Discovering Great Italian Hotels (Armani Hotel + St Regis + Excelsior Gallia + more)
 

Hi Guys,

This is an interesting one, as I've just finished (or finishing) my previous trip report, but getting a head start on this one on my first Trip Report of 2017!

This is my 3rd trip report on FT, so do check out my previous trip reports here:

• A European Birthday Adventure - 2015
• The Long Road Back to Australia - 2016

I say interesting because I'm not reviewing any airlines or restaurants (as I've normally done) just hotels over the 2 weeks I was in Italy. I flew Qatar Economy to Milan (and I slept 70% of the way, so a review probably wasn't worth it either).

And the trip plan/itinerary (Please note the 1st link is directly to my blog which features my scoring of the Experience, and 2nd link is to Flyertalk link):

1. Introduction to Discovering Great Italian Hotels | Flyertalk Link
2. Excelsior Hotel Gallia (Milan) | Flyertalk Link
3. Room Mate Giulia (Milan) | Flyertalk Link
4. Boscolo Exedra Roma (Rome) | Flyertalk Link
5. The St Regis (Rome) | Flyertalk Link
6. Armani Hotel Milano (Milan) | Flyertalk Link

Let me know if anyone has any particular questions about any of the hotels! As always, you can follow me on Instagram (@jubbingee)

Introduction to Discovering Great Italian Hotels
 

This was an interesting trip for me - part work, part pleasure. A week before I eventually left for Italy, I was told to pack my bags as I needed to head to Milan - and while I won't go into what work I do, let's just say that this was a very sudden and unexpected trip. With that in mind, I decided to make the most of it, and plan my stays around some of the best Italian hotels as part of route. The only hotel I didn't have a say in was 'Room Mate Guilia' since it was part of work (still counts though!), but the rest were all chosen carefully to make the most of my Italian stay.

Exactly a year ago I had found myself in Italy, and stayed at one of the best hotels in Rome - but I was looking at different hotels this time - and due to the number of hotels, I decided to mix it between points and paying cash (or both). The hotels I chose were a mix of convenience, price, location, and wants - Excelsior is widely considered to be one of the highest ranked hotels in Milan by many (and well known), Room Mate Giulia was the #1 ranked hotel in Milan according to Tripadvisor, Boscolo Exedra Roma was something which caught my eye the last time I was in Rome (it has a stunning exterior), along with the St Regis Rome, and the ultimate hotel fantasy of mine was the Armani Hotel in Milan. I've been a huge Armani fan, and ever since I had dinner at the Armani Hotel in Dubai - I really wanted to stay there, and I finally got my chance this trip (albeit in Milan over Dubai) - so I took it, as a little treat to myself. So how did I go about booking these? I'll detail them at the start of each post you you guys can look into it in the future as well.

Costs aside - this was a great way to experience some of the finest Italy has to offer - and ultimately to see if they stood up to the massive expectations everyone has with them. Either way - I was excited to explore Italian Fine Living further. I'm sure many will argue that there are more hotels than this which I might have considered - and that's probably true - but the way these hotels worked out was best for my needs. This was also my first time in Milan (and probably my 3rd time in Rome) - so it was essentially exploring the cities.

Many hotels at 2 cities. Will be interesting

I noticed the hotels in Milan are very expensive. The Four Seasons looks nice.

PS Stayed at one Armani in my life (Dubai) and it won't come a second.

While I like the concept of Four Seasons, their traditional fashioned furniture (even in most new hotels) annoys me - so I almost never consider them. The Four Seasons in Istanbul really has my attention though (though I won't touch Turkey till they sort their mess out).

I've heard mixed things about the Armani Dubai - and it would be good to compare your thoughts once my review is done! I think the Milan one worked out well since it's newer and in Armani's hometown - they would have learn from any mistakes in Dubai (none which I know of without staying).

