Golden Tulip Rome Airport Isola Sacra

Great hotel, well maintained with good food and service!!

We stayed at Hotel Isola Sacre Rome Airport for one night before our cruise and unfortunately came away disappointed. The biggest issue was the airport shuttle service. We followed the instructions sent by the hotel exactly and waited at the designated pickup point, but the shuttle never arrived. I even emailed the hotel on a boiling hot day and they said the shuttle would be there. Not true it did not turn up - be aware of this. We were there for over an hour. We had no option but to pay for an expensive taxi. When we explained this at check-in, the receptionist repeatedly insisted that we must have been waiting in the wrong place, despite us following the hotel's directions. Rather than trying to help or investigate what had happened, we felt our concerns were simply dismissed. The single beds were also quite small and not particularly comfortable. Breakfast was well below average. There was very little choice, and the food available was of poor quality and felt very cheap. It certainly wasn't what we expected and was one of the most disappointing hotel breakfasts we've experienced. On the positive side, the housekeeping staff were friendly and welcoming, the Wi-Fi worked well throughout our stay, and the pool area, grounds and bar were excellent. They provided a relaxing place to unwind before our cruise and were definitely the highlight of the hotel. Overall, while there are some ok facilities, don't expect a fully equipped machine, its very poor and small .the unreliable shuttle service, poor customer service at check-in, small beds, and disappointing breakfast meant our stay fell well below expectations. I hope the hotel improves these areas, as they have the potential to offer a much better guest experience.

What’s the most important thing to you about an airport hotel? Getting to and from the airport stress-free, a good night’s sleep, and a relaxing meal, in that order? OK, well two out of three IS bad. First, when I got to the airport, I found it impossible to locate the shuttle. The hotel’s website hilariously shows a carefree couple breezing through Fiumicino, and levitating serenely onto a waiting shuttle, grinning psychotically, and there’s no wonder that their website designer led with this fantasy. I called the hotel from the airport. In hot, crowded, chaotic Rome Airport, the staff at the hotel actually advised me to go to their website and watch a *video* of how to find the shuttle! My friends, I ask you. Don’t you love pulling over at a jam-packed 98 degree F airport to watch a video about finding a shuttle to your hotel? No? Anyone? The woman on the phone informed me that the shuttle would be leaving in two minutes and that another one would be along 40 minutes later. She would not contact the shuttle guy to ask him to wait for two extra minutes. I think I might have found the shuttle place, but I’m still not sure. Anyway, this is the level of support the hotel gives you on arrival. I was forced to take a taxi which cost 25 euros. But I’m going to pause here and say that if this had been the only snafu, I would have chalked it up to “typical travel headaches” and gotten over it. This review may never have happened. But I continue. I arrived at the hotel and check-in was fine. They were helpful in assisting me in making a phone call, so kudos to the desk guys. I went to the outdoor bar and had a drink which was all good. But oddly, the young lady at the bar asked me where I was sitting and when I pointed to a nice table and chair in the shade I was told that the whole section was reserved for other guests. But there was no one there, and a lot of tables were included in her “reserved section”. I never saw anyone take those spots while I sat there in a different section. But whatever. I scanned the bar menu for later and noted that the bar was open until midnight, so I planned to return to the bar and order a salad and have another drink and call it a night. Went to the room and although it was super small, it was clean and it all looked in order. When I went to plug in my electronics, I noticed that the outlets were placed in bizarre spots. One was by a window but at waist height, so utterly useless. One was next to the entrance door near the floor, so again, useless. I wound up charging my iPad in the bathroom and FaceTiming my husband from the bathroom! Other reviewers have pointed out the weird outlets, so it’s not just me. OK, after having a little break, I went back to the outdoor bar to get my salad. But, they told me that even though the bar is advertised as being open until midnight, they only serve pizza after a certain hour, I asked about a salad, and was told that they could not make me a salad, and I could only have pizza. It was around 7pm at that point. They advised me to go to the restaurant, which I actually did not want to do. Note also that all of their pizzas are gluten free. This did not appeal to me at all, but I didn’t want pizza in any form, so either way, it was a no. I went to the restaurant, and was told they were fully booked for the evening until 9:30pm, and would I like to come back at 9:30pm? I asked for a salad and again was told no, it was not possible to have a salad unless I ordered it from room service. I asked if I could just order it here and now, but was told no. Go to your room and call the number and order it. Honestly, at this point I’m almost in tears. There were 27 tables unoccupied at this restaurant. I counted! There were casual tables and chairs scattered all around the pool area but no one could possibly toss a salad onto a plate so I could sit on some random chair and eat it. So, I went to my room and the scan code for the room service menu didn’t work so I had to call down and ask about it. They advised me of a different QR code and that one worked. So, I ordered (drumroll) my salad BUT it was not the salad that I wanted. It was just a pile of leaves, essentially. So, I had to order a shrimp main dish to go with my pile of leaves. They told me that it would be five euros to carry it to my room, and no charge if I went downstairs and picked it up myself. So, I agreed to go get it, but seriously, the room was so small it would be impossible to eat in this room without sitting on the bed. No thanks. But I was trapped in the room to receive the phone call telling me to come and get my food. I went to get it and it was a on a plastic tray, with plastic utensils wrapped in plastic. The whole thing was giving middle school cafeteria. The food rated: OK. Since a little time had passed, I counted the available tables in the restaurant, and there were now 20 tables unoccupied, down from 27. I had to awkwardly eat in the lobby on my plastic tray with my plastic fork. It was so insane; I felt like people probably felt bad for me, as they passed, and I don’t blame them. I felt bad for me! Usually I don’t scrutinize receipts but I noticed that I was overcharged for the shrimp, so I had to go to the desk guys to have the resolved, and they fixed it. Of course, a sneaky overcharge has to be included in this narrative, as it fits right in. At this point the logo for this hotel should be an entwined W T F. One last thing: in the bathroom, the bathmat was folded and placed on the floor of the shower. So, naturally when I turned on the shower, it instantly got soaked before I even noticed it. I am 5’ 3” and could just barely reach the little switch thing that made the shower a rain shower or a handheld. So, if you are under 5’ 3” I’m giving you fair warning. At no point during my stay did any member of the staff approach me about making anything right. The desk guys were professional and got things done quickly, but I know that they can only do so much in the way of customer satisfaction when everything goes sideways. Upon check-out, I was not asked if my stay was satisfactory. At no time did anyone approach me about anything. I’m an experienced traveler and I’m easily swayed by a comped drink or any small gesture to show that they care. But this place was a stressful semi-nightmare. Even the vending machine was mostly empty underscoring the whole theme of “Even though you are in Italy, EATING is not a priority here” I paid 7 euros for the shuttle to the airport, and that went forward without incident. I advise you to stay anywhere but here if you are coming from or leaving though Fiumicino.