I stayed at the Westin Excelsior Rome last summer on our way through Italy. It was my and my friend's only hotel for the trip (we otherwise stayed with friends), so I remember quite a bit. But forgive me if my review of the hotel is not on-par... memories fade!

The hotel is fairly large, so not the type of intimate, boutique, family hotel you might find in Italy. However, the location of the Excelsior is not bad, right next to the U.S. Embassy (and you know these are usually in prime locations!) on the Via Veneto. The Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain are about a 15-minute walk from the front door and you can even reach the older parts of Rome and the Vatican on foot. Even the Hard Rock cafe is only a hop and a skip away, although I tend to avoid those places like the plague when I am traveling. Trust me, you will have no lack of options for restaurants around the Westin Excelsior. This is Rome, afterall.

What a great Platinum amenity gift we received (given the choice, without us having to ask): a book about Rome and a DVD to watch. This was great prep for the self-guided tour of the city. As a Platinum, I was upgraded to a wonderful suite -- old world furniture, green walls with paintings, and even a chandelier in the bedroom above the Heavenly Bed! The suite was quite large. The bathroom had marble with two sinks and even a heated towel rack. You have to remember that this is an older hotel, which you'll notice in the general decor and things like the elevator running slow and weak air-conditioning (a symptomatic problem at European hotels, it seems). Nevertheless, they have modern amenities, like flat screen TVs and new gym equipment, and everything is kept in good shape. The pool and the hot tub are a delightful place to soak off the walking from the day, but they do "run together" so the pool is quite warm.

The staff at the hotel is warm and classicly polite, I guess as one would expect at a hotel of this caliber. We were welcomed like VIPs, with smiles and much Italian gusto. The maid would come by every evening for a turndown and put chocolates in our room. The concierge was also very knowledgable, friendly and always on top of our needs. Probably one of the best concierges I've worked with at a hotel. At one point early in our stay, I did mention the poor a/c in our room and the front desk sent up someone to look at it almost immediately. It didn't really help much, but I appreciated the efforts and quick response.

We didn't really eat the hotel at all, and room service was exorbitantly overpriced. I did a quick walk through the restaurant to look at what people were eating and it didn't seem all that impressive for the price they were charging. Likewise, we were going to have drinks at the bar one night, but they were too pricey compared to what we could get elsewhere.

The Westin Excelsior Rome was a fantastic experience, if just for a brief time. If you're ever passing through and looking for an SPG property, I would recommend it.

Review by Tim R.

Posted at May 15, 2006 11:59 PM