Dove sono i Tulips? (Hotels in Italy in general)

Member Name: zoe_page_1

Product:	Hotels in Italy in general
Date:	17/02/03 (210 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Centrally located, Excellent staff, Fantastic breakfasts

Disadvantages: The rack rate's a little steep

This was our other Rome hotel, chosen because of its proximity to our first one – trekking across a city laden with luggage when I don’t have to is not my idea of a fun way to spend a trip. Knowing we’d have had the first 2 nights somewhere nice, I wasn’t too fussed about where we stayed next, but again I wanted somewhere reasonably nice for as little as possible. I paid a bargain 60 Euros per night for our room, but the hotel was advertising the same room at 170 Euros, practically 3 times the price. If I’d paid that I would have been mightily disappointed with what I got, but at roughly 20 GBP per person, I was, in a word, astounded. A simple “bargain” doesn’t appear at all fitting in this case. “The best value city center hotel you’ll ever see” seems a little better. Here’s what we got for the money:

• A Great Location

Barely 5 minutes from Termini station, a few minutes walk to local bus and metro stops, this 3 star hotel is ideally situated for those wanting to make the most of their short stay in the city. It’s less than 20 minutes from Ciampino airport (the one served by most budget flights), and around 40 from Fiumicino. Taxis to both airports cost slightly less than 50 euros one way.

• Great Facilities

I don’t think you can really expect Olympic swimming pools and huge modern fitness centers at the price we paid, but the hotel didn’t do badly. It offers well equipped conference rooms, a bar, a restaurant with roof terrace for summer, a large lounge area with sink-into sofas, an internet terminal with reasonable rates and a laundry service. There were also random free things throughout the hotel – as well as the standard shampoo and soap and pads of hotel writing paper, there were shoe shiners, and free umbrella bags.

• Great Staff

The staff were everything you’d expect from a top hotel,
even though this doesn’t claim to be one. They were multi-lingual, efficient and helpful, but most of all they were prepared. We arrived about an hour after check in time (2pm) and it took only 3 minutes to check in (2 of these, I hasten to add, due to the fact that Mummy dearest had “safely” packed away her passport and couldn’t find it) – a quick signature on the pre-printed form, confirmation that we were staying 2 nights and had already paid, a quick intro as to the use of our key card and we were away. Equally, when we checked out 2 days later slightly before the required 12pm at, erm, 6.30am, I handed over the key and the receptionist waved us off. No interrogation over whether we’d consumed any of the minibar, or wrecked the joint, even though he didn’t have my credit card details to charge me later, just a brief “Ciao! See you again” and that was it. I like no fuss simplicity, so I do. One point I should make is that in all the brochures on offer, both online and the paper ones in the hotel, the staff members featured still work there. I’ve worked in hotels before, and I know how high turnover can be, so the fact that they’ve retained 3 or 4 of their front desk staff for the last year or so since they printed the brochures was a good sign to me. Happy staff make for happy customers a lot of the time.

• Great Rooms

After our previous hotel, this one provided a remarked contrast. Where the other one was full of character, this one was modern and minimalist. While the other looked distinctly Italian, this one could have been found in any country on any continent. And while that may sound bad, I like it. Rustic is not for me. Neither is the word “rust” it contains. Think Holiday Inn, think Ibis, think a nice version of Travel Lodge and you’re thinking of something like the Tulip Inn Roma Globus.

The rooms here are smaller than at the San Giusto,
but still standard for a hotel. We had parquet flooring in the bedroom (which always seems cleaner than carpet), tiles in the bathroom. Again, we had the separate twin beds I’d requested, which I’m sure pleased my mother too since I have been known to kick viciously on occasion, no matter how much I love the person sleeping beside me. The TV had exactly the same channels as the other one, so maybe it’s a Rome Hotel set up, and was sitting on a large minibar stocked with low priced alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks and the requisite 4 times the standard retail price peanuts.

