MGallery Roma La Griffe : some potential but not up to the brand standards
Junior Suite
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Stats
- Room
- Junior Suite
I have stayed 2 nights there. The hotel is shown as 5* but it is very far from that. I would rate it as a good 3*. It’s not a bad hotel, it does somewhat the job, has has some potential, but clearly no WOW effects and a renovation is needed sooner rather than later. It is not at all up to MGallery standards IMO. Status recognition was good. All staff members I interacted with were great.
First part of entrance/lobby is nice and well in the MGallery style. But that’s it for the style, once you pass this it’s rather boring and impersonal.
The back part of the lobby is nicer but you never go to this part, so useles
There is some kind of history in this hotel with the old movie Roman Holidays.
Check In
I had booked a Superior room and was upgraded to a Junior suite, despite the hotel was fully booked. Drink voucher was given at check-in.
First « shock » was when I got out of the lift on my floor. MGallery hotels are usually quite luxurious but there I had the feeling to be in low rent social housing building. Long white walls without decoration, white paint with a lot of stains and a very cheap and dirty linoleum on the floor. I could not believe it every time I was walking in this corridor. Even in F1 or Ibis Budget, it’s nicer than this. I took some pictures, but it’s hard to reflect the reality of it in pictures. You can now judge on pictures :
Room
It was a duplex room with the living room and desk on the lower level and bedroom/bathroom upstairs. This is where you see all those red furnitures that you see on all pictures posted on the hotel website. But, compared to those, the reality is not as bright and shiny. The room was a bit tired although in acceptable conditions with 2 noticeable exceptions that I will describe here after.
On the lower level, you had the minibar and the courtesy tray with kettle and instant coffee/tea, so unfortunately no espresso machine. Shame in a country where the espresso are so good ! There was a price list for the minibar which contained only soft drinks and no mention of the free minibar (soft drink) content as this is a platinum benefit. I had a fruit juice and it was not added to my bill, so I believe it’s safe too consider they apply the correct policy. Two bottles of free mineral water were placed on the desk and were not replaced during the stay.
Welcome gift and note were already placed in the room. Nothing extraordinary with this welcome gift, but I have to say it was well presented and it was good and healthy.
The AC unit seemed very tired (but it was working well).
Upstairs, not a lot of space for suitcases. More than one suitcase would be problematic. The closet had safety box. Bathrobes and slippers were present in the closet.
Bathroom : as you can see there is a huge bathtub. And it’s just a bathtub, not a jacuzzi. I tried to take a relaxing bath one evening after a full day of walking in magnificent Rome, but first you have to manage to block water drainage as the button is lose. And then it’s impossible to change from shower mode to bath mode for water filling (the system was totally blocked, so I gave up because filling this huge tub in shower mode would have taken me at least 1 hr.
Soundproofing was average for street noise, but OK because the room was facing a side street and not the main avenue where the hotel is located (Via Nazionale).
Bed comfort was OKish. Far from MyBed. I didn’t like the pillows and no pillow menu was available. The pillows were not thick enough, so one was not enough and two were too much if you see what I mean.
There was no turndown service
Another annoying thing : the room floor is also a linoleum, but not as ugly as in the corridors. Unfortunately, I think housekeeping staff is using too much detergent when they clean and this lead to a sticky floor becoming quickly dirty as soon as you walk on it. See pictures below : this is how the floor becomes a few minutes after you walk in the room :(
Dining
Two strong points of this hotel
- a nice and good restaurant on the 9th floor. Acceptable prices
- a rooftop outdoor bar on the 10th floor with nice views of Rome.
Staff very pleasant in both. You can redeem your drink voucher there for soft drinks, beer, wine or Prosecco.
Some pictures of the restaurant and bar (day and night).
Location
Good location in town if you are here for tourism. It is located on Via Nazionale, about 10-15/min walking from Termini station. Basically walking distance from all tourist spot.
Overall
Overall, certainly not a bad stay but not a stellar one and no WOW effect at all and expensive for what it gives (but, of course, this is Rome). Here is my summary of positive/negative aspects :
The plus:
- great staff, most of them speaking French
- location in town
- LCAH status recognition and benefits, even with a fully-booked hotel
- Good restaurant and nice rooftop bar
The minus
- unacceptable state of room corridors. How can you be rated 5* with prison-style corridors
- In serious need for renovation
- Comfort of bed
Would I return ? Sincerely I don’t know. I would say yes but without real enthusiasm, if the price is OK. The best Accor option in town is surely the Sofitel, now that it has been renovated, but its price is still atrociously expensive.
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