Domus Aurea skip the line ticket + virtual reality

The vendor put the wrong time on one set of our tickets, as a result the four people in my family could not get into this attraction. This booking only allows you to do two tickets at a time when booking… so we had to book the same thing twice to get a total of four tickets. One set of tickets had the right time and the other did not. When I brought this up to the vendor and Viator they only gave us a refund for two of our four tickets (the two that had the wrong time on them)… stating that since two of them were good that we could’ve use them. We, however, are a family of four (including two teens) who were there to tour together. Viator also said even though the vendor messed up and gave me the wrong time on one set of tickets, the fact that they gave me a link to the wrong tickets ahead of time and I should’ve noticed (and gotten it fixed before going) and that justifies their actions to not give me a refund. I, however, struggled to find the email where they sent us the ‘right’ tickets… We were sent four separate emails with four different statements regarding how to get said tickets. Three of the ‘get your tickets’ buttons sends/gets you to a pretend ticket that is not the right one, which is what I originally presented the day of the attraction. At the attraction, in the confusion while trying to enter is when I found out there’s yet another email with a different button that I was supposed to press… When I pressed it on-site it gave me tickets with the wrong time for two of my tickets, frustrating the people at the gate who no longer allowed any of us to enter at that point… even if we were to figure out how to get it fixed. They had us leave. I let variator and the vendor know this and they still refuse to give me a refund for two of my tickets. The vendor marked us ‘late’ on their end and Viator is saying that also is a reason we can’t get a refund for our remaining tickets, what a mess. All the while it is acknowledged and known that two of our tickets were done incorrectly by the vendor and that we struggled to get in as a family (couldn’t get in as a family) and they STILL will not fix this for us). As a result, I highly recommend against booking this way to go to this attraction. Instead, buy it directly on location or from the website of the attraction itself (don’t be afraid to do so, it’s fine and more reliable and your tickets will be accurate)… Not only will you save money but you will not have the frustration of dealing with a third-party vendor and Viator which is not providing proper customer service. Do not recommend. I’m sure this is a great place to visit, just don’t book it this way.

Utterly fascinating. A really well informed guide, the VR was great and the visual projection at the outset of the tour helped to understand how the site was developed then lost. It would really improve the quality of the tour if the guide had an iPad on which to show the illustrations (too dark to see so we had to use torches on iPhones). Also, it would really help if we had audio guides (as in The Vatican Museums and other sites we have visited.) Some in our group were not native English speakers and it was quite hard to hear the guide and follow what was being said, so it would be helpful all round if we had individual earpieces. Thanks for a unique tour.

Go with a different company. The address on the right keys were incomplete so if it’s your first time there you have no idea where to go and there is no one to meet you. Because if this we were late and missed the first half of our tour. The actual domus is amazing but choose a different company

The Domus Aurea itself is spectacular and the Virtual Reality experience really brings it to life - our grand daughter really enjoyed it. The only downside was that the guide, who was very knowledgeable, wore a mask but spoke very quietly and in a monotone voice. I understand the wearing of the mask in Covid times BUT because of the echoing walls etc ( you are underground) there is a need for some sort of microphone to be worn by the guide so that the guests can enjoy a full experience.

Very upset with Viator....tickets would not download pdf file and guards would not let us enter...tried the email, text message link and kept getting the page that indicated we paid but that it was not the actual ticket....extremely frustrating and very unlike Viator. Clearly a glitch with program. Would have addressed it earlier but was traveling and did not have an easy way to contact directly

The tour was well guided and the Domus Aurea is a truly remarkable place. The only disappointment was that the tour was advertised with entry to a Raphael exhibition. In fact, this closed over a month ago. Come on get your advertising up to date and honest!

The scale Of the palace all the rooms all underground We're extraordinary and the VR Visualization of what the palace looked like when it was finished was incredible

Sadly, once again it was closed. I’m not sure I’ll ever get to see it. The substitute offered, Stadium of Domitian, was not equal to what I’d expected at Nero’s Golden House

Tour was fine. Guide was knowledge! Tour group not so much. Third party never sent q&r code to let me in. No one from tour company was there. A very kind tour guide from another group called company and asked what was going on. Once she spoke to them code appeared. She was my hero!

The Domus Ayres is wonderful- Viator’s ticket system awful - the links never brought up the actual ticket