I don't ask much from hotels. Mostly they're just a place to bed down, get ready and have breakfast, a room for holidaying from. When I used to travel for work I learned to only want three things from them. A double bed (I don't fit into singles well), a shower I could stand up under (after experiencing so many fixed position shower-over-bath experiences where the shower head was about adam's apple level), and a breakfast that fuelled me up for the day. And ideally a desk I could do a bit of work at.
And nothing much has changed since. I'm not a big fan of luxury. But occasionally a hotel manages to surprise, and delight. Such as one has this week.
OK, I don't get out much. Probably half of you have seen this before. Or maybe I'm just benumbed by Travelodges. But the Rome Life Hotel has managed to make me smile. It meets all the basics listed above, plus friendly, helpful staff and a good location for tourist shenanigans. Additional marks for excellent WiFi. And a special bonus for this week's new toy.
Just a slightly elderly Samsung mobile, with a positively neanderthal variant of Android. Ours for the few days we're here, and preloaded with the hotel chain's app. Which, unusually, is actually useful. And a free 4g connection to go with it. They let you have some free international calls if you want them (I don't - we're on holiday) and have internet access as you wander round the city. Google Maps has been getting a workout.
My favourite feature is on the drop down menu. Click "Take me to the hotel!" and you immediately get directions/map back to base. Reassuring if you have the navigational instincts of a homing bucket.
Take a bow Mood Hotels.
