Originally Posted by
deant
To me, the key is having something to offset the location of the Cavalieri. If you are in Rome to see the sites, it is obviously better not to have to take a 20-30 minute ride to get to the city.
That being said, to me, the "something" is the Imperial Floor and Lounge. My wife and I have reservations at the Cavalieri for next summer. This is to be a special trip to replace the trip that we had planned for 2 years ago but had to cancel at the last minute due to a medical diagnosis that my wife received. Fortunately, the treatment has been successful and she shows no signs of recurrence. The reservations are on points. I have contact the Cavalieri and explained the situation hoping to get a "confirmed" NOR1 upgrade to the Imperial Floor (as a Diamond). All the Cavalieri would say is that IF there is room available, I would get it (In others words, no special treatment).
So I am basically at the position of taking the "risk" with the Cavalieri or using the backup reservation I have at the Excelsior (will be P at that time). My inclination is to cancel the Cavalieri and go with the Excelsior.
First of all, I am glad your wife is doing well and you are getting to do your Rome trip at last!
When I visited the Cav last weekend I asked to look at the imperial floor rooms. The lady who took me up there told me, I quote "the rooms are the same with some minor differences." I found that to be absolutely true. The only differences I found were that the little desk the rooms have was marble instead of wood, the TV was 2 inch bigger and the toiletries were different. That was it. I actually liked my room better because the wood made the room a little cosier. And don't really care about the size of my TV when I visit Rome. As a Diamond I was upgraded to a Rome view room and the view was indeed very nice. So IMO the upgrade is not worth the 49€ they currently charge, unless you are going to use the lounge a lot. But do you really want to eat at the lounge when you are visiting Rome? I can tell you some nice little restaurants if you want. Nothing fancy (you can easily find those in most travel guides) but small places with great food. Another option would be to check if you can pay for a suite upgrade. Sounds like the occasion would be right for something special.
Hope you have a great time in Rome!