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| Submission date: 2006-01-02 - Date of Stay: December 2005 |
| Submitted by: Keith - From: United States |
| Type of Traveller: Family Traveller - Age Group: 31 - 40 |
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| Decent Location, Worst Staff |
| Visited the property 12/27/05 - 01/01/06 due to descriptions of central location and combination with air/lodging package.
On the positive side the property is, as advertised, a few blocks from the major Rome train station and St. Maria Maggiore (which is stunning and second only to St. Peters in my opinion). Unfortunately this area between the station is a little rough and we were uniformly advised to avoid it after dark by everyone asked.
It is a small property (30+ rooms) and most quite small. I saw a room map and every room is a different shape to fit to shape of the building. If you do decide to stay at this property I would only consider a room with two beds. In one double room I was able to lay cross-ways on the bed and touch both walls at the same time. The furnishings are as advertised.
The worst aspect of this property is undoubtedly the front desk staff. Both the day and night shift were the most rude I have ever encountered in any hotel. In a large city (New York, Paris, Johannesburg, etc), you can unfortunately expect a certain amount of casual indifference but the staff at the Gallia has created a new low in passive-aggressive customer service. Within the span of 48 hours they 1) hung up on me when calling from my cell phone seeking walking directions from the train station during a hail storm, 2) replied “I don’t know” to every single inquiry about nearby restaurants and attractions (for example, my wife asked which days Maria Maggiore had services and the staff member replied he had no idea – he didn’t go to church there – we should walk over and find out ourselves), 3) hung up TWICE on an American Express agent trying to reach me about lost luggage and then told me they hadn’t called until I later pressed him with EMAIL’ed evidence, and, 4) were locked out of the lobby when returning late one evening because the night shift clerk was lying on the lobby sofa watching television (and he was angry at us for disturbing him). Before you consider staying at this hotel I would call and make a simple, reasonable inquiry for tourist information and make your decision based on the response.
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