annhig - I think you don;t find tea making facilities in many places since people from most countries don;t drink tea in the am - they drink coffee. And the coffee made in those lieelt machines is truly awful -esp in comparison to the excellent coffee in Italy.'>>

NYT - i like coffee in the morning too, so long as i've had my cuppa in bed first. we take our own tea-bags [the stuff sold abroad is never strong enough] and buy fesh milk from the supermarket which we keep in the minibar - i agree those little cartons are vile.

did you know that you can also get coffee bags which are supposed to be like tea bags? I've tried them but confess I wasn't too impressed. but a kettle and some hot water ought at least to be able to give you a decent cup of instant coffee - not the same as a cappucino or expresso i know, but easier to drink in your room!

Sorry -

IMHO there isn't any instant coffee that's even close to drinkable - coffee bags or anything else. To be drinkable coffee needs to be freshly made from just ground beans - the reason I will only stay in hotels that provide room service breakfasts. (It's true in many hotels in the US you can;t drink the coffee -I ask how they make it - and often just do juice if I know it;s going to be bad.)

And agree that "the wife" is extremely rude. She's a person with a name and an identity - not a piece of furniture. Do you also call your admin "the girl" - I thought that stuff went out about 30 years ago.

Annhig-its too bad that you and others have not seen the American show DATELINE as they did bacteria tests on those kettles and coffee pots in the room. You will NEVER use one of those again after seeing that segment.

I do laugh on Tripadvisor when someone doesn't like a room and brings up the kettlemaking facilities-I look at the country and it is always the UK.
There are some great portable coffee makers with the plungers built in and all you do is add hot water and coffee and the stuff tastes like brewed.
My new thing is just bringing canned Starbucks expresso in my suitcase and drinking that on the run in the morning if I cannot get a cup of coffee before my airline pickup-I know,truly and American thing!

sorry should have said "truly an American thing".

hi dutyfree,

I can believe what you say about the coffee pots, but I'm a bit surprised about the kettles - after all, they are constantly sterilised by the boiling water.

you don't need a coffee or tea-pot - just a kettle, a tea-bag and a cup. AND some fresh milk.

Annhig-in a very nice hotel in Den Haag (Dorint) I went to use my tea kettle and someone had used it to heat tomato soup.Yuck! I am always amazed that there is water still left in some of them too-maids never empty.

in a very nice hotel in Den Haag (Dorint) I went to use my tea kettle and someone had used it to heat tomato soup.>>

OK, i give up. I never even check the inside of a hotel kettle - I'll definitely be doing so in future.

thanks for the tip!

dutyfree, you have just made my day by " I love Rome.... next to Cape Town RSA " We are planning our first and most probably our last trip to Italy in Sept 2010. As a born and bred Cape Town girl I just know that our Rome experience can only great. Very much tongue in cheek about the " Ice in wine" comments. we have the same thing in South Africa and it truly gets my back up.

RockStone, If you are still in search of a hotel I can recommend The Majestic, also on the Via Veneto. The rooms, while of varying sizes, were all lovely (I saw 4 of them) and the baths were all marble and quite large. A small party of us were there in late September for 5 nights and had nothing but charming service and a delightful stay. Breakfast was included and it was tasty, well presented and served in a beautiful room. Good luck to you!

staying in expensive hotels are sooo convenient and great. But I am a cheap traveler. So I preferred hostels and inns. I hardly have time to stay in my room. All I need is a place to sleep, bathe and store my stuffs. So I don't need fancy rooms in my travels. Recently, I've been enjoying Sardinia's hostels. It's cheap, clean and the staffs are so accommodating. just sharin'

Perhaps the Majestic has been refurbished since I stayed there, but based on my room, I wouldn't recommend it. The room was a decent size and did overlook Via Veneto, but that's about all I can say about it. I would definitely choose the Westin Excelsior (similar location) any day.

I stayed 4 nights at the Grand Hotel Plaza in July 2007. Thoroughly enjoyed the hotel. Excellent buffet breakfast which was included in our room rate.

On Via del Corso just a short walk to Piazza del Popolo and Spanish Steps. We used this as a starting point and walked to all major sites: Vatican, Pantheon, Colosseum and Palentine, etc.

http://www.grandhotelplaza.com/

Rock, I don't know if you're still looking but here's my two cents. I stayed in the Westin a few years ago using Amex points and it was fabulous. I just returned from a business/pleasure trip and for the business portion stayed at The St. Regis, which was also fabulous but the location was a bit out of the way. For the pleasure portion I moved to the Albergo del Senato and it was nice but, of course, no comparison to the The St. Regis so I don't think I can really judge it fairly but it's just not of the same caliber hotel that it sounds like you want.

Rock has been absent for some time.

Try http://www.hotelbooking-worldwide.com/

Check this hotel.
http://www.hotelsinrome.net/4-star-h...otel-rome.html
It is really good.

There are information about other hotels available at this site:
http://www.hotelsinrome.net

I think he's there, already!

So, what happened to your plans?

Life!

Two days before we were to depart for Rome, my wife got a call alerting her of a medical emergency for her sister. She immediately caught a flight to go and be at her bedside. Family first..ALWAYS! Our first trip to Italy will just have to be re-scheduled.

The good news...the doctors are optimistic about my sister-in-laws recovery. We are very thankful for this positive projection.

The other good news is that we received great hotel recommendations from you great travelers and we'll probably try it again in October 2010.

I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Happy Travels,

Rock