Sheraton Parco dei Medici Rome, I arrived at the wrong hotel and had a rude awakening

I have to admit it: probably this was the worst experience to date in a Marriott group hotel. From beginning to end, I had the impression that I was on a joke.

Reservation

I chose to sleep one night in this hotel because I had a series of appointments in the Fiumicino area. The Hilton attached to the airport has already been reviewed on these pages, so I pointed to one of the two Marriott facilities in the area.

I chose the Sheraton because there are few hotels under this banner on our pages compared to Marriott's, although then they are I have also been to the Marriott Rome Fiumicino.

Of course, I booked through the app, the only way to accumulate points and take advantage of the status.

Check-in

Upon arrival I was greeted by a parking attendant who invited me before parking to check if I was in the right hotel.

I must admit: I was surprised by the question. But 20 minutes later I understood what he meant. The fact is that because of a convention in the hotel, the queue at the front desk was endless, and so it took more than 20 minutes to be able to figure out what the valet meant.

When my turn came, I was ready to hear the same thing and instead after a document check I was told, "She is in the wrong hotel we moved her to the other one."

Intrigued by the response, I asked what it meant in the other and how/when this information had been sent to me. I thus discovered that there are two hotels with the same name, the only difference being that one is called 2.

This information is nowhere to be found on the Marriott app, let alone the address of my hotel was 2 instead of where I wanted to check in.

Only later did I realize, looking at the photos in the Marriott application, that the two structures are sold under one name by mixing the images.

Delighted at the news, I took the car and drove to the other hotel, located on the opposite side of the resort golf course.

The room

Arriving at the other facility, I completed the paperwork and went to my room.

The room is nothing special, in fact. Yes there is the classic king bed made in Marriott, but the mattress had seen better days and was not comparable to those in other hotels in the chain.

The view was of the parking lot/GRA rather than the quieter area of the facility.

Even the bathroom has seen better days, let's just say the whole facility could use a refresh.

Having some work to do, I then tried to connect to the wifi. Strangely enough, the classic system for identifying the guest was not present. Or rather it was there but after logging in you still ended up on the page for purchasing the service.

One of the benefits provided by Bonvoy status is, among other things, free wifi, and for Platinum guests, the higher-performance wifi is provided.

So I tried calling the front desk from the room phone with no luck. I remembered the feature in the Bonvoy app that allows you to chat with the hotel, again no response.

I then tried calling using the phone number again with no answer.

I was left with no other option but to go down to the front desk and ask. The answer was something like, "We're out of vouchers, choose the charge and we'll reverse the charge tomorrow."

The swimming pool

The nicest thing about the facility, or at least the #2 facility, is the pool. It is not very big but it is surrounded by a nice lawn and it is very quiet.

Given the heat, it would have been perfect to take a dip.

Awakening

In the morning at 7:58 a.m.  I heard a knock with "vigor" on the door. Frankly, I didn't think it was mine, and instead on the second touch-up I realized I was wrong.

True, I didn't put "do not disturb," but as my stay was for one night only, I didn't think I had to put it to tell the staff I wanted to sleep. Not to mention. when I checked in I had remembered that I would leave the room around 4 p.m., also a status-related benefit.

Opening the door, I was confronted by two attendants who in Roman cadence "politely" asked me if I intended to leave the room and at what time.

Amazed at the manners rather than the question, I reiterated what was communicated at the front desk. I was then reminded that check-out was at 12 noon for everyone and I annoyed replied "I am Platinum, goodbye."

After such a wake-up call, things could only get better. Instead.

Around 11 a.m. the same people came back to knock on the door, once again asking me when I was planning to leave the room. Frankly, something that has never happened before in my life. Stuff not even in the worst boarding houses in Caracas.

Food & Beverage

Breakfast is served on the ground floor of the facility. When I stepped into the restaurant, I was teleported back to the 1990s. A buffet arranged just like in hotels of the last millennium.

A large central table with all the offerings on it. I don't know what gave me this impression, but that was the feeling. There were not many people in the room, in fact it was almost deserted, but it seemed like the locusts had passed by judging by the residual food offerings.

In conclusion

Two hotels with the same name, in the same city had not happened to me yet. I don't find it correct to mix photos of two hotels inside the presentation of one facility, also because it was not an annex within walking distance, but to move from one facility to the other you had to take the car.

The worst thing, however, was the service on the floors: unspeakable to wake up a guest at 7 a.m. to ask if you leave the room and at what time. To do this twice within a few hours is really unacceptable.

I pointed out to the desk what had happened, expected an apology email and instead nothing. In the Italian way in short.

• Bonvoy