We booked 2 rooms in the Secret Garden months in advance and were impressed with the website description, price and location (close to the station and main sites). However, all was not as it seemed.
First of all, they double booked us, expecting us to accept 1 room in the Secret Garden and one in the Ciak Hostel (which is affiliated with the hotel). The room in the hostel was okay, a bit grubby, but most importantly it was a hostel room and as a result basic (on a busy main road).
As if this wasn't problem enough, the room in the Secret Garden was a basement room, facing the street. The room was musty, damp and very smelly. No sign of the promised terrace or balcony or any of the features mentioned in the ad. The facilities were also basic, dirty and the toilet wouldn't take toilet paper. The room felt like a cell, with very little light and plenty of street noise. I personally couldn't have stayed in this room.The roof terrace was also basic, bordering on grubby, and far from inviting.
The staff at the Ciak (where the joint reception is held) were very friendly and did their best but overall the whole experience was dreadful. I complained at check out, but no managers were available, so the poor girl on reception had to bear the brunt of our frustrations. The only concession we were given was a discount on the price (i.e. paid for a hostel room for the room in the hostel), hardly a concession, more a given! It also transpires that this practice of double booking is quite common (they use the hostel as an overflow for the hotel), so my advice would be to double check you have a guaranteed room in the Secret Garden, but not a basement room. If not don't stay, use the booking service at the station.
The whole experience ruined our time in Rome, particularly as reading other reviews, it looks lke the upstairs rooms would have been the deal we were expecting on arrival, so I'd be wary of planning to stay here.
- Secret Garden Rome
- Secret Garden Hotel Rome
