As part of a weekend in Rome I made the same choice as Olivier previously and opted for Le Méridien Visconti Rome. The opportunity to complete his impressions and see if a few months later the few youthful mistakes he noted have been corrected.
Why choose Le Méridien Visconti Rome?
First thing: the selection criteria. This hotel having already been covered on TravelGuys it would have been logical for me to try another. However, those who know the Eternal City know that hotels in Rome are expensive, very expensive. I found a standard room around 160 euros at the end of April and, having checked, the hotel’s prices don’t seem to skyrocket even in high season. In comparison, the Westin, a member of the same loyalty program, never goes below 350!
For this rate he must be hiding something. So, yes, it does have some flaws like any hotel and some are not unique to it but due to the Roman context. It could be poorly located (which explains the rates of the Sheraton on the other side of the world) but not even that. You cover all the sites of the city within a 30 minute walk, let’s say 45 for the Colosseum and you are 15/20 minutes from the Vatican. In fact, it is one of the only hotels located on this bank of the Tiber.
Arrival at the host is easy (from the airport I recommend the Leonardo Express to Termini station and then finish by uber/metro/on foot depending on the weight of your luggage.
I will also only deal with a few points that will complete Olivier’s previous article
Discover the executive room at the Meridien Visconti Rome
The hotel being relatively full I was not upgraded to a suite but to an executive room. It looks like new and the bedding is very comfortable. We are not going to say that it is hyper warm nor sophisticated but it is of a neutrality without bad taste.
So indeed it’s really not big but the size of the rooms is a more global Roman problem which is unfortunately not limited to the Le Méridien.
This is what it looks like on video.
Beautiful bars and poor service
With the beginning of spring, I was able to enjoy the two bars of the hotel.
The first one is a superb rooftop.
Rooftop which, as you can see, was empty at the aperitif. And for good reason:
Non-existent service. Honestly who is going to pick up the phone hanging on the wall to order a drink. It’s the complete opposite of the spirit of such a place. Same comment as for the Le Meridien Nice: having such places is good but if it is to send such negative messages to the guests it is a real waste.
Another bar is located on the lobby level.
This one has a nice interior terrace. When you manage to be served, I stayed 15 minutes at the table before someone bothered to take care of me, even though there were only 3 tables taken. The staff could be seen walking around quietly inside but obviously their primary intention was not to attend to the customers.
I was eventually served. The other two tables left without placing an order. Excellent Negroni by the way.
I will finish by a small tour to the fitness room which has the merit to exist but is there more for the principle than anything else.
Bottom line
The hotel still suffers from a few teething problems, especially in terms of service, but has no major weaknesses. Even better: at this price I think it is impossible to find a better service in Rome.
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