San Carlo Hotel in Rome: Very Rude
 

I felt the need to post this message about the San Carlo Hotel, which receives many good reviews.

Our family of ten has a four-night stay planned in Rome: one double room, two quadruple rooms. To stay within a reasonable budget, I solicited many hotels in Rome, and San Carlo was included. Because their room rate was too high for my budget, I chose the Santa Chiara where I received a wonderful room rate.

However, we need to stay in Rome again at the end of our trip, prior to departing from Leonardo da Vinci Airport. So as not to confuse the hotels, I e-mailed requests to several hotels for one-night only, and San Carlo was one of them. Every other hotel responded.

Maybe I was annoying Rosanna at the San Carlo with an additional request, but IMO, that's her job. Well, she didn't respond to my first e-mail, nor my second e-mail, nor my third e-mail about the reservation for one-night only. I even gave her the benefit of the doubt, by writing "I am not sure you ever received my previous e-mail." She is fluent in English.

It's been about a week now (even if she is on vacation, someone else should be picking up her e-mails), and still no response. I probably wouldn't give this a second thought, except for the very good reviews about this hotel, and we would have like to stayed in the San Carlo.

Because I am dealing with one person, could this be a case of "one bad apple?"

Trying to read between the lines of your post, do I understand that your emails to San Carlo have all been personally addressed to this one person? If so, perhaps she is on vacation.

If you want to know, how about picking up the telephone? (I'm old enough to remember the days before internet when phones actually worked quite well, and they still do.) Since you say she (and perhaps others) there are fluent in English, it seems the best way to get an answer.

And please don't talk about the cost. Dial 101-6868- then the full number including the country code and it will cost you about 5 cents a minute. There are many other such numbers so there's no reason to use cost of phone as an excuse.

Once again, a post exposing a hotel as being "very rude" just because they haven't answered your emails seems unfair to them to say the least, particularly if you've addressed them all to one individual who may not even be there.

Unfortunately, I am reminded of Robespierre's assertion that some European hotels don't like getting lots of e-mails or "more business than they can handle" which I think is misinformed at best.

In YOUR particular case I think you either need to get ON THE PHONE with this establishment or forget about it.

Perhaps they are the ones who are sending you a "message."

Patrick, Thank you for the access number to Italy. The cost is very reasonable.

Intrepid1, I suspect the silent message may be they they want the entire booking, i.e. first four nights, then the additional one night.

Well, at least you didn't make a reservation yet. Calling would be the best thing to do as has been advised. That way you can make a better decision about whether or not you want to stay at the San Carlo. There could be a good reason why the clerk didn't reply to you emails.

In general, I don't find e-mail to be a good way to communicate with hotels in France. I don't know whether it's that they're behind us technologically or just have a different attitude toward that kind of customer service, but whatever it is, e-mail often just doesn't work. Pick up the phone and call them. I'm sure Rosanna or someone else can sort out your needs.