Hotel Selene - Pomezia, Italy 

I recently stayed at the Hotel Selene as it's near my office in Pomezia. I have travelled to the area many, many times before and my stay at the Selene was worse than many stays I've had at properties costing half as much. The hotel has recently been refurbished, and looks like a modern hotel with the usual dark wood panelling, flat screen TVs in the rooms, modern plush bathrooms and all the facilities you'd expect from a 4 star business class hotel. But don't let that lull you into a false sense of security. The reason I stayed at the hotel was it's proximity to my office, so that I didn't have to spend hours in the traffic jams which often occur on the commute in and out of the city of Rome (where I'd usually stay) and therefore I wouldn't have to get up so early and have a short trip to work. In theory that works fine, but in practice getting up at a later hour at the Selene is really not a great idea. The hot water seems to be limited and ran out on 2 out of 3 mornings, I expect it's related to the number of guests staying, but I was there out of season when the hotel was fairly quiet and so I dread to think what it's like when it's busy. So I had to take cold showers - a bracing, and not entirely pleasant experience to start the day. Complaining to the front desk didn't seem to make any difference. The first time I was told to let the tap run for a while (like I hadn't already tried that!), the second time I complained they took my room number, and I never heard anything else about it. On the third occasion they again took my room number, and when I got back after work that day i asked if anything had been done, the reception staff didn't seem to know anything about it, but sent someone to my room when of course there was plenty of hot water available! Then there's the breakfast room/restaurant. The hotel states that breakfast is served until 10am. But if you arrive at any time after around 9.30am the staff greet you with barely concealed contempt; as though you've just ruined their plans to finish early. Expect surly service, if they even talk to you at all - I had to find the waiter and request coffee, which was then unceremoniously dumped on the table in front of me, and the waiter left immediately leaving me to search other tables for sugar (I couldn't find any). The truth is though that the breakfast is a delight compared to eating in the restaurant for an evening meal. I went to the restaurant at around 9pm, and it was around a third full, with plenty of available tables. Despite this I was basically ignored for 15 minutes before being sat at a table. Then it took another 20 minutes for the Maitre D' to take my order, and another 50 minutes after that for my appetizer to arrive . Bearing in mind the restaurant wasn't busy, and there were plenty of waiting staff and kitchen staff working there I thought it unacceptable. The food itself was of dubious quality for the price. My main course of a grilled pork chop was totally drenched in olive oil which was all that I could taste, and it was not properly cooked, most of it was pink, but the thicker parts were almost raw. It also came with some potatoes which were stone cold. Needless to say I left most of it, but never once did anyone ask me if the meal was to my satisfaction, or even when they took the plate did they comment that it was largely untouched. My impression is that they must be used to guests not eating much of their meals and have become used to it. Anyway, lastly the price. The restaurant at the Selene is in the moderately expensive bracket, and is quite possibly the worst food I've ever had in Italy - and I am a regular visitor. The hotel itself is also not cheap, at least 25-40 Euros per night more than the other hotels locally. So my advice if you need to stay in Pomezia is check in to one of the other options available, or if you're visiting Rome itself stay somewhere else entirely.

Salve da Anna Maria! Dal 28 dicembre al 2 gennaio 2008, in occasione del Capodanno, siamo stati presso il Best Western hotel Selene ****di Pomezia con 87 persone appartenenti all’associazione culturale che rappresento. L'hotel Selene (completamente ristrutturato) è un albergo di 195 stanze dotate dei più moderni comfort, a pochi km da Roma, una struttura ideale per ogni tipo di soggiorno, che rispetta anche per i gruppi la qualità riservata agli individuali. Il nostro soggiorno è stato eccellente: ottimi servizi, animazione e alta qualità di ristorazione. Professionalità del personale e gentilezza sono state la nota distintiva della struttura. Ringrazio e saluto cordialmente (anche a nome del gruppo) il Vice Direttore la signora Caterina Giffuni, che ha curato nei particolari l'organizzazione e tutto lo Staff, per la cortese collaborazione e disponibilità. Consiglio questo hotel e assegno il punteggio 10 e lode!