Travel + Leisure

I became a member of T&L just to comment on the Parco dei Principi. We made much of our own travel arrangements in Italy, but had our travel agent recommend one of his favorite hotels in Rome. It was awful. We have traveled around the world, including Hong Kong, where hotels are at a premium. It made our hotel in Hong Kong seem palatial. We were under the impression that because we were somewhat away from the hustle and bustle, and because the hotels grounds were so nice that our room would be nice but it wasn't. The lobby is elegent and welcoming, but don't let it fool you because the service is awful. The Hotel is not near public transit, so when the inevitable taxi strike occurred the hotel did not offer to shuttle hotel guests (our 2 rooms were over 450 euros each) to the Via Veneto, let alone public transit. The air conditioning was not working properly the whole time we stayed there, I really don't believe it was every meant to work. The hotels business model works off cruise ship passengers, and they don't accomodate your average "joe" who only has 2 rooms for the equivelent of $1000-$1100 USD a night. Don't bother giving them your business, they couldn't care less.