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Franklin Feel the Sound hotel description>>

Not Impressed
Reviewer: Rome visitor, Ohio

My husband and I stayed at the Franklin Hotel over Valentine's Day weekend. We found the hotel using this site and booked based on the rave reviews. We were pretty disapointed. The room was not very clean. It smelled like old linens and our bedspread was covered in hair. When I called down to complain the houskeeper came up and apologized and replaced the bedspread with another from the closet which also had hair all over it. She kinda of shrugged and picked off the hair the was egregious and left. The room was absolutely tiny. Literally the bed was no bigger than an American full (thats what they mean by queen bed) pushed upagainst one wall and there was maybe 2 feet left on the other side to walk. The room was about 1/4 of a small sized room at an average hotel in the states. We live in Italy now in Vicenza so its not that we aren't familiar with Italian sized rooms. The bathroom was the one saving grace. It was nice and clean. The bathroom was (no joke) almost as big as the rest of the room. We were really excited about having internet access in the room as well. We came to find out there was internet access but it cost 12 Euro an hour - about $15 dollars. The Franklin is not in a good location for anything other than the Vatican which is about a 10 minute walk. Trestevere is a solid 30 minute walk and anything on the other side of the river (forum, colliseum, pantheon, trevi, piazza navona etc.) you have to take the bus to. Breakfast was good. The selection was great and tasted pretty good - meats, cheeses, toast, and cereals. But it goes until 10 and if you don't get there by 9:30 they are less than happy about refilling the milk and cooking any eggs etc. The staff overall was friendly. But we were pretty unhappy at the state of the room when we got there and their attitude basically was you are booked for 3 nights if you go somewhere else you're still paying for three nights. So we made the best of the situation but we would not stay there again nor would we recommend it to friends as an option.

What he saw
Reviewer: Rome visitor, Bronx, New York

Picture Ikea partnering with Columbia House and opening up a hotel. That is what sums up Franklin to me. The pictures on the net are very accurate as well as the descriptions for the place. My wife and I, being the adventurous souls we are, took the train out to the hotel. Due to our own stupidity, and the fact that Via Rodi is an extremely small street we got lost. How small is Via Rodi. Well we were exactly ONE block away from the hotel, we asked where via rodi was located and three people said they didnt know. This being said the hotel is about a 10-minute walk from the train station and about 15 minutes to the Vatican. Now that you have the summary here are the pros and cons.Pros - Service is EXCELLENT. - The Metro Stop Ottiviano S. Pietro is only 5 minutes from Spanish Steps and about 15 minutes away from the Coliseum and other attractions. - Music selection is quite impressive ranging from Terrence Trent Darbys greatest hits, to Nellyville; to some guy who plays Acoustic Guitar that I cant remember. - Rooms were nicely furnished and bathroom was immaculate. Speakers in bathroom big plus - Got room 105 that had its own balconynice - I dont know if this is a pro or conBUT the hotel pushes for you to go to the restaurants across the streets. The food there is ok. However, the wife and I found a nicer placed called Ternesco that is only 5 blocks away from the hotel. Great food and great atmosphere. - Did I say that the service is excellent???Cons - It is a bit out of the way Small but the chocolate given when they turn down the rooms was HORRIBLE. (note this just shows you that there really isnt much negative to say about the place).

Great Hotel!
Reviewer: Rome visitor, Madrid, Spain

We were in Rome for a week-end, and we choose the Franklin Hotel because of the photos in the web pages, and we are really glad we did!The hotel is not in the tourist area and at first we thought that is was going to be a problem, but it turned out to be the best choice. We had dinner in the area both nights and it was amazing, since you can find plenty of little restaurants (non-tourits restaurants) so you really have the impression of living it. The vatican is really near by, and by metro you are anywhere you need in no time at all.The hotel is really nice, and very, very, very clean. It is really peaceful and after a hole day of walking, and visiting, to go back to the hotel in a non tourist area is the best feeling ever!I definitly recommend this hotel.

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