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Le Meridien Visconti Rome, Italy, [Master Thread]

Le Meridien Visconti Rome, Italy, [Master Thread]

Old Jul 29, 2019, 2:46 pm
  #106  
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 542
I don't have a specific trip report but I can answer any questions you may have. Our 4 night stay ended today. It was walking distance to the Vatican and a €12 trip to the forum and other Roman ruins or a 45m walk. Extremely quiet area other than the international headline news of the murder.

The hotel itself was alright. Not fancy with no lounge or anything. I am titanium and received no upgrade but I didn't push for one either. The room was small compared to Asia and the US but standard for western Europe. The AC wasn't terrible or anything. Our room was always at 74F no matter what we set it at so a bit warm but not gross. Cools down at night. Breakfast was packed 2 mornings from 2 very large American tour busses which also filled the entire lobby but it was quiet the other nights so possibly just bad luck there. Breakfast was decent but not special. Basically this is a decent and RELATIVELY cheap Marriott property in Rome. I'm sure there are better places but not at this price.
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Old Jul 31, 2019, 10:39 am
  #107  
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 93
Originally Posted by omghaxcode
I don't have a specific trip report but I can answer any questions you may have. Our 4 night stay ended today. It was walking distance to the Vatican and a €12 trip to the forum and other Roman ruins or a 45m walk. Extremely quiet area other than the international headline news of the murder.

The hotel itself was alright. Not fancy with no lounge or anything. I am titanium and received no upgrade but I didn't push for one either. The room was small compared to Asia and the US but standard for western Europe. The AC wasn't terrible or anything. Our room was always at 74F no matter what we set it at so a bit warm but not gross. Cools down at night. Breakfast was packed 2 mornings from 2 very large American tour busses which also filled the entire lobby but it was quiet the other nights so possibly just bad luck there. Breakfast was decent but not special. Basically this is a decent and RELATIVELY cheap Marriott property in Rome. I'm sure there are better places but not at this price.
I had the very same experience two years ago. Excellent location for the price and decent service.
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Old Aug 5, 2019, 4:42 pm
  #108  
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Dulles, VA
Programs: UA Life Gold, Marriott Life Titanium
Posts: 2,757
So it would appear that the rumors that the air conditioning is set centrally and the room controls are basically bogus are true. 74 at home, at night, isn't bad, but in a hotel, that means the temp can be all over the place in the 73-78 range.
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Old Aug 8, 2019, 3:10 pm
  #109  
 
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Location: YUL
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Posts: 259
Dont fear. Arrived last night. Yesterday it was 32°C outside and just below 21°C in the room. Today is 36°C outside and 21.5° inside. If anything it is almost too cold, but you can open the window if you wish.
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Old Aug 8, 2019, 4:52 pm
  #110  
 
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The hotel told me that they keep it at 21 C, but apparently they allow you to change the temp 3 whole degrees. My concern is that it might be set to 21 today but since it is centrally controlled, an employee could change it either on purpose or by accident and you're suddenly in a sweatbox or an icebox.
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Old Nov 18, 2019, 4:52 pm
  #111  
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I'm looking to stay at Rome next September and the rate all seems high at Marriott/SPG hotels. For LE MÉRIDIEN VISCONTI ROME, it is EU 300 per night on the dates I need. Which seems very high for the value you can get since they don't seem to update Platnium members and the rooms are small. The G-Rough, Rome nearby also charges similar rate per night but its base room it's a suite.

I do have a credit card certificate that I can use one night at the Le Meridien but I wonder if it makes sense and just use cash rate at the G-Rough. Anybody knows if the rate will drop when the dates approach or September is considered a peak travel month?
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Old Nov 18, 2019, 4:59 pm
  #112  
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: DFW
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Posts: 719
Originally Posted by thebluejean
I'm looking to stay at Rome next September and the rate all seems high at Marriott/SPG hotels. For LE MÉRIDIEN VISCONTI ROME, it is EU 300 per night on the dates I need. Which seems very high for the value you can get since they don't seem to update Platnium members and the rooms are small. The G-Rough, Rome nearby also charges similar rate per night but its base room it's a suite.

