Hilton HHonors - Hilton Garden Inn Rome Airport

Just had a peek at the HGI e-letter and FCO (Rome airport for the seach engines) is set to get a HGI. Scheduled to open year end and it located by the cargo area.

Free shuttle bus offered to the city, Parco Leonardo shopping centre (claimed to be the largest in Italy) and the local harbour. Wasn't explicitly stated but I assume there's shuttle service to the passenger terminal too. Parking is a bit stiff at EUR 20/day.

So they'll have a Hilton and an HGI at the airport? It seems overkill, but what do I know... Any idea which cat.?

Three HGI now or close to be opened in Europe
Suttgart Neckarpark already open.
Florence Novoli Oct 2006
Rome - FCO in Dec 2006.

No cats listed for the last two listed the Stuttgart property is Cat 3 and the photos of all three shown are indentical, logic says they should be the same.

The website for the FCO says free internet ( not a bad thing in Europe :) and shuttle service to FCO, Rome city center and shopping mall.

The Florence hotel is 4 km from the old city so might be a bit inconvienent for tourists, even if there is a decent shuttle. Just cant imagine staying in Firenze without being able to stroll to various places, restaurants from my hotel.

mike

Novoli is not exactly close to downtown, and the full service Hilton they have in Florence is also quite a ways from all the toursit attractions (and still a cat. 6 IIRC!!). The Hilton is probably a good location if you need to spend a night not far from the main tollway. I couldn't quite figure out how far the HGI is from downtown from the Hilton map, but it might be a bit closer than the Hilton. There are buses and taxis, of course, or, if you're driving yourself, you can enjoy the traffic, the inevitable one-ways, and the hard-to-find parking...

Hmm, perhaps they could rename Scandic to HGI instead of selling them all? (Ok, some of the road hotel Scandic’s can go, wouldn’t bother me).

Some rates for the HGI FCO have come up. I didn't delve into them but the from rate was EUR 199 while the H FCo was EUR 170. :eek:

The Florence one does sound interesting,if new and nice. The reviews on the seemingly overpriced Hilton there have not been great. While I'd rather stay in the old section, I enjoy travelling on points and miles.
Description of its location:
" is located in the heart of the new business/residential area in the northern part of Florence that includes the new Justice Courtrooms and the new University Centre. Just three km from the Florence International Airport “Amerigo Vespucci”, the hotel is also an easy drive to the world famous attractions such as the Uffizi Gallery and the legendary Duomo.Designed with business convenience and practicality in mind, the 121-room hotel features key Hilton Garden Inn brand attributes like complimentary wireless high speed Internet access, the Garden Sleep System bed, ergonomic Mirra chair by Herman Miller, a spacious work desk, air conditioning, mini refrigerator and LCD satellite television."
I checked on some Sept dates next year (when I expect to be back in Italy and its rates were as low as 81EU! That's a great deal in Florence. Doesn't seem to be any shuttles. There is a 10E/day fee for parking.

"Easy drive"?????? Not in Florence.

Just open New Hilton garden inn, by fiumicino, very close to the airport and easy to rech down town Rome.
So if Cavalieri Hilton one of the best place to dine at la Pergola Ristorante its too prices, or you cannot find any room at Hilton airport try the new hilton garden inn.
enjoy the stay !

Cool!

Cavalieri Rome - Cat 6
Airport Hilton Rome - Cat 5
Airport HGI - Cat 4

One thing I noticed at the airport Hilton, their shuttle bus to downtown runs quite late, I think about 11:00 PM - at any rate, much later than the little bus from the Cav. Also, the airport is about 5 minutes from the sea and the little picturesque-but-seldom-visited town there (can't recall the name).

Why they put another Hilton at the same airport I don't know, but it sure is nice to have other choices in Rome. Especially if you're not a Diamond and can't get into/get the perks at the Cav.

Im going to stay there in two months. Its very convienient to stay at fco on arrival. the fco hilton isnt bad but I always feel like an inmate that has access to free beer and snacks when im there

This isn't that sexy to me. Airport properties in Rome?

well the rate for pre-paid that I found was 118 euros, thats pretty sexy to me considering Im gonna end up crashing and then waking up at 2am with nothing open. sure beats 400 euro in town on the first day, thats a waste and very un-sexy:D

well the rate for pre-paid that I found was 118 euros, thats pretty sexy to me considering Im gonna end up crashing and then waking up at 2am with nothing open. sure beats 400 euro in town on the first day, thats a waste and very un-sexy:D

for me sexy its something about meeting a beautiful women, at the cavalieri Hilton the young women are with an old men who pay the bill, the others are all to via dei condotti to spend moeny, you have better change to meet girl near the airport, i recall very good experience.
Please di not tell my wife( she think that I read book night time).

We'll be staying at the Garden Inn next month before returning to NY. I paid 118 euro net rate. This after 6 night award at the Cavalieri and a 4 night award at the Sorrento Palace . We return from Sorrento on the train. We'll take the train from termini to FCO and then find our way to the Garden Inn. Any suggestions for this trip are appreciated. :)

I stayed at the Hilton at the airport once and had a room (admittedly on the top floor) where I could actually see the Sea!

Does anyone know if the Garden Inn has that?

I stayed at the Hilton at the airport once and had a room (admittedly on the top floor) where I could actually see the Sea!

Does anyone know if the Garden Inn has that?

No. It has only six floors and right now not all of them are finished.

We'll be staying at the Garden Inn next month before returning to NY. I paid 118 euro net rate. This after 6 night award at the Cavalieri and a 4 night award at the Sorrento Palace . We return from Sorrento on the train. We'll take the train from termini to FCO and then find our way to the Garden Inn. Any suggestions for this trip are appreciated. :)

When you arrive at FCO you can call the Garden Inn and they will come and get you or you can walk over to the Hilton and ask them to call for you, sometimes if the bell desk guys arent too busy they will just run you over there.

My wife and I just got back from this property. We actually stayed there for several days as I am too cheap to pay for the Cavalieri. Here are a few details of our experience.

Hotel:
It has all the same features that we are used to in a HGI but done in european style. Which makes it a more stylish hotel. They had not finished the 5th and 6th floors as of 12/31/06 but looked pretty close. The location of the property is about 10 minutes (max) shuttle from the airport.

Staff:
Excellent. English was excellent and the service was top notch. I dont know if it was just that the hotel was new and not busy so they had a little more enthusiasm but they did a great job and made for a nice trip.

Facilities:
There are not microwaves in the rooms but they do have a microwave room with two microwaves. There is a workout room with basic workout equipment. A laundry room was on site but it was not functioning last week. There is also a pantry with some basic items including some food/snack items.

Shuttles:
They have their own shuttle and it does not run on a schedule but rather you just call or tell them when you need it. When you arrive at the airport you can call or if you dont have the number just walk over to the Hilton and ask them to call for you. You can also use the Hiltons shuttle to Rome and when you arrive back at the Hilton just ask the front desk or bell desk to call the HGI shuttle for you. A couple of times the bell desk guys grabbed the keys to one of their vans and just took us over.

Restuarant:
Food menu was not extensive but had enough and prices are decent especially when compared to the FCO Hilton and I thought the drink prices where pretty good too. I paid 5 euro for a house glass of whine and you can get a bottle for like 17 euro. A normal entree on the menu was about 10 euro I think.

Rooms:
Stylish and functional and the size of the room was standard by european standards I think. The room was comfortable and nice but nothing exceptional I dont think. They have free wireless and wired internet and you just get a code from the front desk. The only thing I didnt like about the room was the shower. It was not constructed in such a way to keep the way in the shower/tub area. So, plan on a wet floor unless they improve it.

