. The people at the front desk should be doing anything other than dealing with people. They make no attempt at being friendly or helpful. This is where it gets good. When we went to check out, the guy at the front desk informed me that I had the room booked for one more night. I showed him my reservation confirmation, showing the check out for that day and a reservation for another hotel in northern Italy for that night and his response was: "you have the room booked for one more night and you have to pay." He could not show me any papers indicating that I had the room for one more night. After a heated discussion, my wife and I left and walked to the bus stop with our luggage. About 5 minutes later, 2 guys drive up and tell me to get back to the hotel. I refused to get in the car so one of them "escorted" me back to the hotel on foot, leaving my wife and the luggage at the bus stop. I was taken to a room behind the front desk where I argued with 4 characters for about 20 minutes. Then the police showed up. To make a long story short, a discussion in Italian ensued and after another 15 minutes or so, a policeman asked for my confirmation paper. He looked at it and let me go. I walked back to the bus stop, where my shaken wife was waiting. If you are going to Rome, get a hotel in the city.

I stayed here for a conference in the convention centre near the Leonardo Di Vinci Airport, and it was one of the hotels recommended by the conference web page. The hotel is modern and has a nice pool area, the room was comfortable and clean, but the air conditioning would switch on for a minute then switch itself off - not good when its 28 degrees. It is also miles from anywhere. The nearest metro stations are a 15 minute or more walk, which is fine but the last tube is at 2230. But getting to the conference centre was a nightmare by public transport. Luckily the hotel did provide a limited shuttle service. I would not recommend this hotel if you are traveling to Rome for a tour of the sites as it is a 25 Euro taxi ride to the centre and the main attractions.