The Pantheon Iconic Rome Hotel, Autograph Collection - Rome Italy [Master Thread]
The Pantheon Iconic Rome Hotel, Autograph Collection
The Pantheon Iconic Rome Hotel, Autograph Collection
Via di Santa Chiara 4/A Rome, IT 00186
The Pantheon Iconic Rome Hotel, Autograph Collection Review (14 Photos)
The Pantheon Iconic Rome Hotel, Autograph Collection
I stayed here for a one-night stay on points (70 K) as a ambassador guest in June 2022. It was the last night in a 5 day stay at 5 different hotels in Rome.
Check In
I checked in in the morning. I left my luggage with them and made it very clear that I wanted an upgraded room if one should become available.
They offered me two amenities - 750 points or breakfast AND 1000 points or a 10 USD food and beverage credit. I took the breakfast plus the 1000 points.
When I came back later to collect my keys they informed me that they were still full. I said fine. In the elevator I checked and saw they had one standard room and two junior suites available four the night. I then wrote in the app to them about my disappointment in this matter. It took them hours to respond. I informed them that I was referring them to the Ambassador team.
Side Rant about the Ambassador Program
A minor issue has actually seriously irritated me because the Ambassador team came back telling me the same BS that the hotel told me. I really do not know what the point of the Ambassador team is. They just repeat to me information that I already have. They do not actively do anything for the guest. I wrote to the program that their response was insulting. I am confident that it will change nothing.
Room
I was given the room as booked.
There was a full bottle of complimentary champagne and a plate with three pastries waiting for me in the room. No personalized note.
The room is of decent size for Rome standards. The bathroom was also fairly spacious. Please note that at least in my room, the shower did have a shelf for putting your toiletries onto. Perhaps this has been a recent addition after guest complaints.
Here you can see the shelf on the wall. Plus you also have the window sill, which I used as a shelf.
There were plenty of towels. The water pressure in the shower was also decent but not very strong. The shower also has a separate handheld shower head.
The bed was comfortable. There are outlets on both sides for powering gadgets.
The curtains do a good job of darkening the room. The lights will turn off after about 10 seconds if you do not put the room key into the slot on the wall. I had a fun combination of walking in, putting the keys down somewhere with the curtains closed. Needless to say, I was stumbling through the room later trying to find the door to open for the lights to go back on again so that I could find my room keys again. :)
The welcom amenity. I am not sure if this is standard at the hotel or due to my ambassador status.
I did find that I could hear noise from the corridors. It was not overly bad, but if you are noise-sensitive that you might want to consider this point.
Dining
The hotel is located on the backside of the Pantheon, but not immediately next to it.
The terrace on the 6th floor is used for the bar, breakfast and one of the hotel's two restaurants. The view over the rooftops of Rome is very nice. Plus it is a bit windier at this altitude so it is a bit of relief from the stifling summer heat at street level.
I first went there for a free welcome drink of Prosecco.
The view of the Pantheon from the terrace.
The Pantheon is not immediately next door.
Drinks are served with some bowls of snacks
The bar that serves the terrace and breakfast in the morning
The breakfast was buffet style but there was also an option to purchase a la carte. If I understand the lady correctly only the buffet option was included as the platinum amenity option. The buffet was what seems to be typical Italian - not very expansive, but what was in it was fine.
With the exception of the runny scrambled eggs (which also seems to be typical in Rome). If I had not been in a rush to get to my first meeting, I would have probably challenged the hostess to provide me with an alternative a la carte egg dish.
I did not feel like the service on the terrace in the evening was at the level it should have been at. I had to chase the waiters a couple of times.
I initially thought this was the menu of the Idylio Restaurant, but later realized it was for the terrace restaurant. For me the highlight is the 70 EUR pizza. I was tempted to try it, but in the end did not.
The Michelin starred Idylio only has a tasting menu. I did not view it. The restaurant was fully booked the evening I tried to go, so make reservations if you want to go there.
Location
The small street in which the hotel entrance is located.
