Magic on a NCL Jade Cruise – Hotel Review: Hilton Rome Airport

Trip Index:

Introduction
Getting there
Hotel Review: Hilton Rome
Taking the long way to the port
Embarkation
Review: Jade Penthouse Suite 10166
Day in Olympia, Greece
Day in Piraeus, Athens Greece
Day in Kusadasi, Turkey
Hotel Review: Four Seasons Istanbul at Sultanahmet
Day in Naples/Pompeii, Italy
Hotel Review: Hotel Holiday Bolsena

The Hilton Rome Airport is connected to the Rome Fiumicino Airport Terminals 1 & 2 by way of a series of people movers and hallways. It took what seemed like 20 minutes to walk from the Terminal to the hotel on the way there since I was exhausted, but when leaving I realized it only took about 5 and that it was actually quite convenient.

Covered walkway

Arriving at the front desk I saw there was a special check-in lane for Hilton HHonors members but since there was no one else waiting to check in I simply went to where the hostess was, in the regular lane to the right of the pillar.

Elite check-in lane

The good news was that the room was ready and that as a Diamond guest I had been upgraded to the Executive Floor. The bad news was that it was two single beds instead of a King as requested. I said that I really preferred having a King bed since my husband would be joining me shortly, and she said to wait a moment while she went to see what could be done. She disappeared behind a door to presumably talk with someone. A few minutes later she came out beaming. She had found a room with a King bed on the Executive Floor, plus it was all the way at the end of the hall so it would be extra quiet. Great!

She gave me the key and pointed me in the direction of the elevators. Once I got up to the 5th floor I saw that the hallways were arranged in the shape of an X with four of them meeting in the center at the elevators.

Executive floor

Hallway

I rolled my bag down the right one and sure enough, the room was at a quiet end of the hallway.

Room layout

Just inside the door there was a small closet with safe and some shelves. Since I was there for just one night I only hung a few things up. And there was a convenient place to put my suitcase.

Closet

Luggage rack

There was a TV and minibar next to the luggage storage, as well as the desk.

TV and Minibar

Coffee setup

Desk

I briefly considered ordering something from room service but decided sleep was what I really wanted.

Menus

I needed to print out my cruise documents while at the hotel, so I picked up the phone to ask if they recommended doing that in the business center. I had passed a business desk on my way to the room but no one had been there.

Business or concierge desk

The phone on the desk was a bit odd in the way that there were helpful pictures, but pushing the appropriate button didn’t actually do anything. I carefully pressed one button, then another, and another but only heard silence on the other end of the line. I hung up and checked the cord and tried again, in case there it hadn’t been connected properly.

Phone with only one working picture button

The buttons still didn’t work, and I finally just dialed the number on the sticker at the top of the phone for the hotline, which got me right to guest services. She was very helpful, and simply had me email her the documents which she printed out immediately and had waiting at the front desk downstairs.

The bathroom was clean and decently sized, with a tub/shower combo. I didn’t care for the clingy shower curtain, and I could tell the hotel was older by the way that the shower used not one knob to adjust temperature, but two. There were plenty of standard sized towels.

Older style tub

Peter Thomas Roth amenities were carefully lined up on the sink counter.

Bathroom counter

After the shower I took a quick look around. The room was nice and quiet, and I might have spent more time at the window if I hadn’t been so tired. The view looked back down upon the covered walkway to the Airport.

View of walkway

I could also see planes taking off and landing in the distance.

View of airport

Then I closed the curtains and climbed into bed. The curtains left a thin gap open between them so I pushed the chair up against the window to keep them closed. The bed didn’t have the most luxurious linens I’d ever felt but I didn’t care. It was clean, freshly made and had good pillows. Nothing looks quite so glorious as a bed when you’re exhausted.

Bed

Bed

I tried turning off the overhead light to switch to the smaller bedside reading lamp, but the lamp spun around in my hand. I tried again, this time gently pulling on the cord which kept it in place. It worked.

Reading lamp

In the morning, as a Diamond elite I had the option of eating at the Club Lounge or in the restaurant downstairs. Since the Club Lounge didn’t open until 6:30am and since it was just after 6am I decided to try the restaurant.

Executive Lounge

It was down on the lobby level, to the right.

Lobby area looking towards breakfast room

Lobby area

I saw a counter set up with some yogurt, cereal and bread and thought ok, that was it. I’d just grab a few items.

My first view of breakfast

But then I walked around the corner, and saw six full counter areas filled with breakfast items. I was totally surprised. There were the regular breakfast items which included breads made freshly that morning, but then there a bunch of specialty items like a tofu spread with olives, couscous with corn and tomatoes, soy yogurt, mango smoothies and cranberry juice.

Full breakfast buffet

Salad, smoothies and yogurts

Breads and pastries

Fruit

Tofu with pesto and Couscous

Freshly baked muffins

Breads

Pastries

I piled my plate high and sat down at a nearby table. There was hardly anyone else in the restaurant due to the early hour, and it was barely a few minutes later when a waiter came by to ask me if I wanted some tea or coffee, and said to let him know if I had any special requests that I didn’t see out on the tables.

I went back for seconds, and thought to myself that this Hilton breakfast was an impressive gem and that I would never have known otherwise. The waffle machine even had pre-proportioned amounts in carafes so that you could get just the right amount.

Hot items

Waffle maker

Plate

When checking out I remarked to the front desk hostess that I had enjoyed the quietness of the corner room. Even though most of my time at the hotel was spent sleeping, I never heard any footsteps outside the door, voices, or doors slamming. She said she was glad I had liked it, and that actually they had just recently finished soundproofing all of the rooms.

Hilton Rome Airport

HHonors Category 7. Requires 50,000 HHonors points for a free night.

Next up: Taking the long way to to the port in Rome