I booked this hotel through Expedia mainly because it was close to the Termini Station, which is the best way to get to central Rome from the Airport. I had been searching for hotels for weeks, and just gave up and chose this one eventually. Boy, what a mistake.
Firstly, the problem with getting to the hotel. After forgetting the address to the hotel, we had to resort to taking a cab, because although I knew the hotel was about a minute away, I had no idea which direction I should have gone. We took the taxi, and to my surprise, after about 45 seconds we arrived at the hotel. The hotel was just on the other side of the road, and about a block down. To my surprise, the taxi driver charged 15 EUROS. Yes! For a 45 second drive, 15 EUROS!!
Secondly, the problem with checking in. Since the room was already paid for through Expedia, the room was already paid in full. They hotel front desk said they needed a credit card, as well as a phtocopy of our passports. Now, this is the first time i've ever had a copy of my passport taken, in ANY country, and i;ve travelled alot. Anyway, we gave them the passports and they took the photocopies. JUST ONE PROBLEM!.They gave us our room keys and said that was it. Guess What? They never gave us back our passports. Just before walking off, we realised this and asked where the passports were. To my surprise...the passports were hidden under a stack of paper. I was not impressed. This signalled to me that my time in Rome was not going to be pleasant.
The room was OK. Nothing spectacular. The furniture was old, and the toilet seemed like something out of medieval times. The bed linen didnt smell clean, and the pillows were flat. The hotel is located right next to a busy street, so in order to reduce noise, try to always keep the windows closed. There are no clocks, and no iron or ironing board. I even got a towel that had a huge hole in it.
The area where the hotel is situated, is one where I would advise not to walk at night. Rome citizens are crafty theives. So be extremely careful. In light of this, we decided to order some food, through room service. We had steak, which cost 50 euros a plate. I ordered the steak and asked for it to be well done. The person who took the order apparently was the 'bartender', and when i asked him what came with the steak, he told me 'i dont kno mam, im just the bartender'. When the steak came, it was anything but well done. A piece of red meat with blood coming out as soon as you cut it. It also came with some spinach that was extremely slimy, and some 'bread' which was hard and stale. (Please see the photos I posted to take a look at the meal).
Overall, this hotel is a bad choice. Staying here will make the rest of your stay in Rome unpleasant. The hotel provides free breakfast, but i cant comment on it because i didn;t eat it. It didnt look very appetizing.
For a nice dinner, just down the road is a restaurant called Roberto's. They serve 3 course meals for 15 euros which is delicious.
Also, a good way of getting around Rome is by the hop on nop off tourist bus. It goes to all the sights and you can get off and get back on wherever, you like. Check Viator.com for tickets.