Excelsior Hotel Gallia (Milan)
 

Excelsior Hotel Gallia,
Milan, Italy

Booking a hotel in Milan was an interesting task as I was up against a few challenges. The first, was that I was against the clock - my flight had only been confirmed 6 days before I needed to actually fly out to Milan, that meant I had to do a lot of research in a short amount of time (I generally like to take my time researching). The second, was that The Milan Fashion week was on - so almost every hotel in the city was on supercharged pricing structures - something I wanted to avoid (considering the hotels I wanted to stay at). As a Starwood Gold member, my first response is generally to go to the SPG website to see what my options are (simultaneously with Tripadvisior and Booking.com to compare ratings).

Being one of the most renown hotels in Milan (and part of SPG's Luxury Collection), it ended up being a no brainer - especially with the proximity to the train station, which was a requirement for me after a long 24 hours of travelling from Australia. However, being Fashion week - the $720 AUD per night rate x 2 (for 2 nights) was a bit rich for my blood - especially since I had a long trip to go still. The good thing with SPG however, is that it allows you to use use either points or cash+points.


Since I was staying 2 nights, 40,000 points didn't seem like a good deal to me. However, 10k points + $180 USD ($230 AUD) seemed like a very good deal, especially considering the paid rate - so without hesitation, I booked it and was set.

Heading into Milan city was straight forward, but long - the train took at least 50 mins, but I passed the time talking to a new friend I had made at the Airport (she was also from Australia). I was a little confused where to go once I was outside, as I didn't realise just how close the station was to the hotel (I literally walked across the road, and reached the hotel). The hotel was buzzing when I arrived, and the weird thing is no one took my suitcase from me until I was inside (the way I was dressed, having come from a massive travel sesh, I get it, but it annoyed me a little). I waited a little bit behind some other people in line, then walked to a guy behind the counter and said "Checking-in''. He said "I'm actually off duty, but I'll check you in anyways" - gee thanks? Anyways, after that he was really quick and professional in getting me my room key - he explained a few of the hotel amenities (including a free Masareti service to the Duomo!) and I was on my way to the room.

The hotel looked incredibly stylish, and so it should have - considering it was recently renovated and upgraded in every manner. Unfortunately with the hotel being so full - an upgrade wasn't possible, so I was given the King Bed room - which as it turns out is nothing to sniff at! The room was actually very well done, and it oozed stylishness and luxury, without the tackiness (looking at you Emirates). It was a very warm an inviting room, which made me really happy with the choice overall.


Seriously - this room was very well made. Turns out while Marco Piva was the designer in charge, he worked from Cassina Contract, the famous Italian Furniture brand's offshoot that do custom interiors across the globe. There was very little, if anything about the room that I really hated (okay well maybe the desk chair was terrible on the back). I decided to take a look around the room at what made it so special.


While the view wasn't stunning - it did overlook the Milan Train station (like I said - literally across the road), and I was glad to at least have a balcony - even if it was tiny. The amenities in the room seemed decent as well. Complimentary water and tea/coffee was a given - but it was nice to have complementary shoe shines per day as well. I really did like the layout of the coffee case, and how it was presented - super classy.


I really liked how the switches in the room curved outwards as well, making it easier to reach from the bed (especially for the alarm). Again the finishing was top notch. I especially liked how there were USB ports layed around the room - super convenient when you need to just plug in.

The phone system itself was also an advanced touch screen version which made it easy to dial any of the services easily.


The bathroom was also quite impressive - big, bright, and with a nice border backlit mirror which really defined the space.


I especially liked how big the shower was, and even with an open, but fixed door shower, the water never ran outside due to the size. I grabbed a quick shower once I was done with my photo session, as I was meeting some friends for dinner and drinks. It was a great night out, but I didn't manage to grab any photos - however if you're looking for a cool place to go in Milan for a drink, then check out Dry (They make some mean cocktails - but their espresso martini's need some work). That night I went back to the room and crashed, with jet lag finally getting the better of me. I did grab one pic of the turndown service before crashing however.

The next day (with breakfast NOT included), I slept it and decided to explore a little of the city (before my dinner/drink plans with another group of friends). I decided to call down and book the hotel Maserati (seriously how cool of a perk is that!), and while I waited, I explored the lobby of the hotel.

Even the attention to detail in the lift was interesting.


Being as it was Milan Fashion Week, and I was in one of the fancier hotels in Milan - you can bet your behind that there were some gorgeous people in the hotel - like seriously pretty (but no one known to me at least). There were only 2 out of 3 Maserati's working, hence booking was essential if you wanted to get dropped or picked up from the Duomo/Galleria Vittorio Emanuele area. By this time, my Maserati Quattroporte had arrived, and I was whisked away by Paolo, who I also had for the next few rides (Paolo did mentioned there were 1 or 2 famous models staying at the hotel, but didn't know who). Honestly, being chauffeured around Milan in a Maserati is one of the coolest perks I've had at a hotel (especially free perks) - and I took full advantage of it during my stay. Paolo was great at giving information, and even gave me a snippet of the car's power, but the ride was over in less than 20 minutes unfortunately. Paolo did have some interesting things to say about the next few hotels I was staying at "Armani hotel is one of the best, but I prefer the Bulgari hotel" "why?" I asked. "Armani hotel is on the main road, Bulgari is behind in a private area" Fair enough I suppose. "Room Mate Guilia (my next hotel) not so good, because it's only a 4 star hotel" Banter!


I even called the hotel to come pick me up from the same spot once I was done with my sightseeing and shopping - Milanese sights are interesting, but there's not much going for it that I could see outside of the Duomo and the Galleria.

When I got back that night, I realized I had my drinks voucher still available as a SPG Gold member (free gift or bonus points) - so I headed to the bar on the ground floor for a quick nightcap.


It was rather empty when I arrived, so I just sat at the bar, got a quick recommendation and was served some nibbles while I waited. My drink arrived soon thereafter (I don't recall which one I had - but it was strong).


Soon I was back in the room, and again I crashed - the jet lag still not fully gone. I was up the next morning at 10am, as I needed to head over to the next hotel (Room Mate Gulia) to catch up with the work crowd I was in Milan with. Checkout was smooth, and since the Room Mate Gulia was just next to the Duomo, I asked the concierge to get the Maserati to drop me off at the Duomo with my suitcase, and they happily obliged. And with that I was on my way - happy with the hotel overall (Tripadvisor ranks it as the 10th best hotel in Milan - and it's certainly worth of a top 10 place). It's been renovated beautifully - and it really was a nice hotel to stay at. I did one to leave you guys with one annoying thing about the hotel - everytime I plugged my phone charger in, they unplugged the charging cables when I left the room, and folded it up like so:

Yea it's nice of them to tie up my cable (in theory I suppose) - but ever damn time I unwrapped it to plug it back in, it was folded like this again. Just why?

Overall it was a fairly great stay - and I really like the amenities included with the hotel! I'd stay here again in a heartbeat - as long as the price wasn't $700 AUD per night ;)

Intriguing...following this thread with interest!

Last time I stayed in Milan, it was at the Hilton - around the corner - and I remember marveling at the hotel and wondering what the rate was. (Never checked though until now).
Am looking forward to the rest of the TR.

Room Mate Giulia (Milan)
 

Room Mate Guilia,
Milan, Italy

Having had a lovely stay at the Excelsior Hotel Gallia, I moved onto my second hotel in Milan - the Room Mate Gulia.

With a name like 'Room Mate' Giulia - I wasn't entirely sure what I was getting myself into when I first heard of it. At first I was worried I was put into a hostel type location - or maybe it was an Airbnb type of location, which definitely sounded better than a hostel. As mentioned in my earlier post - this was a work trip, hence work had actually booked this location (and I had absolutely no say in it since I wasn't the only traveller), so I wasn't quite sure what they were signing me up for - but the good thing was that this was all paid for (for 3 nights). Well as it turns out, with a little bit of research, this 4 star hotel was (at the time of stay) the #1 ranked hotel in Milan according to Tripadvisor - no small feat on it's own. As of writing this post, Room Mate Giulia has dropped to #2 (behind the famous Mandarin Oriental) - but still, in Milan, being a 4 star hotel ranked as the second best in the city is still unbelievable! The way I break it down is this, Milan generally has 2 types of hotels - The really posh and high end (like the Excelsior Gallia), and the really low end hotels. Anything in between is lacking in numbers (so I'm told by my Italian friends).