I do have a credit card certificate that I can use one night at the Le Meridien but I wonder if it makes sense and just use cash rate at the G-Rough. Anybody knows if the rate will drop when the dates approach or September is considered a peak travel month?
Can you put a refundable rate on hold? That’s the highest I’ve seen it... and I’d stay at the G-Rough if rates end up being comparable. It seems very early to book.
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Old Nov 18, 2019, 6:20 pm
  #113  
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Originally Posted by WalruSara
Can you put a refundable rate on hold? That’s the highest I’ve seen it... and I’d stay at the G-Rough if rates end up being comparable. It seems very early to book.
Yes I can definitely book the refundable rate for two nights and use the certificate for one night. The only problem is G-Rough is such a small property (10 rooms total), I may not get the base room if I wait. I guess I will keep monitoring in next few months and make my booking then.
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Old Nov 18, 2019, 10:33 pm
  #114  
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 905
Originally Posted by thebluejean
Yes I can definitely book the refundable rate for two nights and use the certificate for one night. The only problem is G-Rough is such a small property (10 rooms total), I may not get the base room if I wait. I guess I will keep monitoring in next few months and make my booking then.
It would be most unfortunate if you have to pay €300 for LeM ; really it’s pretty ordinary at €150. But at 300 then it becomes a much better deal to use points ( even for fewer than 5 nights). But I have noticed that they tend to keep rates high for advance bookings and they reduce over time ( sometimes that doesn’t work if they have a conference and/or large groups). Plus September is going to be expensive everywhere.
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Old Jan 10, 2020, 8:41 am
  #115  
 
Join Date: Feb 2019
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So I have been tracking this property as a way to burn Cat 5 certs, and in January they dropped it to a Cat 5 level in July 2020. I went ahead and booked it but man the reviews scare me that I'm walking into a disaster.

I also see options for cash upgrades but this does not appear possible using a cert, I don't really want to burn SNA for a Cat 5 property as that seems low value.

Has anyone had luck getting a CSR to apply the cash upgrade? I might just pay out of pocket for the Urban or Premier suite as they only want $35 and $60 a night for each of those during my stay which seems really reasonable.
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Old Jan 20, 2020, 3:52 pm
  #116  
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
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King Suite W Balcony

Stayed here earlier this month and booked lowest room category and was upgraded to Terrace Suite. Think this is their largest room at least that I saw available. Staff was top notch. No lounge but who needs that with all of the great Italian food around you 😆. Check it out below

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Old Feb 12, 2020, 5:23 pm
  #117  
 
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Originally Posted by Brandinho1
Stayed here earlier this month and booked lowest room category and was upgraded to Terrace Suite. Think this is their largest room at least that I saw available. Staff was top notch. No lounge but who needs that with all of the great Italian food around you 😆. Check it out below
Very helpful. Thanks. I'm a lowly silver, but am thinking of booking this for a few days next January. The ability to use a Bonvoy credit card cert is a big draw.
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Old Oct 10, 2020, 3:53 am
  #118  
 
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Posts: 1,374
I normally avoid this hotel as it's usually way overpriced (200 to 300 euro per night for lowest category rooms), and the location and transport connections are not the best. With the corona virus and lack of tourists, rates have now dropped to 150 euro per night so I decided to finally give it a try. It was ok, but I was not impressed, and I felt it was still overpriced for what it is.

My summary:

-No upgrade. Booked deluxe category room (lowest category is called superior) and received exactly that. Reception said not all floors were open due to the covid 19 situation and the next category up (executive rooms and junior suites) were all taken. Might have been true, but as a titanium member this was disappointing. From the history of this thread I can see that this property has always been somewhat stingy in terms of giving upgrades.

-Despite choosing and paying a bit more for a higher category room the bathroom was small, especially the shower. The shower area was just a small squared area (maybe 1 meter by 1 meter) rather than the usual larger rectangle style in other hotels and the entrance/exit to the shower was right next to the toilet meaning the area to enter/leave the shower was more narrow. Quite uncomfortable.

-I was here in October so cannot comment on the air conditioning situation as I did not need it.

-Windows DO open for fresh air, in this hotel so I was happy about that, however, my window faced the street via Federico Cesi and traffic was quite noisy throughout most of the day including police/ambulances passing every few hours. Another minor problem was with the somewhat small room windows (and other tall buildings close by) not that much sunlight reaches the room. So even if it's a beautiful sunny day outside, you won't notice much of it if you are in your room uless you are on one of the upper floors.

-The desk in the room was one of the those higher ones with a high bar stool, making it uncomfortable and unsuitable to work and do business throughout the day.

-On a more positive note the lobby, common areas, and rooms are in excellent condition and everything looks very clean and modern in the hotel. This hotel does look like a very nice (up to date) 4 star property, despite the various issues mentioned above.

-The public roof terrace on the 7th floor is closed for rennovations so you cannot enjoy the view there.

-There is also a underground parking garage if you have a car.

