La Maison Royale

( Rome , Italy )

This was the worst place to stay in Rome. Their website describes it as newly opened prestigious B&B ...rooms are furnished with style and elegance. Every detail has been carefully looked after. All rooms are equipped with private bath en suite with Jacuzzi, TV, A/C, mini bar, hair dry... Don't believe anything on the website. Well the moment we got there we found the air conditioner was not working. The room had two fans in the corner to use. But in order to use the fans you had to unplug the only two lamps in the room. Since you had to the leave the windows open you could hear all the noise and traffic from the street below. We couldn't sleep. The water in the bathroom came out in a trickle and the shower head was broken. The jacuzzi didn't work either. The next morning the toilet wouldn't flush and the toilet seat broke off. The TV was so tiny you couldn't watch it anyway. The management refused to fix the problems. We left the Atlante B&B to find a better place for our family. I would not recommend this hotel.

The room was good and big, but the Maison is in a busy avenue, so there is a lot of noise, and down stairs there is a sex shop, I think we were lucky we were on holidays and that shop was closed the whole time, however it is very close to the vatican and Saint Peter square. The check in is in the hotel next on the corner. The breakfast was very good.

We stayed three nights in La Maison Royale in early September 2007, and had booked online through Venere.com. The rooms matched the descriptions that were given on the web. We were 5 people (adults and children) and had booked a triple and a double room. We were given two rooms with 4 beds each (each time 1 double and 2 single), and the rooms interconnected. So, it was perfect space-wise. The reception at the Atlante hotel (****) next-door provided all the advice and info needed for the stay and for a Rome visit. Breakfast in the Atlante Hotel next door was good. Some reviews mentioned a lot of street noice, but we found it was pretty much OK. Rooms had AC, TV (some 20+ Italian channels), bath tub with Jacuzzi (in one of the two rooms ("F1") the jacuzzi did not work), and fridge. The building has a lovely old, wooden elevator. The Maison Royale is at 5 minutes (or less) from the Vatican, and about same from nearest bus stop. Enough restaurants in neighbourhood to eat and/or get take-out pizza. Shopping street at 2-3 minutes walking distance. Old Rome is further and you best take public transport to get there. Note that by calling the hotel in advance, you can request them for airport pick-up. In short: perfect if you are several people (incl with kids), want to stay in Rome in comfort, but don^t want to spend a fortune. A few other tips in Rome: we avoided the queues in the Colosseum by taking a guide (at the entrance you have people offering guide-services). We did not realize that the same ticket also gave access to the Palatine Hill if you went teh same day. Also, children with a EU passport don't have to pay in Colsseum if they show their passport.

The staff were very helpful and friendly. We had an excellent stay.

A nice apartment in a nice place