pihanettie
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Aug 2, 2013
- Messages
- 81
Sorry the date was 6/8-16, not 5/8-16.
Immigration/customs was a breeze at FCO Rome airport. Bags arrived quickly. We landed around 8:30 a.m. and were at the hotel before 10 a.m., including the 40 minute drive from the airport to hotel. The driver provided water bottles and I recommend accepting them because if you come in a day early like we did then you can use them as refill bottles until the tour officially begins and you get additional water bottles from the guides. Another significant finding was that although the pre-arrival paperwork states you will meet an ABD rep after exiting customs, ours was there in the baggage claim area. Was a significant benefit since once we exited customs there were at least 20-30 other people standing outside with names on placards and it would have been difficult finding ABD in that chaos.
The hotel was booked solid the entire time we were there. It is a new hotel with an easy 5-10 minute walk through an underground tunnel that exits to St. Peter's square. The only problem is that I like hotels where when you exit you are immersed in the culture of the city you are visiting. This location does not provide that. You are surrounded by walls and apartments and it takes a while to walk to any stores or restaurants. Our room was not ready upon arrival and I asked if any other rooms might be and she said there was only one other room but it provided a city view which required an additional 50 euros/night but it wasn't ready yet either. We waited and eventually had lunch. Very expensive. A plain salad (no protein) was 20 Euros at the hotel. Sometime after lunch the city view room became available. I asked to look at it to see if I wanted to pay the additional upcharge. This was the view:
I immediately declined but the woman took pity on me and called the manager from the room and asked for permission for me to stay and it was granted. Later on I opened the window and looked left and saw there was a view of Castel San’Angelo and the river Tiber.
The room was adequate with a fabulous shower.
We relaxed at the hotel the rest of the day. Small welcome gift/amenity was delivered to the room by ABD.
Do not touch the thermostat. It was a little cold so I put it up one degree (from 21 to 22 degrees Celsius). That cut the whole thing off and I woke up in the morning with it 28 degrees. Checking with the front desk in the morning I discovered the temperature is controlled by the front desk and if you try to adjust it yourself it will turn off. If you want it hotter or colder you have to ask/check with them.
The next day we prepared for our evening welcome dinner.
Breakfast was buffet and adequate but nothing special. But I did notice sparkling champagne was provided by all the hotels we stayed in at breakfast for those who would like a 7 a.m. mimosa. Saw David Gregory there (host of Meet the Press).
We went to St. Peter’s square to wait for the pope to appear at noon and give the papal blessing to those in attendance. Sometime he speaks in several different languages but this time he spoke only in Italian. Maybe it had to be brief because later that day he was meeting with Peres and Abbas to pray for peace.
We met one of our guides, Troy (new but an excellent guide and highly recommended) in the afternoon to preorder our evening meal. The welcome dinner started at 5:30 p.m. and was held at the hotel at a casual indoor facility by the pool. I settled on this date because I wanted to go to Italy before it got too hot. I live in Houston so I am used to the heat but still try to avoid it. Unfortunately a few days before we arrived there was a wind blowing from Africa and it raised the temperature 15 degrees from the previous week into the low 90’s. This room is filled with glass walls and was not equipped to handle the heat; it was more of a casual place you could go from the pool to grab something to eat. Everyone was sweating but I was thankful I was not in the sun (we had seats assigned by the guides). I saw some people who were in the sun and they were really uncomfortable and eventually they had to move the tables around to try to get these poor people into the shady areas. They need to do something because this will be an issue for those following who will also be in the heat. Either move to another location or get some large fans.
I had the risotto, which was arranged in this crusty exterior. Other choice was gnocchi and pasta.
Main course was beef and fish. No one liked the fish.
Eggplant was also a choice.
Dessert included chocolate cake and gelato.
When I try to preview my post I do not see any pictures, just the icon indicating they are not available to view. Can someone please tell me what I am doing wrong? Thanks.
Immigration/customs was a breeze at FCO Rome airport. Bags arrived quickly. We landed around 8:30 a.m. and were at the hotel before 10 a.m., including the 40 minute drive from the airport to hotel. The driver provided water bottles and I recommend accepting them because if you come in a day early like we did then you can use them as refill bottles until the tour officially begins and you get additional water bottles from the guides. Another significant finding was that although the pre-arrival paperwork states you will meet an ABD rep after exiting customs, ours was there in the baggage claim area. Was a significant benefit since once we exited customs there were at least 20-30 other people standing outside with names on placards and it would have been difficult finding ABD in that chaos.
The hotel was booked solid the entire time we were there. It is a new hotel with an easy 5-10 minute walk through an underground tunnel that exits to St. Peter's square. The only problem is that I like hotels where when you exit you are immersed in the culture of the city you are visiting. This location does not provide that. You are surrounded by walls and apartments and it takes a while to walk to any stores or restaurants. Our room was not ready upon arrival and I asked if any other rooms might be and she said there was only one other room but it provided a city view which required an additional 50 euros/night but it wasn't ready yet either. We waited and eventually had lunch. Very expensive. A plain salad (no protein) was 20 Euros at the hotel. Sometime after lunch the city view room became available. I asked to look at it to see if I wanted to pay the additional upcharge. This was the view:
I immediately declined but the woman took pity on me and called the manager from the room and asked for permission for me to stay and it was granted. Later on I opened the window and looked left and saw there was a view of Castel San’Angelo and the river Tiber.
The room was adequate with a fabulous shower.
We relaxed at the hotel the rest of the day. Small welcome gift/amenity was delivered to the room by ABD.
Do not touch the thermostat. It was a little cold so I put it up one degree (from 21 to 22 degrees Celsius). That cut the whole thing off and I woke up in the morning with it 28 degrees. Checking with the front desk in the morning I discovered the temperature is controlled by the front desk and if you try to adjust it yourself it will turn off. If you want it hotter or colder you have to ask/check with them.
The next day we prepared for our evening welcome dinner.
Breakfast was buffet and adequate but nothing special. But I did notice sparkling champagne was provided by all the hotels we stayed in at breakfast for those who would like a 7 a.m. mimosa. Saw David Gregory there (host of Meet the Press).
We went to St. Peter’s square to wait for the pope to appear at noon and give the papal blessing to those in attendance. Sometime he speaks in several different languages but this time he spoke only in Italian. Maybe it had to be brief because later that day he was meeting with Peres and Abbas to pray for peace.
We met one of our guides, Troy (new but an excellent guide and highly recommended) in the afternoon to preorder our evening meal. The welcome dinner started at 5:30 p.m. and was held at the hotel at a casual indoor facility by the pool. I settled on this date because I wanted to go to Italy before it got too hot. I live in Houston so I am used to the heat but still try to avoid it. Unfortunately a few days before we arrived there was a wind blowing from Africa and it raised the temperature 15 degrees from the previous week into the low 90’s. This room is filled with glass walls and was not equipped to handle the heat; it was more of a casual place you could go from the pool to grab something to eat. Everyone was sweating but I was thankful I was not in the sun (we had seats assigned by the guides). I saw some people who were in the sun and they were really uncomfortable and eventually they had to move the tables around to try to get these poor people into the shady areas. They need to do something because this will be an issue for those following who will also be in the heat. Either move to another location or get some large fans.
I had the risotto, which was arranged in this crusty exterior. Other choice was gnocchi and pasta.
Main course was beef and fish. No one liked the fish.
Eggplant was also a choice.
Dessert included chocolate cake and gelato.
When I try to preview my post I do not see any pictures, just the icon indicating they are not available to view. Can someone please tell me what I am doing wrong? Thanks.
I can't see any of your photos.
