WalruSara

Rooms can be small and oddly designed. They don’t always honor SNA, even when they have inventory. Elite recognition is pretty poor-non existent. It’s probably my least favorite hotel staff in Rome.

It’s sufficient at the right price point and low expectations.

Polytonic

Would you recommend the Westin over this then?

For my dates, it's pricing out to some 350€ or so (end of March). I think Westin Excelsior is around 370€ or so.

I'm holding rooms at Pantheon Iconic, but it's nearly double the price (670€) so figured I'd explore some ... more affordable options.

Polytonic

Stayed here last week on the AAA rate. Applied SNAs and was upgraded to terrace suite 5 days out. No explicit elite recognition at check-in, but was offered (and took) breakfast. The front desk agent was very warm and welcoming, offered some suggestions for where to eat in the area. Marriott app seems to be bugging out and removed my stay from the app when I checked in.

The suite itself had the most gigantic bathroom I have ever seen. It was easily bigger than the sitting area of the suite. Had a soaking tub, shower, bidet, the usual suspects.

Breakfast was in the (windowless) basement. Pretty wide selection of foods, from pastries, pancake machine, (American) bacon, eggs, fruit, cereal, cold cuts, boiled vegetables, even beans and toast. If you have a picky eater in the party, I think this is probably the best property for breakfast.

frmnj

Is there a lounge at this property? If not, which other Marriott properties in Rome have a Platinum / Titanium lounge?

Found answer from reception - No lounge

Genius1

Le Méridien Visconti Rome

Index to Genius1 Trip Reports

Located just one block from the Tiber in the Prati district of the city, from the outside Le Méridien Visconti doesn’t particularly impress with its austere 1970s concrete design. Once inside, however, Marriott's 2017 refurbishment of the former Visconti Palace Hotel has resulted in a completely different style which is at once modern, stylish and comfortably unfussy.







We arrived fairly early and were delighted that the friendly reception team were able to accommodate check-in straight away. As part of the Virtuoso rate I’d booked, we were offered vouchers for two complimentary cocktails and advised of our USD50 food and beverage credit, although both were only valid in Longitude 12 Bistro and Jardin (the ground floor restaurant and bar), and not Paparazzo Bar and Rooftop (the rooftop bar). To note, door staff tend only to be present during business hours, so if you arrive early or late you’ll have to manage your own luggage.









Whilst the property’s lobbies and corridors have been refurbished along with the rest of the hotel, the staircase still sports a very 1970’s design.





Our Urban Suite on the first floor was the same category that we’d booked – a bit of a swizz given a one category room upgrade can normally be expected when booking on a Virtuoso rate. Despite the low floor (and therefore some traffic noise), the suite was quite pleasant, and so I didn’t ask to see if an upgraded suite was available. The suite made good use of the available oddly-shaped space at the end of the corridor, with a living room straight ahead of the entrance, and a corridor around to the right leading to the bathroom and then bedroom.



The living room included an uncomfortable sofa bed and somewhat flimsy and equally uncomfortable armchair, and a stocked minibar. I was surprised that for a junior suite category there was no coffee machine, and annoyingly there was no bin in this room which was quite impractical. We returned from our afternoon stroll to find a fruit plate and welcome letter had been placed on the side table, which was a nice surprise.









The bedroom featured a comfortable super king size bed, another (slightly more comfortable) armchair, desk and wardrobe (one of two including the one in the hall). A complimentary bottle of water was placed on each bedside table, and bathrobes and slippers were located in the wardrobe, along with a handy extra suitcase stand (additional to the fixed stand / seat in the hall). The light switches were unlabelled, which often resulted in the reverse lighting scheme to the one I wanted.



















For a suite, the bathroom was tiny, although did just about have room for a bidet (complete with bottle of ‘intimate cleanser’ – the seal was broken so I didn’t try it!). A powerful walk-in shower was provided in lieu of a bath. Two basins were squeezed into the countertop space, which was certainly one too many for the available width as there was very little room to put toiletries around the side without them getting wet. Pleasant Malin and Goetz amenities were provided in large bottles (body lotion was a small bottle), with additional small bottles available on request. The large bottle of shower gel was almost empty when we arrived (as we found out the next morning), although was replaced on request. There was only one robe hook, and consequently not enough space to hang towels.









The view from our suite was of adjacent buildings – higher floors have better views.







Breakfast is offered in the basement Latitude 41 restaurant – whilst this space has been refurbished along with the rest of the property, down here it’s very much a light touch refresh – an odd choice appears to have been made to keep the former hotel’s dining chairs, which don’t match the rest of the décor. The basement space is uninspiring, and whilst the buffet is what I’d expect from a 4-star property (if a little slow to be replenished), I can’t help thinking offering breakfast in the ground floor Longitude 12 would be a far more pleasant experience for all. I did however like that freshly squeezed orange juice was available on request, and the scrambled eggs were surprisingly good. Tables weren’t too promptly cleared, and the music was a tad on the loud side, perhaps to compensate for the lack of a view. There was no guest wifi in the basement.

































Bar service in Longitude 12 Bistrot and Jardin (without the jardin given it was February) was friendly, and we appreciated having our pick of seating when enjoying our cocktails – the conservatory area was nicely lit and featured a live flute player on one evening. We also used part of our dining credit for cocktails on the second night of our stay.

























Surprisingly, the rooftop bar didn’t look particularly appealing compared to the ground floor bar and restaurant (at least when we popped up in the day time).



A 14:00 late checkout was offered on request, and whilst our dining credit hadn’t proactively been applied to our bill, this was promptly corrected when challenged.

Le Méridien Visconti is an excellent base from which to explore the Eternal City. Some form over function design choices have been made when it comes to furniture, and the breakfast restaurant is dismal, but for the price paid (EUR266 per night for an Urban Suite, flexible, including breakfast) there’s not much to stop me returning.