Fab find of a hotel! (Capo D'Africa Hotel Rome)

Member Name: frankie1984

Product:	Capo D'Africa Hotel Rome
Date:	23/02/09 (110 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Standard, staff and location to the Colosseum

Disadvantages: Price may still be too high for some

Well where can I start with the Capo D'africa hotel? It is lovely and a great choice of hotel so I'll start with the basics and work my way along!



The hotel:
The hotel itself is a 4 star superior hotel located near to the Colosseum in Rome actually on via capo d'africa. It is a relatively small hotel but, for the location (it is down a quiet narrow side road) it is actually what I would class as a larger size city hotel as it does have facilities besides just rooms and takes up a fair bit of space on the street! The hotel is very modern and 'art deco' style and looks very upmarket both inside and out. This hotel would be great for honeymooners and couples as very good standard and also I don't think you'd get very many children here either (we spotted a couple with 2 children in the breakfast room one morning but they were older)




Prices:
I booked this hotel quite a while before actually staying so not sure if any last minutes deals may be a lot cheaper but after checking numerous prices I booked directly with the hotel and paid £320 for 2 nights for 2 people which included buffet breakfast. This was for a standard room type at the hotel.




Arriving and Check in:
When we pulled up outside the hotel the porter came and took our luggage straight away. Upon entering we were greeted by the man on reception who was very smiley and friendly. I found check in to be very efficient and the same guy who greeted us took our passports to check us in with - he also asked for a credit card against the room to pay for any services used but, neither of us own a credit card and hadn't even taken our normal cash cards with us so we advised we didn't have one with us and he was ok with that - I was a bit concerned that it might cause a problem but at the end of the day not much we could have done if we didn't have one with us!
After he had got our room card he then gave us a list of the hotels facilities and provided us with a map of the city and then proceeded to tell us about particular sights they recommend you to see and even advised us walking times to each area and so forth - we found this to be so useful as even though I had a guide book and other such things the way he laid things out on the map made it more easier to understand and since this was our first visit it was quite handy! He then advised us of breakfast times and also advised we could call concierge for anything we needed. After that he advised the porter would show us to our room and off we went.
Once we entered the lift, the porter showed us the floors for breakfast and the gym and once reaching our room he proceeded to show us the rooms facilities such as the wireless internet and in the bathroom
he showed us the emergency call for if you have an accident whilst in the shower or tub as this was a pull rope so he made a joke and said 'emergency not light!' we guessed a lot of people must have pulled this before now for him to say this! He showed us where the safe was and left with a smile (after a tip!) Some things weren't necessary such as showing us where the safe is as I'm sure we'd have figured it out but, i have to say the service levels are very high and it does make you feel looked after.




The Room:
The room itself as I mentioned was a standard room type so it wasn't huge, however, it did have a decent sized double bed which was ever so comfy, a tv with satellite and wireless internet which could be connected to your own laptop or through the tv, a small minibar, a good sized bathroom with a tub that had a shower over, a toilet and a range of toiletries provided such a loofers, shower gel etc and a good sized wardrobe. The hotel also provides guests with bathrobes and slippers which you can purchase to take away. The room is decorated simply with cream walls with a few art pieces on and the bedspread was a lemon and beige checked type. The bathroom was marble and the wardrobes were heavy duty. Overall the room looked like modern and worth the money.
If you are looking for a bit more luxury the hotel has a studio suite that has it's own private terrace. Overall there are 64 rooms.




The facilities:
The hotel as as mentioned is only small but, it has a small gym and lounge bar too. The gym is just that - no pool but a few exercise machines and big enough to suit the hotel. The small bar is located in the lobby area and has a few table lit by candlelight in the evenings. The hotel also has it's own restaurant which does have partial views of the Colosseum - however whilst we were there it wasn't open - we were a bit disappointed as we had hoped to eat in here possibly but not much we could about that! The hotel also has internet access available in the lounge areas in the lobby The hotel's concierge services also include a personalised driver to sights should you need it and you can also arrange a limo to the airport for 50 euros - not bad considering some places charge about £40 for just a normal shared shuttle bus!




Food:
We had breakfast included in our cost which was down as buffet breakfast - to me I always think of buffet breakfast as hot and cold food but, this is not the case in this hotel - it consists of a cold selection of bread, cheeses, cereals, pastries etc. Unlimited drinks are also included from a variety of juices and hot beverages. The service in the breakfast room is excellent and is to be expected for the standard of hotel. The room it is served in is just to your left as you come out of the lift and as you enter you can see the room is pretty small but, there is also two outside seating areas one on either side of the room. The areas have nice large plants pots and there are nice get lots of the sun shining on them - these would be excellent in the summer but as it was October, the weather wasn't the warmest first thing in the morning despite the sun shining!
The room is decorated very in line with the rest of the hotel with cutlery laid out nicely and very stylish linen orange table cloths. As soon as you enter the room, the staff are greeting you with a smile -they always asked straight away if you would like a drink and then moments after you are seated they bring it over for you. The staff are polite and friendly. The uniforms are lovely and modern too in a beige colour with black. The food was always tasty and fresh.
We never ordered room service but from looking at the menu provided, you could choose from a range of hot meals and price wise for the standard of the hotel these prices weren't too bad at all.




Check out:
The check out at the hotel was 12pm which I found nice as most are 11am. Once we were ready to leave we made our way to reception and advised we were checking out. The lady on reception was quick and we settled our charge for the internet we had used whilst in the room without any problems and then she asked if we would be needing to leave our bags (which we did as our flight wasn't until later on) and so very swiftly had ticketed our bags and had the porter put them in the holding room. There was no charge for this service. The lady was really lovely and whilst doing all this she was having a conversation with us about Italy in general and advising us on places in the country that she'd recommend us to stay and overall was just very good at her job.




Overall opinion:
From the moment we arrived at this hotel to the moment we left, it felt like the stay was for a special occasion - the staff were attentive and professional, whilst at the same time friendly and helpful in every way. We didn't really need their services for much except for checking in and out really and of course during breakfast but, I felt if at any time I'd needed more from them this would have been no effort at all.
The hotel is modern and comfortable and is quiet too so perfect to escape the hustle and bustle of the daytime. The hotel feels more expensive than it is and location wise it is right on the Colosseum's doorstep.
For those who want to be closer to the other sights, such as the Trevi fountain or the Spanish step then yes, you'd be better off in a different hotel but, if I'm honest we saw all these sights in one day and we walked to all of them so really we had the best of both worlds - quiet hotel location (it's down a side street from the Colosseum) but easily able to get to the sights of Rome.


The hotel can be booked directly through their own website which is:
www.hotelcapodafrica.com
Tel: +39 06 594 848
Address: Via Capo d'africa 54, 00184 Roma, Italy

It is always worth checking out their website as prices are given in euros so if the exchange rate is good at the time you may get a good deal - plus they do special rates for certain occasions such as Valentines night when a room is only approx 180 euros for two including breakfast in bed. However if you prefer, there are numerous tour operators that sell this hotel.

Summary: A great hotel that is probably overlooked by many due to the location