To have changed my hotel booking after reading bad reviews?

[solotravelconundrum]

I’m going on a solo trip to Rome next month. I booked with a package holiday company and all was well. The reviews on the website were great - 5 stars, great location, average rating of 4.9 out of 5.

I was finalising my excursions last night and wanted to check the distance from the hotel to the pantheon. On Google maps the reviews revealed a different story - items being stolen, a stolen passport from the safe, a bad area to walk in at night, housekeeping coming into the rooms at 8/9/10pm.

I’ve cancelled my hotel reservation through the package company and booked a Hilton, because I knew I wouldn’t be able to feel safe in the original hotel. AIBU? Everyone I speak to thinks I’m being really reactionary and probably would’ve been fine.

I’m genuinely shocked.

You don’t even have to do that. The vast majority of the programmes are the same and your language stays the same. You literally just open the laptop and watch Netflix 🤣

Ignore them. I don’t know why anyone else is so bothered. It’s your holiday you do what you want. Have a great time 🙂

Netflix is fine wherever you go. Disney plus there are regional differences. Iplayer won’t work.

I would have made the very same decision OP! Trust me after a full day out in Rome ( we were walking in excess of 6 miles a day although it didn’t seem like it because everywhere you go you see history just loved it❤️) perfect hotel to return to after such a day to relax… you will have a fab time and I guarantee you will be that tired you probably won’t need Netflix 😂😂 have a wonderful break xx

I’m not 😔. I’ve had a couple of threads in the last few weeks, and a surprising number of people have been downright horrible, even though I was having a bad time.

Gave a fantastic and safe time in Rome, OP, It’s a wonderful city.

Yeah iPlayer, Sky and TNT Sports don’t work. Everything else does thankfully!

Everyone just seems so miserable at the moment

You can get netflix abroad without a VPN. Not all programmes will be available but most are. Done it lots of times

Me neither. MN seems filled with people who want to argue for the sake of it these days

Agreed.
It never ceases to amaze me how often people will be outrageously rude and if the OP or anyone else replies with anything less than perfect politeness a frenzy of posters descend to back up the rude poster.

It’s genuinely why I hardly use MN anymore. I thought I’d venture back in with a safe thread, a woman traveling alone wishing to stay safe… but nah. They’re here too.

Because this post is a non issue. You changed your hotel - great and congrats.

Posters are maybe wondering why you are seeking approval for a perfectly reasonable action?

Have a super holiday and please post your experience of Rome on the holiday board, because I've never been and would love to go. I am curious as to whether Rome is busy all year round, or whether this is a better time to go.

No, I don't think you are being unreasonable at all. You can get one of those door locker things that are useful and an alarm door wedge or a door jammer for additional peace of mind. As a lone female, you always want to be in an area close to where you're eating out. One other tip is to always take a look on street view to see what you think of the area and get a feel for how far things are from each other. Your friends aren't being unreasonable either because it probably would be fine but they're not you (a lone female), I know I couldn't relax at night knowing that housekeeping or anyone else might burst in and btw in all the hotels I have stayed in, housekeeping has always come in during the day - that is a red flag!

Couldn't agree more - the tone is quite harsh for no good reason. I wonder if bots are responsible for some of it tbh?

You're in Rome and you're planning to spend your evening watching Netflix? Obviously it's your holiday and you should do as you please, but evenings are the best time to be out and about.

Smart TV or not, I take my laptop or an iPad and keyboard when I travel. If things go wrong trying to sort it all out on your phone is a nightmare compared to a larger screen. And even the flight is better with something more than a phone. Also, if I take my laptop/ipad, I can keep a sight more media on it than I can on my phone and also write, edit a spreadsheet and even browse MN a damn sight more easily than I can on my phone.

I would have changed too. Any hotel can be great, but multiple recent reviews about theft should be headed. A Hilton might hire the same staff, but they have more external pressure to mitigate criminal behaviour by staff before the reviews get to that stage (and the tools to analyse the issue and support management to take the necessary steps ti prevent.

I think doing what makes you safe is the right choice. You should enjoy your trip and not have to worry about your belongings at the same time. I would have done the same thing without question!

I can have 10 different conversations by WhatsApp in a few hours. Some people probably have no one to chat to 😉 Although that's usually if home alone. Not so much if dh or adult dcs/gcs or friends are here.

I think you would have been fine. People tend to report the bad stuff rather than the good and any major city has pickpockets. But if you feel better for cancelling, there's no reason not to.

It's mostly down to area, not the chain of hotel. Rome is pretty safe for a capital city- bag snatch and pickpocketing are more of a danger in the day. I would always look at the Trip Advisor rather than Google maps?( I didn't even know there was a travel advise feature on Google Maps- that might want checking) If the Google reviews agree with Trip Advisor then I'd believe it, but a stolen passport from the safe and housekeeping at 10pm doesn't sound credible, I've read thousands of reviews over the years and never come across a review like that- a business simply wouldn't survive.

Things I take seriously in reviews:
Multiple reports of noise, bad area, H&S issues.
Specific negatives in a review that also includes positives.
Things that raising it with the hotel won't fix (area, accessibility)

Things I don't:
Occasional complaints about 'rude staff' or room specific things, like the odd report it was 'filthy' that's not reflected in the majority of reviews.
Entirely negative reviews. The person is clearly hard to please or hated their holiday.
Issues the hotel could resolve if they occur.
In your case I'd have cancelled too.

As I’ve said, it’s after my evening excursions have ended. I’m not going to stay out until midnight and get right into bed! I want some downtime

We stay at the Hilton when we are in Rome. It’s a good location and has an excellent breakfast.

I don't blame you. I've had stuff nicked whilst staying in hotels. You don't need that worry when trying to enjoy yourself on holiday.
Have a lovely trip.

I’ve never cancelled a hotel after booking , but do try to read as wide a range of reviews as possible before doing so, if it’s just a handful of poor reviews out of hundreds I wouldn’t be concerned generally but if there’s as many poor as good wouldn’t book