River Palace Hotel - Rome, Italy     

A really good hotel for a reasonable price in Rome. In fact I don't think we could've found anywhere better for the money we paid. The finish of the hotel was to a really high standard, the reception staff, concierge, bar staff, in fact nearly all staff we encountered couldn't be more helpful. The turndown service with chocolates and the weather forecast for the next day was a nice touch. The location is excellent. Within minutes of a metro stop and a 10 minute stroll at most to the Spanish Steps. The only downside was that the service at breakfast was a bit hit and miss. However certainly not bad enough to be a major concern and the food was of a good standard. All in all I would definitely recommend this hotel to anyone visiting Rome.

Stayed here in Dec 15 - 18 th 2007, we had booked the Celebration Package for 500 Euros. The reason we did this was mainly because of the inclusion in the price of 1x transfer and a meal for 2 in the Hotel Restaurant. I had read that the Taxis operating between Ciampino and the City basically try to charge what they like if they think they can get away with it TIP. The local Government has passed ruling that the journey will be charged at no more than 30 Euros - tell the taxi driver that you know this and you will get no probs. The collection from Ciampino was problem free and the driver took on a bit of a detour around the interesting sights on the route to the hotel. The Hotel itself was a nice surprise and the photos on here dont really do it justice. The staff are without exception excellent although a little overrun at times in the Restaurant especially at breakfast time. The room we expected to get was an upgraded one from the Classic, to be honest I dont know if we actually got the upgrade as offered or not. On the first day / night we could not get the Air Con to blow warm so had to contact reception who sent a man who couldent fix it and so we were given a room change next day. All we had to do was to pack our cases and go about our daily routine as normal - when we got back they were in our new room. Now this room was laid out difrerently, was bigger and had a bath - which is part of the upgrade offer (our original room was shower only ?!?) Anyway the heating worked so we were happy. The Bar is pricey with 6 Euros for a local 0.33 beer and 7 Euros for Heineken. I know its a city and I know its a Hotel Bar but please dont try and convince me that beer costs that much. TIP. Make sure you confirm that the price list you are looking at is the same one as the barmans looking at - apparently the "Computer" which is responsible for updating the bar prices had been lazy and had not produced up to date price lists for the tables in the bar guest area ??! Hello - anyone at home here !!??? Also make sure if you need to drink Heineken, that you are given Heineken and not the Nastro Azzuro "by mistake" The restaurant is very well run and produces very good food. Unfortunately my wife is a Coeliac sufferer and once we had made this clear to the management they produced a Gluten Free 3 course meal for her without fuss. Breakfast can be a bit of a battle trying to avail yourself of all the usual things like plates, (always usefull and glasses (ditto) but once this hurdle is cleared its full steam ahead. The location is very good with all popular sights and amenities within 20 mins walk. The only complaint - and it is only minor is the TV setup. Its got too many foreign language channels to be any more than mildly interesting to English speakers. I mean how long can anyone listen to CNN without going stark raving bonkers. There is also Eurosport but again how much of minority sports can be suffered at a sitting. There are a number of pay to view film channels - but most of them you would not want you kids to watch. So a bit tedious mostly. Theres also a minibar which in our case simply served as a stand for the TV and could have been left out of the room amenities in favour of something more usefull. - Does anyone ever need a chocolate bar in a hurry in the middle of the night anyway - I dont know ?! Getting around was a bit puzzling at first as the day ticket we bought had "Metrobus" on it - OK is it for the Metro ? (underground) or the Bus ? (overground) - we were sent to 3 different Stops at the junction down from the Hotel before asking a local what it all meant. Shortly thereafter we were on the Metro on the way to our destination and the mystery was solved. Eating out - bear in mind if you sit outside it costs extra on top of the food price, and if you sit inside its less - simple as that ! Overall a very enjoyable experience, having read a great many reviews on this site for this holiday and most others, I have to say you get what you pay for mostly. Dont go with huge expectations and be reasonable regarding what you have paid for the holiday. Do your homework and in my experience it will pay great dividends. SUMMARY: We loved this Hotel and were surprised by the high standard of the whole deal. If you have paid for the Celebration package make sure that you get what they offer - in particular the rooms, they are all "compact" but some are more compact than others. TIP The rooms with BATHS are bigger. TIP If the Air Con isnt doing what its meant to - tell them immediately. TIP The rooms on the outside (street side) are fairly noisy (more so if on lower levels) The rooms on the inside (overlooking an internal patio area) are quieter. Neither option has any awe inspiring views. 8/10 for this Hotel - I would recommend it to a friend. Frank Delacoe