Hotel Azzura - Rome

First I want to say that prior to my trip to Rome, I did read all of the feedback on www.venere.com & TripAdvisor about this hotel. Some of the comments read: cranky old man who would take 30 minutes or more to answer the door after midnight; owner would walk around in his underwear; shower too small etc. etc. But the prospect of paying $40 Euro a night taxes & breakfast included and 5 minutes from the Trevi Fountain was more appealing to me than all of this feedback. I decided to go for it and book 1 week and then later decided to book an additional week.

This was my first time in Rome and I did not have a hard time finding the hotel because I Googled the location prior to arriving. A man buzzed me into the building. There is another hotel in this building (Hotel De Petris). So when I entered the building I saw a lift but it was specifically for the Petris Hotel. I proceeded to lug my massive suite case up the marble stairs and then the man from the Azzurra hotel shouted down to take the lift. I was confused, I thought it was for the Petris…so he came down to meet me and I then saw the “other” lift which I could take up. It was very small but this is typical in Europe. I entered the lobby of Hotel Azzurra and checked in. I went to show the man the printout of my reservations from Venere but he did not seem interested in seeing the reservation printout and said that I can pay at the end of my stay. He also told me that there was no breakfast but that he would take $2 Euro a day off of my bill. $2 Euro will buy you a cappuccino. I was shown my room and was pleasantly surprised because it looked larger than the single room shown in the hotel photos. I had a double bed and a large bathroom. There was a mini fridge as promised, a phone and 2 large windows, one in the room and one in the bathroom. There was a large wardrobe with dresser drawers and that was where the safe was located. There was a small TV that sat on a desk. I still felt uneasy about the front desk person not looking at my reservation printout. In all of the TripAdvisor feedback (and to me common sense) it is recommended to show your hotel confirmation upon arrival so that there are no surprises. I went back to the desk and showed him the first page (1st 7 days) and confirmed that the price was $40E per day and then showed him the second week’s reservation. He was not aware that I had booked for 2 weeks. He only recognized the first week.

I was given a key to my room which had to be left on the shelf behind the front desk when I left the hotel. I was also given a key to the outside door of the main building. I was not given a key to get into the Hotel Azzurra and was required to ring a bell and someone would let me in. The only time this became a problem was in the evening especially if I was out past midnight. The older man did not like it if you arrived back after midnight and would take at least 30 minutes to answer the door because he would be sleeping. One night he yelled at me and said “Don’t you sleep!” I was prepared for this because I had read about his behaviour in the feedback of others. Then on another night he told me that he had to pay the girl (that sometimes appears to stay there) $10 Euro to let people in. I was a little annoyed because this was my vacation and really I was never out super late (not that I even have to justify that), in fact most of the time I was back before midnight. I did hear other people ringing the bell for a very long time and once he let them in they made it clear that they were not impressed as it happened a few nights in a row to them.

Before the end of my first week the younger man asked me if I would pay my first week in full and then pay the remaining week upon checkout. I paid him in Euros and as promised he deducted $2 Euro per day.

My room was the favourite part of my stay at this hotel. There was a nice window where I sat with a glass of wine after many hours of walking. The phone did not work and I think it was there for decoration. They did have a pay phone in the hotel lobby. The mini fridge sort of worked. The air conditioning worked. The TV had 1 or 2 channels but I was not there to watch TV so that didn’t really matter to me. The room was cleaned almost every day the first week. For the second week I did not get clean towels and I had to clean the shower myself. I also bought my own plastic cups as there were no drinking glasses for water in the room. I usually had to ask for toilet paper and one morning at about 9 when I went out to the lobby no one was there. There was usually no one there at that time of the morning. I had to call out and finally this young woman came out of a room and brought me some. It looked like I woke her up. The girl did not speak English but I also did not expect her to. She was always very friendly. The man that greeted me initially, he speaks English and the older man referred to in much of the feedback speaks broken English. The feed back was correct about this older man walking around in his underwear. It was indeed teeny underwear and although he did wear a robe it is wide open. A note for the single female traveller: One night when I returned to the hotel this same older man said “We should sleep together.” I just went straight to my room and locked my door. I was upset and the next morning the younger man (I am assuming the younger man is his son) asked me if I was ok. He had a smirk on his face. I did not say anything. I just went out and carried on with my site seeing. I actually thought the older man was harmless and a bit eccentric maybe slightly crazy a bit of a character and probably the sort of person one would see in a Vacation Comedy. During my entire stay the older man did constantly bother me or knock on my door.

The day before checking out the younger man again asked me to pay for my final week. When I got back to my room I realized after looking at the receipt he gave me that he had not taken off $2.00 Euro for all of the 7 days. I thought I would leave it for the morning and deal with it upon checkout. When I went to drop my keys off the next morning upon checkout there was no one there at the front desk and the lobby was dark.

To sum it all up I have to agree with what one person said, this hotel is not for the demanding customer. If you are coming thru Rome for one night, are on a budget and just need a place to crash that is central then maybe this hotel would work for you. As for single women if you can put up with this older man (or put him in his place) and not let his pestering bother you than I also say go for it. This being my first time in Rome was just a taster for me. I would not stay in this hotel again…maybe if the owners were different and it had a 24 hour reception. One person described this hotel as having its own climate, I totally agree. This place has so much potential but it’s as if they don’t really care.

Anyone who takes the time to research this hotel in advance knows what they are getting: an inexpensive room in a prime location. Therefore, the bad reviews are not justified. I had the largest hotel room I have ever had in Europe. The shower was ensuite, there was also a television and large window. The hotel is worn, but everything is clean. A key is provided for the main door to the street but not to the hotel itself, which means it is necessary to wake the staff if returning late in the evening, which is my only complaint. A small breakfast is included. The staff was friendly and helpful, especially the woman. This is a clean and safe place to sleep in a prime location. The Pantheon is close, but you can walk to all of the Roman sites, including the main station. There is lots of nightlife in the area and many people on the street, so staying out late is not a problem. Be sure to see the Pantheon and Trevi at night.