Villa Agrippina Gran Melia - The Leading Hotels of the World

The hotel is located outside of the historic city center, and we found only one restaurant within walking distance. We had to take taxis everywhere, which added up quickly. No complimentary shuttle service was available. The AC would not turn on in our room, and it was quite warm in the room. We talked with someone at the front desk, and he said he would have someone look at it. Still no AC. We asked the guy at the front desk again; he said that he controls the temperature in the room and he would turn on the AC. The light switch panel was annoying, with 6 to 8 fixtures on the panel. It was impossible to decipher the tiny icons. One on site restaurant was listed as opening at 11:00am. When we arrived at 11:30, we were told that the restaurant opened at 11, but food was not served until 12. Oh, and don't touch the food or beverages that are left in the room. A small soda is 9 euros.

Worth it?

Not sure about this establishment. For the chunk of change you have to pay, the food is rubbish and you have to pay extra for the spa.

Rooms - pretty good. Found an empty bottle of vodka in one of the cupboards. Beds and pillows quite comfortable, however nothing to write home about. Bathrooms lovely and clean.

Food - Shocking. For a 5 star establishment in Italy it was really quite bad. Being in Italy you would think there’s a proper Italian chef, but no. Everyday the food changed, I ordered poached eggs every morning and it was different every morning. Same with the pizzas and so on. Even the cocktail prices changed, one day it’s 20€ next day it’s €30. Charged €9 for orange juice in a mimosa… unless those oranges were blessed by the pope himself no sip of orange is worth €9. Caprese salad, it would come in all different shapes and sizes. Always different but consistently average, not fresh and with no olive oil.

Service - Was fine. Lovely staff, obviously there’s a language barrier sometimes but all in all no problems.

Spa - €50 for 30 mins use or something… we had 5 rooms and still it did not come with any benefits such as being able to relax in the spa. Really? Really really?? 6 rooms and still can’t use the spa without paying €50!

Pool / Outdoor Area - Great! Best part, lovely pool, amazing service by the pool from Marco.

To sum up, book a hotel nearby and pay to use the pool because the pool is worth 50-100€ a day to relax. Otherwise I probably wouldn’t go back to the Gran Melia Rome. Certainly wouldn’t eat there again!

Sorry, but not sorry.