That's where Room Mate Giulia stands out - It's one of the inbetween locations, gearing towards the luxury segment, but with a unique twist. Designed by world renown architect/designer Patricia Urquiola as well as Cassina Contract helping with the custom interior fit out (Cassina Contract also worked on Excelsior Gallia if you remember!). What's unique about this hotel is that's it's been designed in a very Arty Retro 'Mad Man-esque' style - without compromising on quality and comfort. The interesting thing about Patricia is that I've love a lot of her work, her products, and her designs - so this was a great experience for me as you could really tell where Patricia had used her personal design touches throughout the hotel to make it look incredibly unique. Even more so - I met and had a workshop with Patricia Urquiola during my trip in Milan for work - the experience was incredible, as she comes across as an inspired, yet focused dreamer. For those high rollers reading this, Patricia has just designed a brand new hotel in Lake Como that has become my next dream hotel - Il Sereno, if I ever end up in the Como region (Mark Zuckerberg was staying at Il Sereno the week I was in Milan). But enough about my fan crush on Patricia...

Location wise - the Room Mate Giulia is situated perfectly - directly across the Park Hyatt, a 30 second walk to the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, and a 2 minute walk to the Duomo di Milano - you were essentially in the heart of Downtown Milan. Upon getting dropped off, I quickly found the enterance to the Room Mate Guilia and made my way inside to the reception. The first thing I noticed was just how 'chill' and unique the lobby area looked - it was unlike anything I had seen at a hotel before.


It wasn't massive - but it was interesting. Sort of like a modern art gallery in a way, with the unique kinds of painting (?) displayed across.

Either way, I dragged my bag upstairs myself since it wasn't offered (I suppose the main difference between 4 and 5 star hotels in Italy) and made my way to the room on the 4th floor. This room was only 20 m sq, so a bit smaller than standard sized rooms in 5 star hotels in Italy, but then again we are comparing a 4 star here. The room numbers were marked with cool lights as per below as well (seriously - more hotel rooms need to have lighting like this on the room numbers).


As for the room - it was just as unique as the lobby. Maybe someone with more poetic words can help me out.


The bed frame looked like it was hanging from leather straps, the roof was covered in the standard Urquiola square patterns, and most interestingly enough - the cupboard was replaced with steel frames and a curtain to cover it (the safe and the minibar were also located here). It was replicated for the desk as well, and the tv hung over the top. Even the bed lamps were hanging from the room, with a steampunk kind of metal look at times. I was both impressed and intrigued, though it felt like a weird switch after a modern luxury hotel. There was a nice welcome note from the Owner, and some treats to go with it, and the minibar seemed to have a few sparse items in it.

If you thought the room was different, wait till you saw the bathroom - very Mad Men-esque.


The blue wall tiles with the red framing gave it an old look, but the red/orange sink gave it a good stand out factor. I really hated the bathroom at first, but the neutral wall tones gave me a calming feeling, so I grew to tolerate it over the next few days. One thing which was quite amazing at this hotel was the number of amenities - which was not only well stocked, but uniquely identified to stand out rather than the boring regular descriptions. For instance, the Shower cap was 'Shower cap for brilliant minds', the soap was 'Soap for Joyful hands' and even the toothbrush was 'Dental kit for monster teeth'. Very cool. The only issue was once the shampoo/body wash was opened, it was difficult to close them since the seal was broken.


I decided to take a look out my tiny balcony, to see the view. I wish I hadn't. The view itself wasn't terrible if you were looking from the room, as it just showed the inner bedrooms of the hotel - but once you looked down, there was a garbage dump area. Lovely. I kept the window closed for the rest of the stay in case there was ever a smell (though it wasn't horrible when I noticed the first time).

