Grand Hotel Colony in Rome

Worst hotel experience of my life — stay far away!

I stayed at Grand Colony Hotel Rome for 10 days, and it was honestly the worst experience of my life. The room was dirty, the furniture was old, broken, and looked nothing like the photos online. Every single day there were bugs and insects on the walls and even in the shower.

When we complained about a terrible smell in the room, the staff simply told us to “open the window” , which we had already done. The entire place, including the reception area and elevator, had such a strong, disgusting odor that it was hard to even stay in the room or sleep properly.

Upon arrival, we also had to pay 7 euros per night in extra charges plus a 50 euro deposit. They are very sneaky and will find any excuse to keep your deposit. We accidentally got a small makeup stain on one towel, and they immediately took the entire deposit without discussion. I have stayed in many hotels before, but I’ve never experienced anything like this.

When we tried to talk to the receptionist about it, she was extremely rude and unhelpful. She refused to take responsibility or even try to resolve the issue. We ended up calling the police, and suddenly she started acting innocent and “victimized” herself. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much the police could do since we were leaving that same evening, but if we had stayed longer, we would have filed a formal complaint because this hotel clearly violates basic hospitality standards.

I strongly advise everyone to avoid this hotel at all costs. It’s dirty, dishonest, and completely unprofessional. This place should honestly be shut down.

We stayed here for two nights and overall had a mixed experience. The hotel is quirky and generally clean, although it is definitely rough around the edges and could use some updating. A few things in the room did not work, but nothing that caused major problems for us. The location is fine and it is about a 15 to 20 minute taxi ride into the centre of Rome. It's not suitable for walking.

Room facilities were quite limited. There was no kettle or coffee machine, toiletries were minimal, and we were left with around ten squares of thin toilet roll. Housekeeping kindly took the empty tube the next day but did not replace it!

What really let the stay down was the service around check in and check out. On arrival, we were told we had to pay a €50 cash deposit in addition to the €24 tourist tax, which we already knew about. The deposit had to be in cash only, which was not mentioned on our booking or on the hotel’s website. We arrived at night in heavy rain and were given an hour to go find an ATM, which was not easy given the area is not the nicest and there was not one nearby. This was a very stressful start.

There is also an odd policy where you are expected to leave your key at the desk when you go out. I did not mind not having to carry it, but on one occasion the receptionist was not at the desk and instead called out from the doorway for us to just leave the key on the counter. It did not feel secure at all since anyone could have picked it up and gone straight to our room.

Check out was also disappointing. We had to wait around half an hour while staff went to inspect our room before returning the deposit, which again felt disorganised and unprofessional. The lobby and waiting area are not the most welcoming either.

Overall, it is a budget option and served its purpose as somewhere to sleep while we were out most of the day, but the lack of professionalism and care made the experience less enjoyable.

Honestly, I do not recommend. —

First of all, when my sister and I arrived, we had to pay €6 per person per night (tourist tax), which was never mentioned on the website where I booked the room, and it had to be paid in cash only. On top of that, we had to pay an extra €50 as a deposit in case we damaged something in the room, but if nothing happens, we should get that money back.

Secondly, and most importantly – HYGIENE. Unfortunately, this hotel is nothing like the pictures. The rooms are dirty, the walls have stains, and the bathroom is in terrible condition – the bathtubs are dirty, and the shower curtain is filthy. Truly a disaster. Also, when we took the elevator to a certain floor, we were overwhelmed by a horrible smell that we couldn’t even identify – it was unbearable.

The only good thing was that the towels were changed every day, and the cleaning lady would make the beds daily. That was the only positive part. At the reception, the staff we interacted with were polite and respectful.

However, for a hotel like this and the money I paid, I definitely expected it to be clean and properly maintained. And on top of that, the location is far – it took us more than 1.5 hours to get to the city center.

Terrible, they argued in the building, the authorities intervened twice... I strongly advise against it!!!