The Inn At The Spanish Steps

This hotel (and we did stay in the hotel) is super. We had two adjoining rooms and stayed for four nights, with our kids. The rooms are not huge but very clean and comfortable. The staff couldn’t not be more helpful and pleasant. The rooftop bar is a great place to retreat to in the early evening for pre dinner drinks. The breakfast was lovely and the kids ate well. It is very centrally located which makes exploring very easy. The Trevi fountain and Spanish steps are on your doorstep. The Pantheon is ten minutes away. The huddle and bustle of Rome is everywhere but you can find som peace and relaxation here.

My husband and I recently spent 4 nights at The Inn at the Spanish Steps and each day was a revelation in so many ways. Not just discovering the multi-faceted beauty of Rome, but also seeing firsthand and confirming that it is indeed the people that make a vacation special. Upon arriving at the hotel, we were asked to go to the terrace restaurant to enjoy a beverage while waiting for our room. We were greeted by Haggi, a young man we became well-acquainted with over the next few days. Haggi is the person every establishment should hire: kind, funny, efficient, helpful, and always upbeat. With his effervescent personality, he helped to make our stay (and our experience) memorable and fun. We enjoyed the breakfast buffet each morning and Haggi always got our day off to a great start. That was especially true on my birthday, which happened to fall on our 3rd day in Rome. I was greeted by a Happy Birthday hug, and then serenaded with Happy Birthday by Haggi and Johnny (another great server) in English and Italian and presented with glasses of Prosecco. Truly a birthday to remember. In addition to Haggi and Johnny, Albert also was a wonderful server. As far as The Inn at the Spanish Steps, we stayed in an apartment which was a 5- minute walk from the hotel office and within minutes from the actual Spanish Steps. We loved it, and settled into the neighborhood quickly. It was comfortable and quiet, with a beautiful private rooftop terrace. We had everything we needed, including a portable washer and dryer. Absolutely no complaints at all.

The staff was not attentive. They appeared stressed and preoccupied with their personal issues. They were not welcoming and friendly little eye contact. The room was at best average clean. There were no wash cloths. Overall the entire experience and quality went down compared to my stay there last year. The cooking and food preparation staff however was very good, friendly and accommodating.

Stayed in the one bedroom Apt 111 which was lovely but had two issues that made it much less than wonderful. If you are a light sleeper - avoid!!! With high ceilings, no sound insulation or carpeting you hear every footstep and movement from the apartment above. We also had issues with getting hot water in our shower. The water would fluctuate between hot and cold every minute during our showers. The issue was reported multiple times over the 4 nights we stayed. Finally on the last day they were putting in a new tankless water heater. Reception didn’t seem concerned about our issue and feedback. They told us to reach out to management.

The term "boutique" is loosely applied to a hotel that doesn't quite fit into any real category. The Inn at the Spanish Steps is somewhere in there: a first-rate place that can act as casual as its namesake. It's actually in two places: there are rooms on the plush Via Condotti, and there are larger rooms around the corner facing the plaza in front of the steps. The rooms are fine, the breakfast is very good and the rooftop bar is most accommodating. The staff comes over as a bit odd; you're confronted with two people sitting behind desks in a small room, neither of whom seems to have an interest in you other than to get you moving. That's fine, one supposes, but hardly a first impression. The only real problem we had was with a know-it-all bellman who apparently doubles as their tech specialist. We had no internet and somehow he blamed it on us. (A friendly waitress went to bat and got the problem solved.) As odd as the place can be, the location is spectacular. The Steps are pretty, the plaza is active and the shopping is fantastic, assuming you have a lot of money.