After checking in, I decided to meet up with the rest of the work gang from Australia and check out more of the sights of the city, before heading out for dinner and drinks at night (@ the Dolce & Gabanna Bar followed by the Armani Bamboo Lounge)


When we can back, it was super cool to see they had a DJ spinning some tunes in the lobby to liven up the atmosphere - I don't think I've ever seen this at a hotel, quite like this. The staff told me it was only because of Milan Fashion week - and it's not a reuglar occurance, however I suggested they look into it during weekends - because it really got people socialising at the lobby more (plus they serve drinks at the lobby too).

The next morning we were out doing work stuff and tours, so there wasn't much to write about. The sleep comfort was decent, though I've certainly had better at hotels. The only annoying thing was that the light where you would your card key in - it was quite noticable at night, especially in a smaller room. That took some getting used to, but other than that - it was alright.

However before heading out, we did enjoy some breakfast at the cafe - which was also different designed - but not as far fetched as the lobby or rooms (although the hanging back frames with the leather look was still there, though differently designed). It was brightly lit, and I especially liked how despite the small area - there were many different seat settings to sit at. As for the breakfast itself - for Italian standard they were fairly good - there was very little hot food, but plenty of other little tidbits and bread related foods like pastries. Coffee was self service, though the machine was new (since the hotel had just opened up a few months prior) and tasted nice. The juices didn't taste fresh, more canned, that was the only downside, lack of fresh juice.


When I did come back, I noticed they leave a little card with the name of the person that cleaned your room - giving it a personal touch in a way.


I did manage to buy some nice work shoes while in Milan - but overall most of the time was spent with the work crew.

There's not much else to say - I moved onto Rome after the 2nd night at 5am (long drive), but the hotel packed small mini brekky boxes for us to take with us, which was a nice touch. It was an interesting experience at the Room Mate Guilia - on one hand the unique design and setup was unlike anything in Rome - and unlike anywhere I'd stayed at before. On the other hand, coming from a Luxury 5 star hotel to this was a weird change - not bad, just weird. However, despite the quirkiness and minor flaws, it was a pleasant stay - and no one had any major complaints. Would I stay here again in Milan - perhaps if the rate was good, because a normal rate of $400 AUD is quite high when that get's you better starred hotels in the area, but at a lower rate I may consider it. Whatever the case - it was the most uniquely designed hotel I've stayed at yet!

While the room looks decent (not my style, but tastes are different) the view is awful. Very scruffy!

You're quite right that it seems to be a bit of a unique name for a hotel, so much so that upon reading this post, I recalled that I stayed at Room Mate Valentina over five years ago on my only visit to Mexico City. I found the hotel to be fine, certainly clean and in a decent neighbourhood but nowhere near luxurious by any means. I had no idea they were a chain until your post and I find it amusing that the one in Milan goes for AUD$400 when the one in Mexico City goes for a little over AUD$100. Obviously they are very different markets but still...

Looking forward to the rest of this report.

I believe the higher (expensive) up rooms have an 'outside' view rather inside, but I could be wrong. I think their location doesn't leave much to do - but surely they can cover it or something - it was the most annoying part of an otherwise good stay.

Thanks for reading!

In context, $400 AUD is around $310 USD - so it's not ludicrous, but I did see the rate dip to $300 AUD on the rare occasion (just never when I was in Italy), so it might be worth it then due to the location and uniqueness. I know my friend got that $300 AUD rate when she went to stay, and the hotel was a little less full, so they upgraded her anyways.

I had never heard of Room mate chains till this trip, but good to see someone else has tried a Room Mate setup - though I think this is a step up in design as compared to that one as well.