-Breakfast is served in the basement minus 1 level. As other have mentioned, it's an unpleasant space to have breakfast. The hotel has a lovely and large ground floor bar area with optional outdoor seating, so I don't undertstand why they don't use that area, instead of the basement which has no natural light. Either way, the breakfast food itself also could be improved. I don't know how it was in the time before the virus, but at the moment it was quite disappointing. Only "warm" food is toast and hard boiled eggs which had been sitting around a while and were stone cold when I ate them (no other eggs any other style and no other warm food). The rest offered was cereals, some ham and cheese and pastries and some fruit. Juice from a machine which tasted really wattered down. Coffee also from a machine which was ok. I know we are in strange virus times, but a hotel of this category hotel can do better than this.

-Location is so-so. You can get to the justice ministry/supreme court of Italy (Palazzo di Giustizia - Corte Suprema di Cassazione), the Castel Sant Angelo (Mausoleum of Hadrian), and the banks of the Tiber river in a few minutes, and if you don't mind walking, the Vatican/St Peters cathedral is about a 15 to 20 minute walk away. Everything else requires at least 30 minute walk, or a bus or taxi. Many different bus lines pass by in the huge square called "Piazza Cavour" (where the supreme court/justice ministry is), however, even in the pre virus era waiting for (and taking) a bus in Rome is never a very pleasant experience (think long waits and over crowded buses).

-There is a metro station called "Lepanto" on the A line in the general area of the hotel, but be aware it's a good 10 min walk away (about 1 km distance from the hotel) and sidewalks in rome are terrible for pulling luggage. If you don't mind walking this distance back and forth to metro each day, I highly reccomend using the metro to get to the main train station of Termini, and all the other tourist destinatins rather than using the rome buses.

-There is a Unicredit bank very close by with two 24 hour external ATMs (cashpoints) on the street "via Lucrezio Caro"

-There is a small supermarket called "Carrefour Express" nearby on the street "via Lucrezio Caro"

-There are many nice looking local restuarants in the streets around the hotel. If you don't want Italian food, there is a fancy and somewhat expensive Japanese restaurant called "Taki" in the street "via Marianna Dionigi" See here: https://taki.it/ There is also a more moderately priced (but still very nice looking) chinese restaurant called "Ruyi" which is 2 blocks away in the "Via Valadier" street. See here: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187791-d795381-Reviews-Ruyi-Rome_Lazio.html For fancy ice cream try "neve di latte" on the same street as the hotel in "via federico cesi 1" https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaura...ome_Lazio.html


Conclusion:

Overall, the hotel and rooms look very nice and modern, but it has faults when you look closer at various important details. Unfortunately, many of the hotel's shortcomings (small bathrooms/showers, so-so location, distance to metro stop, lack of natural sunlight, street noises) are permanent and can not be changed, so it really is a "take it or leave it" type hotel. For me, even at the "low virus era" rate of 150 euro per night it still felt overpriced for what (and where) it is.

Last edited by est-gratuite; Oct 11, 2020 at 4:14 am
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Old Jul 6, 2021, 5:32 am
  #119  
 
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: OKC
Programs: DL DM/2.768MM, Global Entry, Titanium_Marriott, GHertz
Posts: 6,748
Originally Posted by est-gratuite
I normally avoid this hotel as it's usually way overpriced (200 to 300 euro per night for lowest category rooms), and the location and transport connections are not the best. With the corona virus and lack of tourists, rates have now dropped to 150 euro per night so I decided to finally give it a try. It was ok, but I was not impressed, and I felt it was still overpriced for what it is.

My summary:

-No upgrade. Booked deluxe category room (lowest category is called superior) and received exactly that. Reception said not all floors were open due to the covid 19 situation and the next category up (executive rooms and junior suites) were all taken. Might have been true, but as a titanium member this was disappointing. From the history of this thread I can see that this property has always been somewhat stingy in terms of giving upgrades.

-Despite choosing and paying a bit more for a higher category room the bathroom was small, especially the shower. The shower area was just a small squared area (maybe 1 meter by 1 meter) rather than the usual larger rectangle style in other hotels and the entrance/exit to the shower was right next to the toilet meaning the area to enter/leave the shower was more narrow. Quite uncomfortable.

-I was here in October so cannot comment on the air conditioning situation as I did not need it.

-Windows DO open for fresh air, in this hotel so I was happy about that, however, my window faced the street via Federico Cesi and traffic was quite noisy throughout most of the day including police/ambulances passing every few hours. Another minor problem was with the somewhat small room windows (and other tall buildings close by) not that much sunlight reaches the room. So even if it's a beautiful sunny day outside, you won't notice much of it if you are in your room uless you are on one of the upper floors.

