Golden Tulip Mecenate Palace - Rome, Italy Review

My husband planned the lodging for our trip to Rome, and I didn't do much research on the hotel he had chosen, the Golden Tulip Mecenate Palace before we left. When booking the hotel, my husband had prepaid for the entirety of our stay in the hotel. The first two nights he paid around € 200, then we were to check out and travel to Sorrento. Our final night, when we returned to Rome, he booked us at a higher rate of € 230 which was still for a standard room.

Arrival and Check-In at the Golden Tulip Mecenate Palace
Like most U.S. travelers, we arrived in Rome in the morning. Our plan was to arrive at the hotel, check our bags with the concierge until check-in time, and then explore the city on our own. The check-in desk was small, not the typical American check-in desk that dwarfs you. The man behind the desk greeted us and my husband asked if we could check our bags until check-in time. Much to our surprise at 9 A.M., we were told that if we could wait just a couple of minutes, we'd have an actual room at that early hour.

Our Room
We were assigned room 412, and the porter grabbed our bags ahead of us and directed us to the small elevator. Once in our room, the porter explained all the features and showed us all the nooks and crannies of the room before leaving. I was impressed at the quality of the room. It's small by average US standards, but about the size of what you'd find in a city like New York, which we expected here in the heart of Rome. The 12'x14' (estimated) room was packed with everything we could possibly need. Next to each bedside was a directional table lamp, and a small panel with a variety of buttons to control the bedside lamp, the small overhead chandeleir, and a 'Do not Disturb' button. This was a unique feature of the hotel that I'd never seen anywhere before. In addition to the "DND" placard you could hang on your doorknob; a series of little lights decorated the wall outside our room: One green, one yellow, one red. I presume the DND button lit up the yellow or red light, but never was able to check.

On the other wall was a small television, perched atop a small desk, a round table, and a small chair. The fabrics and upholstery in the room were luxurious and most notably, every single tabletop and surface was a beautiful marble.  In the hallway there was a built in wardrobe with a full-length mirror. Various doors and drawers in the wardrobe opened to reveal more shelves, drawers, a stocked mini-bar, a tea and instant coffee service, and a combination safe. The room was very, very nice.

And I Haven't Even Gotten to the Bathroom...
Going into the bathroom I was astonished at the sheer volume of marble that greeted me. The bathroom had an enormous sink and vanity, and another control panel to let you listen to one of five or six preset radio stations. There was a toilet, as well as a bidet. And a full shower, although there was no shower curtain. Instead there was a large plexiglass panel covering the area near the showerhead. In addition to the shower, there was a separate hand-held showerhead with its own faucets for the bath.

The stool and hand-held showerhead came in handy several times. Twice I returned with feet in such pain from walking the cobblestone streets that nothing felt better than pulling up the stool, rolling up my pants, rinsing and washing my inflamed tootsies in ice cold water. It was fantastic! Speaking of water, the water pressure throughout the bathroom was perfect, but one small warning: The hot water gets very hot. Always be sure to test the temperature before hopping into a shower!

For toiletries, the hotel provides soap, a comb, a shower cap, and two different types of 'Shampoo'. I couldn't figure this one out. There was a white shampoo and a pinkish shampoo. Both bottles said shampoo and both were definitely not conditioner or everyday soap. A hairdryer is provided as well, but if you need conditioner, be sure to bring or buy your own.

Location
The location of the hotel was its greatest selling point for my husband and soon became a great point for me. It's located only a short walk from Rome's central 'Termini' station. At Termini, you can take trains to anywhere in Italy, pick up buses to take you throughout Rome and beyond, and ride the two subway lines out to places like Vatican city.

The hotel is on the same square as the Basilica St. Maria Majore. We didn't have a view of this site during our first two nights, but our last night we could catch a slight view. Most nights we chose not to take a subway train and instead walk to sights like Piazza Novona and the Trevi Fountain, which is easily doable in about 15 minutes. 

Our Final Grandiose Night - Whoah!
Check-out from our first nights was easy, especially since we'd prepaid for all our nights. We left for Sorrento and returned on Friday evening for our last night. Upon check-in at 2PM the man, who recognized us from our previous stay, handed us the key on the top right hand side of the board. He said, "Tonight we're putting you in the Virgilio Suite, it's our nicest room. We hope you enjoy it."

Jay and I looked at each other in surprise. We surely didn't book the Virgilio Suite (which I later found on their website is listed with a rate of € 620!) We didn't know why they were so generous, but we figured the room wasn't booked that night and since we were second time visitors within a week they decided to let us use it.

The Virgilio Suite
I was planning on taking pictures of our room when I returned to the hotel our last night. I wasn't expecting to have pictures of the suite! We took the elevator to the 5th floor this time and soon were presented with a winding staircase with a marble-banister. The porter led us up around the circular staircase to the only room at the top, the Virgilio Suite.

This room was unbelievable. It was located on the rooftop terrace, on the opposite side of the terrace where we ate breakfast each morning. Our room had a living area, with fabric-covered walls. A marble fireplace and a small dining area. Walking into the bedroom, true period antiques graced every corner. The bed had an enormous head and footboard. The porter showed us into our new bathroom, which like the old was covered in marble. Instead of one sink we had two. Instead of a shower and a tub we had a jacuzzi tub. It was easily twice the size of the previous bath. We also had plush, thick terrycloth bathrobes hanging in the bathroom as well.

We were astounded, but the porter continued... That wasn't all. Not only did our room look out over this beautiful terrace, but this was our own, private terrace above Rome! We gaped in astonishment as he opened the glass door and led us over the marble entryway out to a huge terrace, larger than our back porch at home. Two lounge chairs and an umbrella were on one side. He fluffed the cushions on the wrought iron seats and loveseat, along with a wrought iron table on the left. He pointed out the plugs to turn on the garden lights, and only then with us still looking astonished, did he bid us a farewell, exiting through the terrace gate. 

Jay and I looked at each other, dumbstruck. Eight nights in Italy, and our last night was this. Wow. We quickly made plans to get a bottle of wine to celebrate up on the terrace that evening. The front desk arranged to have a wine bottle opener sent up to our room. After our long, sweaty, gross trip on the Circumvesuviana train up from Sorrento, and then from Naples to Rome, we each soaked in the Jacuzzi and spent an hour on the terrace, in the lounge chairs, drinking in the relaxation.

In fact, we had planned to leave our hotel as soon as we got in to check out several sights we hadn't seen yet in Rome. Those plans were quickly scrapped (we're going back in the spring we've decided) as we took our wine, and chocolate, and napped until 6:30, when the restaurants opened.

Cat's Bottom Line
I left our choice of hotel up to my husband and I couldn't be happier that I did. We were treated with such kindness at the Golden Tulip Mecenate Palace that even though we knew there would be less expensive places to stay on our next trip to Rome, I made my husband promise we'd come back. (And he did!)

The standard rooms in the hotel are gorgeous. The Virgilio Suite was out of this world. Most of all I will never forget that on our next-to-last day, when we were the weariest travelers we had ever been, they graciously let us sleep in their nicest room. There may be four stars over the door at the Golden Tulip Mecenate Palace Hotel in Rome, but in my mind it was a 5+ star experience.

For More Information
Hotel Website: http://www.mecenatepalace.com
E-mail: info@mecenatepalace.com
Address: 00185 Rome - Via Carlo Alberto 3 - Italy
Phone: +39 06/44702024