Boscolo Exedra Roma (Rome)
 

Boscolo Exedra Roma,
Rome, Italy

Heading into Rome was interesting - because initially I was only going to spend 1 night here, then fly off to Turin to stay at the Turin Palace (which Tripadvisor has ranked the 3rd best hotel in 2017). However, upon getting to Rome at about 12pm, then having lunch, then heading to the hotel at about 3pm - I realized that I wanted to spend my next 2 nights in Rome - so I ended up cancelling my hotel reservation (The Turin Palace staff were amazing, cancelling my non-refundable paid stay and refunding me), while the Air fare was cheap, so I let that go. Hence, the Boscolo Exedra Roma and St Regis took over in Rome. Booking the Boscolo Exedra was interesting because booking really late meant the paid rate was about $600 AUD (it was also peak season it seemed, imagine below is not of the same date I stayed). The reason I wanted to stay here was my last trip to Rome in 2015, I walked past this hotel pretty regularly, and I was genuinely curious - because it looked super fancy from the outside. A quick search showed that the Exedra Roma was bookable through Marriott - and hence Marriott points. Now normally I don't have too many Marriott points (as I prefer SPG), but having just been aquired by Marriott, my SPG Gold Status was linked to Marriott, and I could transfer SPG points to Marriott at a 1:3 rate (excellent value in my opinion for certain stays).


Being a Category 9 property, the highest Marriott category from memory, it would cost me 45,000 points, or $600 AUD paid. I decided to go for the points option since it seemed like better value. Since I already had some points, I transferred over 12,000 SPG points which converted into 36,000 Marriott Points - and I booked it for a night (taxes came up to 125 euros since I also had an e-certifcate from the previous Marriott promotion). Since I was rooming with a friend for the night, I booked the Superior Guest room with 2 single beds.

When we arrived in Rome, our taxi van dropped us off at drop off area in front of the hotel - and no one came to help us with our bags. So we lugged our suitcase up till I pretty much had to stop one of the hotel staff to ask my bag to be taken up the stairs. That little hiccup aside, I noticed they were really busy as there were many people either dropping off or checking in that day, so I understood how busy they were. We walked up to the Reception and waited our turn in line, which gave me a chance to take some pictures of their gorgeous lobby and entrance.


They had layed out flowers everywhere, and it smelled so good in the reception, almost like spring (despite it being autumn) - this hotel had a beautiful interior, and I can understand why this hotel looks so grand from the outside - because it is quite grand (traditionally speaking) from the inside. I later realised they were setting up for a wedding later that night. Finally after about 7 minutes, our turn came to check-in. The receptionist was a weird mix of friendly and cold depending on the conversation. "As a Gold member, is there a room upgrade available?" "No we are full" she said coldly. "However, since you are Gold, I'll upgrade you to a nice view room overlooking the Piazza, and breakfast is complimentary as a Gold member sir" she responded, with a friendly tone. It was like she was going through a inner battle to be friendly, and not care at the same time - super weird. Either way, once we were checked-in, we headed towards to the room (again no one offered to take our bags).


Since the hotel is around a circle Piazza, the entire building was curved, and unfortunately we were given a room nearly all the way to the end of the curve (a good minute or so walk from the elevators with our bags), and we finally arrived at room 345. The traditional style thick door really added to that traditional grand experience.


The room wasn't massive - but honestly I was quite impressed. I've said it before and I'll say it again - I'm normally not a fan of traditional styled hotels, but the Boscolo Exedra Roma was quite a pleasant room. A massive mirror took up the left side of the room, the bed in the center with two arm chairs with a table in front, and the desk and cupboard on the right of the room. It was almost over indulgence in opulence, but somehow it worked with the traditional style of the building. My friend who had never obviously travelled with me simply said "You done good Jay". The bed itself featured what looked like a crocodile skin bed rest - but I couldn't tell if it was real or fake, though most likely fake to add to the ambience. A neat little chandelier in the middle of the room added to vibe the room was giving as well. I decided to check out the bathrooms as well.


The bathroom was nice and spacious, and while the color of the tiles gave it an aged feeling - everything was well maintained. My biggest issue - the shower was so damn tiny! Like seriously, the space planning for the shower area was just horrible, and it felt tight and constricting (especially when you're 6'1). I generally like bigger showers, over bath tubs, so this was a real letdown for me. On the plus side, the shower pressure was excellent.