-The desk in the room was one of the those higher ones with a high bar stool, making it uncomfortable and unsuitable to work and do business throughout the day.

-On a more positive note the lobby, common areas, and rooms are in excellent condition and everything looks very clean and modern in the hotel. This hotel does look like a very nice (up to date) 4 star property, despite the various issues mentioned above.

-The public roof terrace on the 7th floor is closed for rennovations so you cannot enjoy the view there.

-There is also a underground parking garage if you have a car.

-Breakfast is served in the basement minus 1 level. As other have mentioned, it's an unpleasant space to have breakfast. The hotel has a lovely and large ground floor bar area with optional outdoor seating, so I don't undertstand why they don't use that area, instead of the basement which has no natural light. Either way, the breakfast food itself also could be improved. I don't know how it was in the time before the virus, but at the moment it was quite disappointing. Only "warm" food is toast and hard boiled eggs which had been sitting around a while and were stone cold when I ate them (no other eggs any other style and no other warm food). The rest offered was cereals, some ham and cheese and pastries and some fruit. Juice from a machine which tasted really wattered down. Coffee also from a machine which was ok. I know we are in strange virus times, but a hotel of this category hotel can do better than this.

-Location is so-so. You can get to the justice ministry/supreme court of Italy (Palazzo di Giustizia - Corte Suprema di Cassazione), the Castel Sant Angelo (Mausoleum of Hadrian), and the banks of the Tiber river in a few minutes, and if you don't mind walking, the Vatican/St Peters cathedral is about a 15 to 20 minute walk away. Everything else requires at least 30 minute walk, or a bus or taxi. Many different bus lines pass by in the huge square called "Piazza Cavour" (where the supreme court/justice ministry is), however, even in the pre virus era waiting for (and taking) a bus in Rome is never a very pleasant experience (think long waits and over crowded buses).

-There is a metro station called "Lepanto" on the A line in the general area of the hotel, but be aware it's a good 10 min walk away (about 1 km distance from the hotel) and sidewalks in rome are terrible for pulling luggage. If you don't mind walking this distance back and forth to metro each day, I highly reccomend using the metro to get to the main train station of Termini, and all the other tourist destinatins rather than using the rome buses.

-There is a Unicredit bank very close by with two 24 hour external ATMs (cashpoints) on the street "via Lucrezio Caro"

-There is a small supermarket called "Carrefour Express" nearby on the street "via Lucrezio Caro"

-There are many nice looking local restuarants in the streets around the hotel. If you don't want Italian food, there is a fancy and somewhat expensive Japanese restaurant called "Taki" in the street "via Marianna Dionigi" See here: https://taki.it/ There is also a more moderately priced (but still very nice looking) chinese restaurant called "Ruyi" which is 2 blocks away in the "Via Valadier" street. See here: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187791-d795381-Reviews-Ruyi-Rome_Lazio.html For fancy ice cream try "neve di latte" on the same street as the hotel in "via federico cesi 1" https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaura...ome_Lazio.html


Conclusion:

Overall, the hotel and rooms look very nice and modern, but it has faults when you look closer at various important details. Unfortunately, many of the hotel's shortcomings (small bathrooms/showers, so-so location, distance to metro stop, lack of natural sunlight, street noises) are permanent and can not be changed, so it really is a "take it or leave it" type hotel. For me, even at the "low virus era" rate of 150 euro per night it still felt overpriced for what (and where) it is.
I wanted to stay at the Rome Marriott Park Hotel, but I just posted that some basic services might not be available in early October 2021.
Almost all of my trip will be focused on the Vatican so I like that the Le Meridien Visconti Rome is a short walk. However, it sounds like even before the pandemic hit that services were minimal.
Is there no restaurant in the hotel for any meals? Any updates on the current status of services?
The current rate is 172E (early October), so much higher than say Rome Marriott Park Hotel (avg 102E) or Courtyard Rome Central Park (avg 111E).

Edited to say I called the hotel and they say food and services are on a normal schedule so the note in the Bonvoy app must be 'dated'. I think they also said that PL+ can use breakfast as an elite benefit.

Last edited by Xeno; Jul 7, 2021 at 11:25 am
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Old Nov 10, 2022, 12:22 am
  #120  
 
Join Date: Jun 2017
Location: SEA/NYC/IAD
Programs: UA 1K, Marriott Titanium, Hyatt Explorist
Posts: 1,902
Has anyone stayed here recently? How was the room, elite recognition, the usual stuff?
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