Domus Real Cardello

I am not one to write reviews but this one I have to warn you. Absolutely NEVER EVER stay here. Our stay was a complete disaster. We had booked a shuttle with the hotel via email 2 months in advance. We showed up to the airport and no shuttle was there - 45 minutes later we asked a stranger to use their phone to call the hotel since no one was there. The manager, Fabrizio, answered and proceeded to yell, not talk, yell at me about how the reservation was under my husbands name and since my name was different they didn’t book the shuttle. Had they alerted us to the fact that a shuttle would not be coming like common courtesy would have? No, they instead left us stranded at the airport. We arrive via our own taxi (after their shuttle never showed up) to the hotel, an unmarked, locked gate, a locked door, 2 flights of stairs and another locked door to the lobby with NO check in instructions. Thankfully two other hotel guests arrived back at the hotel at the same time we arrived or we would have been stuck outside in the pouring rain. Did I mentioned there is NO receptionist? AT ALL. We entered the building at the whim of the only other two guests to find two envelopes marked room 1 an 4 … no name, no marking as to which room we were supposed to be in, we had to use the keys to open both rooms to find out which one matched our booking description. We brushed off this complete lack of common courtesy and hospitality and went out to explore Rome. We come back at 9 pm from dinner to find the keys we were given do not work on the front door to the building. We are stuck outside AGAIN. After 20 minutes out of complete desperation we then we buzz a random number in the building… a sweet old lady comes out of the window three stories up and tells us the building code - a check in instruction we should have received but never got because this building doesn’t even have check in instructions that were ever shared with us. 10 minutes later we are in our room about to fall asleep when we are awakened by a loud knock. Its the manager of the Hotel, Fabrizio, he begins screaming at us that he needs to see our passports through the door. We get dressed and come out to the lobby where he proceeds to yell that it is our fault the shuttle did not retrieve us from the airport. Absolutely the rudest, completely inconsiderate host you will ever have. Please do not stay here. Save yourself the trouble and use a hotel with a real receptionist, a working door and a marked entrance. It will save you all the stress and trouble we went through. Fabrizio absolutely ruined our stay and Rome and the first night of our honeymoon and I could not more strongly recommend staying anywhere else, I genuinely would have felt more welcome in a hostel. Also, there are no TV channels, only Radio channels on the TV so don’t expect to watch anything.

Domus Real Cardello Okay. I travel a lot and write some reviews. My first GO TO is to find nice things to say and only complain if I feel there’s a LOT of need. There is here. Please Read This Before Booking. First, it’s not a Hotel. It’s closest to an Air B&B or a hostel. There is no staff during the daytime or night. Anna is there for a couple of hours in the morning to bring breakfast to your room and to clean/change out rooms. More about “breakfast” later. She will switch out towels for you if you ask and she did it on her own one day. She emptied out garbage upon request. We stayed five nights and sheets were not changed or bed made. But I’m sure she would have changed the sheets if we’d asked. But she is super nice and friendly. There is a front porch with NO furniture. It is located in a dark, dirty ally. There is no greenery or trees. It is noisy. There is no courtyard or living room. It is Your Room. We had a patio outside of our room…a dirty, paint flaking wall … a blue tarp hiding a heating unit … and a small parking lot …those were the views. Out the other window was a noisy courtyard with garbage cans, cars and balconies with people’s clothing drying. A floodlight would often come on in the nighttime and wake us. There’s a small fridge in the room and an electric tea kettle. Room. Bare tile floor, old furniture in good repair, uncomfortable bed (piece of memory foam on a platform. Has private bathroom with luxurious towels. Shower 2 feet x 2 feet … super tiny/cramped, Bidet, toilet, sink … plenty of hot water. The tiniest soap I’ve ever seen even by hotel standards. Bring your own soap. CLEAN…the place was very clean. That’s important to us. Breakfast. It is a continental breakfast. Coffee with steamed milk in separate small pitcher, croissant, juice and packaged toast and yogurt. Anna will give you refills if you ask. It’s okay to start the day. CALL AHEAD ON WHATSAPP TO OWNER/MANAGER and let them know when you expect to be there. If you don’t you’ll wait to get inside forever because he lives a ways away. The owner called us when we were one day out and we confirmed when we’d likely arrive. We only waited about ten minutes for him to show up. So that was fine. But another couple had problems and they waited for over an hour. They didn’t give him notice. He and *********** did say to reach out and let them know arrival time. So do it. He took the time to show us some places on a map that he recommended seeing. Restaurants. Don’t eat at any of the restaurants on Cavour just near the place. They’re horrible. HORRIBLE. But if you go just one block northeast up the side streets the places get very good very quickly. Coliseum. I booked the place because I’ve always wanted to see the Colosseum and it’s literally a five minute walk away. It cost me €683 for five nights, so it is a bargain if you’re looking to be close to the Colosseum and you’re on a budget. So the price is great and is one reason you don’t get any a