River Palace Hotel

"We had a wonderful Italian vacation marred by our final stay at the River Palace Hotel. Where can I start? Well, it went down hill fast when we were assigned to a room accessible only by taking an elevator up one flight and then taking a side staircase up 3 flights (yes, no elevator). Although we booked and paid for a deluxe double room, the room measured approximately 150 square feet only. Then, things got bad. The bed consisted of a hard foam mattress with extremely flat and hard pillows. The rugs were stained very badly. There was no comforter or quilt on the bed, but there was a comforter in an armoire. When I pulled out the comforter, it was stained with what looked like dried blood. Now, for the kicker, there were glass patio doors in the bathroom with only very sheer curtains. To cover the bathroom from being visible from the opposite building, I grabbed the bathrobes to cover the patio doors. Oh, the bathrobes were covered in body hair. Let me also mention that the towels in the bathroom had been used and were still wet. There were no other rooms available. We stayed only one night and made our escape early in the morning. The hotel was a filthy disgrace."

"The staff were welcoming, professional, and always helpful during our stay. Breakfast had a great selection and everything was fresh and delicious. The room was cozy and comfortable, perfect after a long day exploring Rome. We would happily stay here again and highly recommend it to anyone visiting the city."

"Be warned, this hotel refused to give me a refund for a seven night stay I had booked and paid for several months before when I was unable to arrive in Rome due to the fact that the pilots from the airline I was flying went on strike. As you can see from my reviews about hotels on this site, I travel a lot. So, I understand the way a good and honorable hotel will treat their customers. And, this is not it! To tell my story, approximately thirty-six hours before I was to fly to Rome, I get a notice from Lufthansa Airlines that they were experiencing a strike, and my flight had been cancelled. As this occurred last minute, I could not find another flight to get me to Rome on time. Due to this fact, I contacted River Palace Hotel with this information and asked for a refund. Here is their reply. “Thank you for your message and for informing us about your situation. We are sorry to hear about the disruption to your travel plans due to the flight cancellation. Unfortunately, according to the terms and conditions of your booking, the reservation is non-refundable. However, we can provide you with a confirmation of your booking, including all applicable terms and conditions. You may use this documentation to submit a claim with your travel insurance or the airline in order to request reimbursement of the costs. We understand the inconvenience this situation may cause and remain at your disposal should you need any further assistance. Kind regards, Tetyana Filyants Deputy Manager” As nice as that message sounds, this means they are keeping approximately two-thousand dollars of my money. I believe we can all understand that is simply the wrong way to do business. There is absolutely no reason that they cannot refund my money. And, no excuse they claim will make their decision just, decent, or acceptable. They are STEALING my money simply because of a situation that was completely out of my control! Keep this in mind, as it may happen to you if you book a room at this hotel."