Diamond Treatment:
I had a rate that included breakfast but did ask if it would be included if I did not have it already and they confirmed I would be given breakfast as a Diamond. I was also given coupons for a bottle of water for each day of our stay. I didnt see many bigger sized rooms on the floor plan on the door even though they list some suites on the web site.

Relationship with Hilton FCO:
These properties are managed as a cluster. I sent an email about my stay and got a response from the general manager and it had "Cluster General Manager Rome Airport and Hilton Garden Inn Airport".

Summary:
We enjoyed our stay a very much at this property. I would be interested to see how they perform after it gets busier as the hotel was less than 10% during our stay. I have some photos which I can post later if anyone is interested as I dont know if they have any up on the Hilton site yet.

Thanks so much for the detailed report! I'll be staying there in March and had been hesitant to book it without reading any reviews from anyone who'd stayed there. Looks like a good alternative to the airport Hilton - free wifi and reasonably priced food are big plusses when you're not traveling on a corporate expense account.

Thanks for the report..... I looked on line and got a good rate ($180.00) per nite but they have a higher rate that includes breakfast. Since I am a Gold member, does anyone know if they will give me certs for breakfast?

Thank you for the detailed report. This was the only reservation I was somewhat unsure about. It seems as if the property will suit our purposes just fine.

As a GOLD, I believe you are entitled to breakfast.

Thanks for the report..... I looked on line and got a good rate ($180.00) per nite but they have a higher rate that includes breakfast. Since I am a Gold member, does anyone know if they will give me certs for breakfast?


I wish I had thought to ask. I would email the hotel and ask as they got back to me pretty quickly. I would think that the answer would be yes although for Golds it could be the cold breakfast option and some sort of buy up for the full breakfast.

Thanks, I'll e-mail the hotel and and post their reply. I'm excited about this hotel as we can use it for a base and I love the fact that it's so close to the airport. :)

Has anybody stayed at this property lately? Considering booking a room for the middle of May, but was just wondering where this property stands... Thanks!

You can also use the Hiltons shuttle to Rome and when you arrive back at the Hilton just ask the front desk or bell desk to call the HGI shuttle for you. A couple of times the bell desk guys grabbed the keys to one of their vans and just took us over.

When you say the shuttle to Rome do you mean to the city? If this is the case, is there a schedule as to when they depart and return and what is the cost for this service? Thank you.

I stayed at all three Hilton properties in Rome last month.

Regarding the HGI: Nice room (I liked it better than stateside HGIs), courteous staff, two computers and a printer for guest use in the biz center, pantry shop and a cafe. The property is within walking distance of, well, nothing.

You can take the HGI shuttle to the Hilton Rome Airport to catch that hotel's bus into the city. It leaves every two hours beginning at 8 a.m., if I remember correctly. It drops you off on Via del Teatro Marcello, about 100 yards south of the stairs that go up to the Piazza del Campidoglio. It's about a 35- to 45-minute trip, and it's free.

The Hilton Rome Airport's return bus leave every two hours, also, beginning at 9 a.m. -- I think the last one was at 9 p.m. When you return to the Hilton, ask the front desk to call the HGI to have them send over their shuttle.

One important note: The HGI shuttle does not adhere to any kind of schedule, and it does not make scheduled runs to the Hilton Rome Airport. It's best to reserve a time with the front desk the night before to ensure you're not delayed trying to get over to the Hilton to catch the bus into town.