Even better than the room itself however, was the view! Overlooking the Piazza della Republica, with it's stunning fountain sculpture in the middle, and 16th century churches behind, it was something to see. Despite it being a major roundabout - the windows were thick enough to keep most of the noise out. It was a different story when we opened it to take photos obviously, but it was a great view to have.


The view at night was even better, with less traffic and more lights which were perfect for photography.

Anyways, I had some work to finish up and I needed to print a few things, so I decided to visit their business center. I honestly thought I walked into the wrong area when I saw the business center, because it was literally the worst business center I have ever seen in my life - perhaps I'll just let the pictures do it justice...


Seriously Boscolo, what the heck? In an instant the allure of grandness was shattered for me. I said down to get things done anyways - but computer was in Italian and incredibly slow, the other one incredibly slow - but at least there was English! Well unfortunately the printer was out of ink, so I moved back to the Italian one, making my way through with the documents on the USB. That printer was only in black in white, which was okay - except it would only print half the page. Disgusted I gave up to get a hot chocolate - which turned out to be disgusting. Even more disgusted, I decided to change and head out to see the sights of Rome before the sun went down, as I was meeting my friend for dinner (along with two of his Friends who lived in Rome). Obviously the business center is probably the least used area of most hotels - however this one in particular was just awful in every regard, though I appreciate they had some snacks & drinks, if only a little.

Before heading out, I asked the Concierge for some advice on how to the Trevi Fountain - they were professional and friendly and helped me figure out how to get there by walking. And I was off to quickly explore Rome! Being my 3rd visit in Rome - I knew where I wanted to go for my own little tourist trip.


As a side note, everyone has to visit Giolitti in Rome, they do the best Gelato's I've ever had.


After that, we ended up for dinner in the lovely Sciue Sciue, an area I hadn't been before. The restaurant had this interesting wax area where they just left the candles after they melted. Anyone have the step ladder?


Dinner was lovely, and once we were done, the ladies wanted to show us around Rome, a few of their favourite cities by night - we happily agreed, all merry with wine!


Around 11pm, they dropped us back to the hotel and we decided to crash. My mate was heading off to Milan so he had to catch a 6am train, where I was going to sleep in before moving to my next hotel (The Boscolo was booked out the next day either way, but I really wanted to check out the St Regis) so we said out goodbye's that night. I slept like a baby, I'm not sure if the beds were comfortable or I was just exhausted.

The next day, when I woke up around 9ish, I called reception to ask what time I could check out. The weird thing is, as a Gold member - Marriott's website states "Guaranteed 4 p.m. late checkout, subject to availability at resort and convention hotels". Well this wasn't a resort nor a convention hotel, but the receptionist insisted that I had to check out at 11am because the hotel was full. I argued back, they finally relented and gave me till 1pm, still not even the guaranteed 4pm I was supposed to get, but at least it gave me a little bit more time to relax - though I'm not sure how 'Guaranteed' is defined by Marriott. Meanwhile I headed down to Breakfast.

Upon arriving at the dining area, on the 1st floor, I waited to be given a table and I was made to wait a good 5 minutes as they sorted out the seating arrangements. Not an amazing start. The brekky area was a little full, so I could take restricted photos. The breakfast spread was decent, and fresh.


After breakfast, I lazed around a little, then decided to check out, and then headed off to another hotel in between near the Pantheon. Unfortunately I don't have a review for that since the next night I met some British people, got absolutely wasted with them, and was too hungover the next day to take photos. So for the sake of argument, the next hotel was indeed the St Regis. Again on the way out, I had to ask someone to help with the bag down the stairs.

As for the Boscolo Exedra Roma - it was an enjoyable hotel overall - but staff attitudes (barring the concierge) left a lot to be desired. The Business centre was also a disaster for a hotel of this calibre. Overall, comfort was good, and you can get some good pricing off-peak at this hotel, but for now the points were useful. The location was right next to the Termini Train station, but a good 10-15 minutes walking from tourist sites. Either way, I was looking forward to my next stop - the St Regis

I remember Giolitti well:cool: Not only one visit;)