Tarchon

Unfortunately, I must fully confirm the shocking lack of professionalism and the arrogance reported by many other users. I have been working as a traveling worker for 15 years, constantly moving through various types of accommodations, but I have never encountered a wall of total unavailability and unprofessionalism like this. I was traveling with a group of friends and, anticipating a delay, we tried in every way to find a logical and civil compromise with the host. We even proposed to send just one member of our group in advance, solely to check in on behalf of everyone and avoid causing any inconvenience, but we were denied. The most absurd and serious thing is that we were even willing to accept their questionable clause of a 100 euro surcharge for late check-in; yet, even after expressing our willingness to pay this outrageous amount, we were still denied accommodation, leaving us stranded. In addition to this, there is a decidedly ambiguous business behavior: the manager uses Booking only as an advertising showcase to then push and suggest making the reservation on their private site, with the obvious intent to "profit" from the commission percentages and evade the protections of the platform for guests. It is evident, as also emerges from other reviews, that the host's goal is not to welcome customers, but to use ridiculous check-in windows as a pretext to pocket the money for the stay without providing the service, or to extort outrageous last-minute surcharges. If you want to avoid finding yourself stranded and wasting your money with a person with whom it is impossible to communicate, stay away. Highly discouraged.

I’m writing this while still in Rome without a place to stay. I booked this property through Capital One Travel as part of a flight + stay package (3/22/26 – 3/29/26). The listing showed availability despite my flight arriving at 7:30 PM. It also stated that guests should contact the property for special accommodations regarding arrival timing. On 3/17/26, I attempted to do exactly that. I called the property and was only able to ask if anyone spoke English before the owner abruptly hung up. I then contacted Capital One Travel, who reached out on my behalf. They were told directly by the owner that no accommodation would be made for my arrival time. Because of this, I had to find alternative lodging for my first night. On 3/23/26, after spending approximately 4 hours navigating trains , buses, and the metro to reach the property, I arrived only to be met from a balcony with immediate hostility. I was told that my entire reservation had been cancelled because I did not arrive the previous day. There was no prior notice, no attempt to resolve the situation, and no accountability. I then had to urgently spend additional hours searching for a place to stay the same day. This situation highlights a larger issue: booking platforms do not validate arrival times or travel logistics when accommodations are sold as part of a package. In this case, the property advertised availability and encouraged guests to reach out regarding arrival timing, yet refused to coordinate entirely. Combined with other reviews describing similar experiences, this raises serious concerns about how reservations are handled. At best, this is extremely poor service. At worst, it feels like a deliberate attempt to retain payment while denying accommodation by exploiting the technicalities and semantics of how booking platforms operate, reinforced by a strict no-change, no-refund policy. I strongly recommend avoiding this property, especially if your travel involves evening arrival times, which are common with international flights.

In this structure I will never get there, because after booking and paying (without the possibility of refund) with the indication of being able to check in at 8.00 instead of 18.00 as indicated on the site (as the ferry does not arrive before 19.00 in Civitavecchia), the host refused the request. I contacted the gentleman by phone, who with a wise and arrogant tone clearly denied the flexibility to postpone check in, except to pay euro 100.00 supplement (against a room that costs euro 46.20). He also sarcastically said "since you like booking through booking so much.... MAKE DO " by clearly implying that he would have preferred a private booking, despite using Booking to advertise himself. In addition, the indication of the supplement of euro 100.00 for extra availability, is the only period written in English!!!! The cunning is of the just. I have never met accommodation managers who have problems with check-in time, to say that here we were talking about a tolerance of a couple of hours. Never mind having lost 46.20 euros (I am not impoverished). In fact, I advise the "gentleman so kind and helpful" with whom I spoke to eat an extra pizza to my health.