We had drawers and a wardrobe and a large dresser, plus a bedside table between the two beds. There was only a bedside light over one of the beds but the main light was dull enough that you could easily sleep with it on. We kept the curtains open most of the time because Rome is currently having weather you’d normally associate with August, not February. There was a large window opening over, ta da, our very own balcony. Very swish. Every room at the hotel has one, and while ours would have been larger enough for 3 or 4 chairs and a table, we saw even bigger ones attached to what I guess were the executive rooms.

The room held a set of cards listing all that useful hotel info – TV operating instructions, and restaurant opening times and so on – and next to the telephone was a clear explanation of the tariffs so you couldn’t accidentally run up a huge bill. This info was all provided in both Italian and English. Rooms were also (supposedly) soundproofed. Although ours wasn’t noisy, it was directly next to one of the 3 lifts and so occasionally you could here people talking as they stood waiting for it to arrive. We were up on the 5th floor which was entirely non-smoking – something I always go for if possible.

The bathroom was hotel-small, but large enough to hold a mini bath with shower attachment, a sink, bidet and
toilet. My one complaint here is that the bath was really high – kinda mid-thigh height on a short a*se like me – which doesn’t make it easy to step out of when you’re soaking wet unless you’re careful. The hotel provided us with 3 towels each, including bath sheets which are so much nicer than having to use millions of little ones. They operate a “change when you need” set up, whereby unless you leave them on the floor, they won’t give you any new ones that day. I’ve seen this once before at a German hotel, and it struck me than as a very nice environmentally friendly idea.

The hotel has over 100 rooms which include standard, superior and deluxe set ups, for single people, couples and families. While the others might well have offered more space, for a short stay a standard room was more than adequate.


• Great Breakfasts

The hotel offers a cold buffet breakfast included in the price of the room. Served from 7 until 10am this included a variety of rolls, a huge selection of things to put on them (many different jams, honey, nutella (!), butter, margarine, cheese, cold meats), croissants (the only thing warm), mini pastries filled with chocolate, jam and a creamy confectioners’ custard thing, 5 different types of cereal, a large choice of fruit (including kiwi fruit which is rather unusual), yogurts and a few other things I’ve forgotten. The drinks were also self service meaning you refill as many times as you wanted - the choice included 2 types of fruit juice, water and milk, and plain coffee (no espresso or cappuccino here) with an assortment of teas – earl gray, green, fruit and so on.

The breakfast was served in the main restaurant, a lovely airy room on the 5th floor with great views over the city. Between 5pm and 11pm this was also the place to go for dinner – more of a snack bar than a 5 course set up, the menu offered pizzas, pastas,
meat and fish, plus smaller soups and sandwiches. The prices were very reasonable – we paid less than 10 pounds for 2 main dishes with drinks – and the food as good as any I’d tasted in outside venues. My only complaint was that the restaurant was a little quiet: at breakfast they have music playing in the background, and the restaurant was busy-ish then anyway, but in the evening all was silent, and since we were practically the only guests dining at that time, it felt a little strange in the rare moments when I shut up and took a mouthful. Although not advertised in the rooms, room service is available – just ring down to reception for more info. Our room was on the 5th floor anyway though, so asking them to bring the food a whole 30m seemed a little lazy…

• Great Stay

It’s hard for me to say which of our hotels I liked more – both were comfortable, provided us with excellent breakfasts and offered great value for money. If you’re not one for quaint character hotels, this is certainly a good one to choose. Book online direct with them (pricey) or through various hotel sites (mine was hotels.com I think). The chain’s not one I’d heard of before, but it’s a pretty large one, offering hotels worldwide, and 4 or 5 others in Rome alone. And yep, I know I should have heard of it since when I read the in room hotel directory, I noticed they even have 2 in Manchester.


Tulip Inn Globus

Viale Ippocrate, 119
Rome
00161

www.goldentulip.com/site/

A great hotel, but not a tulip in sight.

Summary: