A group of friends and I stayed 3 nights at this Mercure. Overall I was very impressed by this humble Mercure. Nice rooms, excellent staff and outstanding Le Club Platinum recognition.

The reason why I had chosen this property were the very mixed reviews of the Sofitel (and its exorbitant rates) and the fact that the local MGallery looks like it could star in adult movie (red walls and bathtubs in the bedroom.... seriously?)

View from outside the hotel:

Check In

2 days in advance the hotel got in touch via Whatsapp message and asked if I needed anything. Perfect way to arrange any special requests which were confirmed right away. We arrived in the evening and everything was prepared for our arrival. Key cards, drinks vouchers (for the entire party) were handed over, as were free tickets for the Colosseum (nice touch). As the rooms were pre-paid no further formalities were required.

Room

We had booked Privilege rooms which are the highest category so no upgrade was possible. The rooms are large and feature a very large and comfortable bed, a sofa and plenty of desk space. The minibar containing soft drinks and water was free. A Nespresso (with three capsules, replenished daily) and a kettle for tea or instant coffee was also available). Wifi was free (with high speed vouchers also provided).

Overall a very spacious and comfortable room.

Service

Service was truly outstanding. The staff without fail greeted guest with a smile and courtesy. When help was needed, for example restaurant recommendations, they came up with some great suggestions.

The hotel also has an outdoor swimming pool overlooking the Colosseum and a roof top bar. While the pool and bar were closed for the winter the weather was so nice that we brought our welcome drinks up and enjoyed the sun. 

Dining

We only had breakfast at the hotel. While decent this is only area where I could possibly suggest some improvements in terms of quality. It was ok but not great. Again the staff were very friendly though.

Location

The hotel is very well located. A tram stop is right outside and the nearest metro stop in a 5 minute walk away. Taxis are easy to get. Rides to/from FCO have fixed rate fares (€48).

Loyalty treatment

The hotel excelled itself with the Le Club Accorhotels Platinum recognition. Every night something new was delivered to both rooms. On the last night I also received some lovely Italian food items (much to the envy of my friends, one being a chef).

I have stayed at many Sofitels that barely care about Le Club (mainly in Europe) but this humble Mercure showed that if there is a will you can truly make your Le Club guests feel welcome.

Overall

Overall I would choose without hesitation this hotel again. It is well located, has great rooms and impeccable service.

The great Le Club recognition made this an outstanding stay.

Based on Starflyergold's great review, I booked at the Mercure Roma Colosseo for a 2 night stay. Although it did the job well, my stay was far from being as good as for Starflyergold.

Check In

There was no pre-stay contact by the hotel (outside the automatic OLCI e-mail which I never use). After a kind of chaotic arrival, and later than scheduled, because of a transportation strike in Rome, check-in was efficient and courteous. I was given the drink voucher and some premium wifi codes. I was told I was upgraded (I had booked a superior room, double bed). The room I was given was on the top floor (7). 

Satellite note : the 8th floor where the outdoor bar and pool are was not accessible (closed during winter period), so I couldn’t see how it looks like.

Room

The room was of decent size and in good shape and all was very clean. But I am really not sure I have been given an upgrade. Their site lists the following room categories available:

• superior room/single bed
• Superior room/double bed (my booking)
• Superior room/double bed with Coliseum view
• Privilege room

I had no Coliseum view and it was not a privilege room because I had none of the amenities coming within room type (no slippers, no bathrobe, no Nespresso). Looking at the floor map on the door, it seems that the room they gave me was slightly larger than the other ones so that’s what they called an upgrade but for me this was another upgrade scam. 

The room was composed of 2 sub-rooms like in a kind of junior suite (but this was not a junior suite). One has the bed and a small desk area (+TV), the other one has an uncomfortable armchair and the closet and the safe (+another TV). The windows were very small so you need the lights on permanently even during a sunny day (my case). This being said, when you look at the building from the outside, it’s hard to imagine where the rooms are apart floors 2, 6 and 7 because you see very few windows. One of the weirdest thing in the room was that the bathroom was in 2 parts each very very small (something like 2 sq meter each), at each end of the room. One had a sink, WC and a bidet (we are in Italy !), the other one had another sink and the shower. When I say those were small, you cannot be 2 at the same time. Each room was really minuscule. Another weird thing, there was no door for the one with the shower. So if you share the room with someone who’s not your better half, be prepared for zero privacy. 

Bedding : another disappointment. It was supposed to be a room with double bed but in fact it was two single mattresses and double bed sheets on. But the 2 single mattresses had « prominent borders », so it was impossible to sleep in the middle. And one of the mattress was very very soft (likely an old one) with a « hole feeling » under your back so uncomfortable. Fortunately, the 2nd mattress was OK. 

As « VIP treatment », I had the same small platter as Starflyergold with a generic welcome note, but unfortunately not all the nice Italian food items he received. I didn’t get any free ticket to Colosseum also. No mineral water provided

Dining

I had dinner once at the hotel. Food and service were good. I redeemed the drink voucher for a glass of Prosecco.

I didn't have breakfast.

Overall

Overall, it was for me a standard stay at a not-too-bad Mercure but without any WOW effect. It has been recently renovated and it’s well located. I had a very good rate (175€ for 2 nights, but this is January so very low season, although I was surprised how crowded were all the touristic spots). No good Elite handling, not a good bed, minuscule bathroom and strange design with no privacy. So could do much better. 

Would I return ? May be, may be not. Still debating about it. May be if a good rate, as Rome is very expensive as all big cities. And the final message : unfortunately, the wonderful Elite treatment received by Starflyergold is not the norm.