Palm Suite - Small Luxury Hotels of the World

I planned this trip well in advance and booked through Capital One. This was my seventh “Small Luxury Hotel of the World” (SLH) stay this year, so I had pretty high expectations. While the hotel itself is beautiful and the location is incredible, the service was far below what an SLH property should offer, and it genuinely affected our stay. Check-in was the first red flag. A trainee was kindly explaining their Michelin-starred restaurant, Aroma, and I was excited to dine there. Then a manager abruptly stepped in, looked us up and down, cut off the trainee, and said, “Here are more economically cheap restaurants”. The tone was dismissive and insulting, and it instantly ruined our excitement for Aroma. We ended up cancelling our plans to dine there because of that moment alone. Breakfast was another confusing issue. I clarified multiple times over email that my SLH and Capital One benefits could be applied to breakfast. I was told repeatedly that they noted my status and everything was fine. But when we arrived, breakfast wasn’t included. I could use my Capital One credit, but the lack of clear communication and inconsistent information was frustrating, especially for a hotel in this category. If you stay here, book a top-floor room. Anything below that sounds like nonstop construction — loud banging, dragging, and thuds at all hours, as if someone was constantly moving furniture. When we brought it up at reception, we were treated like we were exaggerating. The whole interaction was awkward and unhelpful. We also dealt with a stressful family situation: my sister’s passport was stolen in Lisbon, delaying her arrival and forcing us to extend our stay. Not once did anyone at the hotel check in, ask how we were doing, or show any empathy as we were clearly scared and stressed. It was clear they were not interested in our wellbeing. This trip was for my mom’s birthday, I reached out ahead of time asking for help with something small and sentimental — a framed printed photo of my grandmother who recently passed away. I didn’t mind paying, but no one mentioned any cost until checkout, when I was suddenly told it would be 10 euros for the printed photo. The explanation was, “It’s an amenity you always have to pay for.” It felt cold and transactional, especially compared to how genuinely excited the trainee seemed when showing us it setup in our room. Checkout made things even more confusing. The bill was unclear, and when I asked questions, the staff became defensive. We were told upon arrival that the minibar was completely complimentary, yet we were charged for the bottle of wine. When I mentioned that charging for the photo felt unclassy, they responded by saying they upgraded us and gave us complimentary champagne for my mom’s birthday — but those are actually standard SLH/Capital One perks that guests arriving that day received anyway, not something the hotel did specifically for us. Everyone on our floor had the welcome champagne..... it was very obvious... I do want to highlight that the housekeeping staff and the bellboys were wonderful: kind, hardworking, and consistently restocking our fridge. They were the only part of the service that truly felt luxury. Overall, while the rooms and location are excellent, the service from the front desk and management made the stay uncomfortable and disappointing. I’m genuinely surprised this property carries the SLH name. I would skip this place for your stay to Rome and try somewhere else.

Amazing hotel with beautiful rooms and a perfectly central location for exploring Rome. The staff is so kind and hospitable, the rooms were clean and comfortable and they accommodated our requests for a special event. Highly recommend!

Our stay at the Palm suite was wonderful. We were able to check into our room early which was helpful after just landing. The service was top notch from the staff. The suite itself was extremely spacious with plenty of room to relax. The comfort of the bed also added to the fantastic experience. Absolutely recommend staying here for a quick stop in Rome. And those complaining about the tourist location, we all booked next to the Colosseum. We had no issues with this.