You can also cash in some points and stay at the Cavalieri! It was superb. ^

Im here right now. of course it's 3 am and I'm wide awake :) Hotel is very much as others have posted. Front desk was excellent, rooms are small maybe 12x12 plus a small entryway and bath. Bed was great firm wth a cushy pillowtop feel. Room service was fairly priced pasta 10 euro, bacon cheeseburger 12.5 euro. Food needs some work. Didnt want to hassle with the shuttle after flying in from san francisco via ams so took a cab from the airport. With all the twists and turns it was about 3-4 miles. Cab fare was 8.50 euro on the meter plus 2 euro for 2 bags. Hotel is bright shining and new but is diffinately remote. Basically just stuck out in the cargo area. This could be a problem if you want to go out somewhere. Airport hilton does have the PLUS of being within walking distance of the terminal if you want a snack or something. All in all this new hotel is great for what it is. Great to land at, but may not be the best idea for the nite before leaving: the Hilton airport would be a better choice for that. Cheers. :)

Here's a new review of the Rome HGI.I found thia at another website I frequent:
http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/hotels/review.asp?r=lazio&c=italy&n=hilton+garden+inn&s=fiumicino

Note:I had asked about a shuttle into the city of Rome and the gal at the desk told me that this service is basically offered only to the "older" Hilton guests

Nice addition and brand new, for a less expensive stay next tgo the airport. Now there are two Hilton brand hotels to choose at the airport.

Have to shuttle to the hotel? I like the Rome Airport Hilton because you can walk to it.

We've booked the Hilton Garden Inn at the FCO / Rome Airport in early January; I'll post a report, though I hope others will have done so previously.

If we are talking the HGI, then the shuttle bus to the hotel is very erratic. It sails past the terminals ignoring attempts top flag it down. The hotel folks recommend you take the car park shuttle, which runs from behind the hotel. The footpath from the hotel door takes you to a bus shelter, from where you can get the car park bus. I had to do this as there were 20 people waiting for the same Hilton bus - all with standard two week's worth of luggage.

HGI Rome Airport was ok, but they are really short-staffed in the restaurant and behind the counter. Otherwise, nice, clean rooms, and a lot cheaper than the full-fat Hilton next to the terminal.

Grazie, highpeak1! That's very helpful information. We'll probably cab it to the HGI from town, and see if we can use the shuttle to FCO.

On a related note - how far is the Airport Hilton from central Rome? I have a trip to Italy this week, and I am considering staying there my last night rather than the Caveliari if it is close. I see that one can walk to the terminal, and Rome is like 30 minutes from there. Might be easier than staying all the way out in the burbs at the Caveliari...

Thanks!

I'll be staying at the Hilton Garden Saturday night and then the following Wed Thurs. The Hilton has a shuttle that runs into Rome every two hours. There's a thread somewhere here that indicates that you can take the HGI shuttle to the airport and then take the Hilton shuttle downtown. That's what we plan to do Thursday. God wiling and the creek don't rise. Assuming I remember I'll post what happened

On a related note - how far is the Airport Hilton from central Rome? I have a trip to Italy this week, and I am considering staying there my last night rather than the Caveliari if it is close. I see that one can walk to the terminal, and Rome is like 30 minutes from there. Might be easier than staying all the way out in the burbs at the Caveliari...

Thanks!

That's what I did my last night last last year. Since I wasn't sure about the weekday morning commute from Rome to the airport it gave peace of mind. Plus the hotel has a bus into Rome so you can still do sightseeing on the last day.

For September, I've booked an award stay at the airport HGI to save 5000 points over the Hilton. I have an odd itinerary in mind: drive up to check myself in, return the rental car and see my mother off as she flies out that night, then my flight isn't until 2 p.m. the next day. So I was thinking I'd spend the morning going around the airport complex, taking notes and pictures for a Web page on FCO to which I contribute (with the advantage of not having luggage on me), then get back to the hotel in the late morning to check out and check in for my flight.

Does anyone have recent experience on the shuttle bus still being erratic, so that with all my comings and goings it might be better to use the regular airport Hilton and get around on my own? I probably won't have a mobile phone on me to call the shuttle. I'm not a big points earner; I mostly get them from the Amex card; if I recognize that a good multi-night award isn't likely soon, in any case I'll already have enough points for a future airport hotel night and the 5000 won't make a big difference. Maybe I have odd priorities, but I'm not planning to go into Rome during this trip; no need to spend the expensive euros for it without that strong an interest.

I have just been at this HGI and the shuttle schedule did seem erratic and I had a long wait at the terminal upon arrival even after phoning the hotel. There is an option of using the free around the airport shuttle not connected to the HGI which as a previous post said stops just behind the hotel and runs frequently. To use this just look for the large orange bus called "Navatta" and has shuttle on the destination board. There are bus shelters in front of all the airport terminals for this. The stop behind the hotel is number F2 "Cargo City". Then there is a short bricked pathway to the front of the hotel.

All of this does take time and you could save a lot of that by staying at the Hilton from which you can easily walk in and out of the terminal. One advantage of the HGI is the free internet access in the rooms compared to the very expensive service at the Hilton.

Hope this info helps.

Thanks, but it's become moot for me. I was able to change to my mother's flight and won't need to spend that night at FCO.

Just stayed there earlier this week.

The instructions on my (reward) reservation said to grab the shuttle outside the airport at the green pylon marked "B".

Like many other people I suspect, I was using this hotel for my last night prior to flying out of FCO. So I didn't arrive at the airport by plane, I arrived by train (Leonardo Express, while still takes 30ish minutes from Roma Temini), at about 10:30 pm, and coming from the train there are no signs in the airport anywhere giving a clue as to how to get outside! But there are signs everywhere for the (walkable) Hilton, so on a hunch I head there. Upon entering the Hilton lobby I ask about the shuttle to the HGI and they say it will be there in 5 to 10 minutes (and it did show up as promised). That shuttle was a small one co-branded Hilton/HGI.

Upon check-in at the HGI, they alterted me that there's a shuttle to the airport every half hour in the morning, but that the 8:00 shuttle is booked up by a group, so if I was going to take it I should take 7:30 or 8:30 instead. (And, in fact, I had been planning to take the 8:00 shuttle!)

They then asked if I wanted a wake-up call, and I said yes. Good thing, because I also set the wake-up alarm on the TV in the room, but that never went off (and the TV which worked in the evening wasn't working at all in the morning!), while I did get a wake-up call on the phone exactly at the time requested.

The room reminded me not as much of an aiport HGI in the US as of an airport Scandic in Europe.

The breakfast was all buffet. It had hot items, but unlike in the US they weren't cooked to order. No coupon for Gold, rather there's a gate-keeper at the breakfast with a list of rooms, and when I show them my room number they tell me that my breakfast is free. (I did get two bottles of water upon check-in as well.)

Morning shuttle (I took the 7:30 one) was a big one (coach bus size) and came promptly, and had room aplenty for everyone who was waiting for it.

In order to make a 6:30 a.m. flight out of FCO, I'm considering staying at the HGI Rome airport for one night.

Does anyone have experience with using their shuttle TO the airport at the very early hour of 5:00 a.m. or so? If the shuttle isn't running then, what are the alternatives, besides a taxi?

In order to make a 6:30 a.m. flight out of FCO, I'm considering staying at the HGI Rome airport for one night.

Does anyone have experience with using their shuttle TO the airport at the very early hour of 5:00 a.m. or so? If the shuttle isn't running then, what are the alternatives, besides a taxi?



I stayed at the HGI few monts ago but I don't remember if at 5 a.m. there is the hotel shuttle bus. As an alternative there is the airport free shuttle bus that should run 24h and the stop is just behind the hotel. The airport bus stop is the number 2 "cargo city" and stops at all terminals.

The Shuttle is fine, but highly suggest you contact the hotel about getting the reservation for the 5am shuttle.

I was there this week and they were running the shuttle at 5am, but the 5:30 shuttle was booked solid.

The HGI is huge, 2-3 times larger than a US HGI. They are set up for both crew rest and for the Tour Bus trade.

The breakfast is nice, but recommend eating elsewhere for dinner due to the very noisy ambiance.

FYI Parking is 20 Euros a day.

Thank you both for your answers.

Alfonso XIV