It is about a 1-2 minute walk to get to the front side of the Pantheon.
this hotel is located in the best position (not only the best area) you can stay for tourism.
and the rate also is not comparable
the roof terrace alone value the stay at this hotel
the Pantheon is located in the city center - the St.Regis outside
the Pantheon is a relatively small boutique hotel - the St.Regis a big luxury one
common areas are basically absent at the pantheon (no lobby lounge)
I believe these two properties are comparable only because in this period of the year have the same points rate ….
to be honest, having stayed at both these properties, I find your ambassador’s suggestion to avoid the pantheon ridiculous
The Pantheon Iconic is great little hotel in a perfect location. I would not hesitate to return next time I am in Rome
i personally prefer the St. Regis over this hotel largely because of 1) classical architecture 2) proximity to the train station 3) not being in an area overrun by tourists
but after 11.00 / 11.30 PM the tourists tend to disappear in this area and you can have a walk around and you will thanks God for choosing this location, at 5 / 10 minutes walk from Everything
The best thing to do in Rome is walking in the night and it can be easily done from this hotel.
In my experience, it's possible to walk at night from most all hotels in Rome.
In my experience, it's possible to walk at night from most all hotels in Rome.
like staying at Times Square ? 😂😂😂 ok …
Booked two standard rooms. One was given a one category upgrade. Not a big deal as occupancy is high right now, so high they won’t honor late check out (sorry).
Rooms are new and the food is good. I would come back if it weren’t for the shenanigans.
Pros:
- The bed wasn't bad - I slept for 12 hours as I didn't really enjoy my awake hours at this property - the mattress was just-right/firm, the pillows were a bit hard, and the covers were okay in thickness - I did enjoy the feel of the linens, and obviously, I slept well
- The breakfast was pretty good - a full-ish buffet - I was offered an omelet but was worried they would charge me, so I didn't accept - the salmon, scrambled eggs, and croissants were pretty good, though - surprisingly, I wasn't charged for the cappuccinos (I was convinced I would be)
- There was a bottle of champagne and some Italian pastries in the room - the pastries were kind of oddly crunchy
- Rude agent when I walked by the hotel at 10 AM and asked if perhaps my room was ready - "check-in is at 3, just check the Bonvoy app"
- My bathroom smelled off and as if something had been masked with a lot of cleaning fluids. I then stepped into the shower and started hearing gurgling noises, realizing that every time I pressed my foot down on the shower floor, I was spreading a thin layer of water that was gurgling underneath the stone floor. The smell seemed to be decay from that stuck water underneath the floor. I called down - they sent Housekeeping up who just sprayed more noxious cleaner / perfume. I went down to the front desk who told me there were no other rooms and that if I wanted to leave that I would have to pay for the night anyway. Then, they sent an engineer up who said that everything was fine and acted like the gurgling water was normal. Whatever, I was stuck there anyway as I wasn't going to waste 500 EUR, so I just went to sleep and left early the next morning after breakfast. The fact that a hotel would keep a room like that in service when water damage would be accumulating and potentially causing large problems in the future show their priorities of a quick buck over anything else.
- The hotel refused late checkout as they were "sold out", which they said was a good thing for them. They told me I could have 1 PM, and honestly, it didn't matter as I just wanted out of this gross hotel as early as possible.
- Only upgraded to a Deluxe Room even though Junior Suites were being sold online at the time of check-in
- Shower pressure was bad, and the half-glass means that water leaks out onto the floor
- The light switch design is idiotic with no indication on most of the panels of what is being controlled (just three random dots)
- The deadbolt on the door did not seem to work (it would just rotate)
- Zero noise isolation in the room (you can hear everything around you, above you, and below you) - someone was at the front desk complaining about spending 900 EUR just to hear their neighbors
- No Internet TV OS - advertised Chromecast functionality leads to a "Not Available" page and most of the channels that I tried also said "Not Available" - the only channel I could get to work was CNN
- Shower pressure in the sink was too strong (ironic as the shower was bad), which meant that water sprayed out all around
- Some gross cleanliness misses - sticky substance behind the chair pillow, some large debris left in one of the drawers
- Very few accessible outlets - only one in the bedroom that I could find - everything else (bedside) was a USB Type A plug, which is useless as most chargers these days are USB-C
- Some of the hallways smelled bad and had trash left on the ground (used masks) my whole stay
- Ridiculous need to write your credit card number down on a paper form at check-in - seriously, it's 2022 (though, I found the same at the St. Regis where I'm at now) - I don't think the Westin did this, so I don't think it's a Rome thing - sure, type it into your computer, but a paper form? Come on...
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