Originally Posted by platbrownguy

I burned an expiring Cat 1-7 cert here last night. Hotels were otherwise very expensive. I was pleasantly surprised, it was a very comfortable stay. It seems like there is a lot of variation in the rooms, but I got a very nice one, 501.

Pros:

• Room was great. Truly excellent digitally controlled air conditioning.
• Very comfortable king bed, I passed out and didn't budge all night.
• Nice little balcony.
• Okay shower pressure on the rainfall but excellent from the wand.
• Large towels.
• Welcome amenity was the bottle of red pictured upthread, plus a couple of cookies... plus everything in the minibar (chips, peanuts, wafer cookies, juices/sodas, beer, half-bottle of white wine, and a half-bottle of prosecco). Wow!
• Breakfast seemed very high quality: nice selection of meats and cheeses, great melon, and some nice alternatives like thinly shaved fennel. The usual "American/British tourist breakfast" is also available on the buffet, but there are plenty of made-to-order options. The Benedict was good (though the yolks were a little over) and the fresh orange juice was excellent.

Cons:

• Elevator is definitely a problem. I took the stairs down rather than worrying about it, but it's definitely a haul to get up from 0 to 5.
• My room wasn't available at check-in time (2:00). Agent offered me one that was available, but it was on the ground floor and he recommended that I wait for 501. I asked if I could have a drink while I waited, which prompted him to mention that there was a welcome drink of beer, wine, or prosecco anyhow. I said "could I have an Aperol spritz?" and he said sure, wrote "Spritz" on the voucher, initialed it, sent me up to the terrace, and said he'd bring me the key within 30 minutes. Well, I relayed this to the barmaid who nodded, went back to give the voucher to her boss/dragon, and then made my spritz. Up until that moment, all is well. But then the dragon lady in the back calls down to the front desk and just chews out front desk guy (in Italian, loud enough for me to hear), "blah blah blah the welcome drink is only beer, wine, or prosecco, not a spritz, why are you giving the bar away"... then after a pause (during which he presumably explained the situation) she quietly said bene, ciao and hung up. When she emerged from the back, I just glared at her. The spritz was good and came with numerous snacks.
• No one said anything about a lounge... but with the free minibar on a one-night stay, not to mention the abundance of amazing food in Rome, I had absolutely no need for it.

I thought the location was decent. I ended up just taking the bus everywhere, because they all have tap-and-go with normal credit cards, and it's €1.50 for unlimited taps within a 100-minute period. Google Maps was great for route planning but not so good for live status/times.

Pics of 501 and a plate from breakfast: