A disappointing end to four years of staying at Fragrant St Peter We have stayed at Fragrant St Peter for the last four years, so this is not a review written after one disappointing visit. We know the hotel well, including its limitations, and have previously been prepared to overlook them because we like the location and, in previous years, have had reasonably good experiences. Our first stay was in the older part of the hotel, where the lack of soundproofing was immediately noticeable. Doors slam, people come and go at all hours and, because of the hard floors and construction of the building, every sound seems to ricochet throughout the hotel. In subsequent years, however, I contacted reception in advance and specifically requested a quiet room in the refurbished part of the hotel. This was accommodated, and those stays were considerably better. Sadly, this year’s stay was a completely different experience. We had already endured a four-hour flight delay, so we arrived at the hotel considerably later and more exhausted than planned. We were given a room which, although not as nice as those we had previously enjoyed, was acceptable. Until 5am. At around 5am we were woken by the most extraordinary noise coming from directly above us: the scraping and thumping of tables and chairs being moved around in the breakfast room. The soundproofing in this hotel is virtually non-existent, and with ceramic/marble floors the noise was absolutely excruciating. Then, from around 7am onwards, guests began arriving for breakfast, bringing yet more scraping, banging and general noise. After an already exhausting journey, I was genuinely close to tears. At around 7.30am I went down to reception and spoke to a young member of staff. I explained that we simply could not sleep in that room and asked what availability there was for us to move. To his credit, he was extremely helpful. He told me that we could be moved to a room at the back of the hotel, in the refurbished section, on the third floor. We were delighted. He told us that when we returned from our day out, our suitcases would have been moved into the new room. Unfortunately, that is not what happened. When we returned to the hotel at around 9pm, we discovered that we had not been moved to the promised third-floor room at the back of the hotel. Instead, we had been moved to a first-floor room overlooking the terrace, just minutes from reception, in the older part of the building. In other words, we had gone from the room underneath the breakfast room — arguably one of the noisiest locations in the hotel — to what was probably the second-worst possible room. The noise was constant. Guests coming and going, people talking at reception and housekeeping staff beginning work early in the morning, banging, talking and laughing in the corridors. Because there is so little soundproofing, all of this could be heard clearly inside the bedroom with the door closed. The terrace immediately below the room created another problem. People smoke there, and because the terrace is directly beneath the windows, cigarette smoke regularly drifted into the bedroom and bathroom. I have absolutely no issue with people choosing to smoke outside, but I do not want cigarette smoke filling my room while I am getting dressed or taking a shower. The condition of the room and bathroom was also considerably below the standard we had experienced on previous visits. The bathroom in particular was in need of serious upkeep. There was considerable black mould on the ceiling above the shower and black mould in the corners of the bathroom. The shower itself was old and tired, and the general condition of the bathroom was simply not what I would expect from a three-star hotel. The toilet seat was also loose, moving every time you sat down, which is a basic maintenance issue that should surely have been addressed. Housekeeping was another disappointment. In previous years, our room had been properly refreshed during our stay, including changes of sheets. On this occasion, there were no sheet changes during our stay and the room did not appear to be cleaned to the same standard. On one particular day, the bathroom sink had not been cleaned at all. These may sound like relatively small things individually, but taken together — mould, poor maintenance, inadequate cleaning and a lack of basic room refreshing — they contributed to an overall impression of accommodation that was tired and not being properly maintained. And the mould is particularly difficult to overlook. Black mould on the ceiling of a shower is simply not acceptable in a hotel presenting itself as three-star accommodation. By the second morning we were simply too exhausted and upset to complain again. And then we discovered that the hotel had decorators working in the corridors. From early in the morning we could hear two men talking loudly and the constant noise of them taping and preparing the corridors for decorating. One of them also had a particularly bad cough, which was impossible not to hear in a building where every sound travels. This is particularly frustrating because we had specifically asked for a quiet room before arriving. After four years of returning to the same hotel, I would have expected some recognition of that loyalty. Instead, we were placed first underneath the breakfast room and then in a room directly above the terrace and next to reception — despite having made our requirements clear. Some of the staff at Fragrant St Peter are genuinely lovely and helpful, and they are one of the hotel’s redeeming features. The young man who initially tried to help us was particularly good. Unfortunately, good individual staff cannot compensate for the underlying problems with the accommodation. The facilities have also deteriorated to the point where I would question whether this hotel can realistically still be described as three-star accommodation. In our experience, it now feels much more like basic hostel-style accommodation, with very little attention paid to soundproofing, maintenance or the comfort of returning guests. We have always accepted that Fragrant St Peter is not a perfect hotel. We liked the location and, previously, we had found ways to make it work for us. But this stay was different. What should have been a relaxing four-day trip was made considerably more exhausting by the accommodation. After specifically requesting a quiet room, being given one of the noisiest rooms in the hotel, being promised a move to a suitable room and then finding ourselves moved into another extremely noisy location was simply too much. This was our fourth stay, and unfortunately it will be our last. Fragrant St Peter has effectively lost returning customers who had been prepared to overlook its shortcomings because we liked the hotel and its location. I would strongly advise anyone booking this hotel to make absolutely certain that they are not allocated a room underneath the breakfast room, overlooking the terrace, or close to reception. For us, however, it is goodbye Fragrant St Peter. The standard of accommodation and, more importantly, the way our specific request was handled on this occasion has left us with no desire to return. We would not recommend staying here.

Really good location. Helpful staff and really great atmosphere. Loved the view from the breakfast area. Rooms were lovely and clean and in general exceeded our expectations. I would definitely recommend!

From the outside, it doesn’t look like much but this is the cutest hotel. We had the Penthouse which was amazing. The staff was amazing and extremely helpful. I loved the morning breakfasts there. I’ve got to have my cappuccino and my croissant. The location is very convenient to the bus and the train station. It’s a very clean hotel and walking through, it smells amazing. I would absolutely hands-down recommend this hotel to stay at. They have wonderful places to eat right down the street or get your café and pastries. They really made our experience in Rome memorable.