My partner and I travelled to Rome for a short break recently. After searching the web for good deals, we stumbled across the Blanc Et Noir Hotel in Rome. Once booked, I then stumbled across the reviews on expedia, and have to admit to being alarmed, however as the hotel was now paid for and non-refunable we thought it best to give it a try. Upon arriving in Rome, we asked for directions and set off to find the hotel. After a train ride, a bus and then a long walk up a hill we found it - a broken sign and big black iron gates. After the initial panic, we realised it was not quite as bad as first thought. The hotel was pretty basic, and seemed to be stuck in an 80's timewarp but the rooms were clean and fairly comfortable (although twin beds was not ideal for a romantic break, especially after booking a double). Breakfast however was not great, there was a large number of school children staying at the same time and they overtook the restaurant so we hardly had a look in. The other downside was that the children had no respect for any one else staying in the hotel. As we got a cheap deal, our room was situated in the same coridoor as most of the kids and 2 of the 3 mornings we were woken ealrly by slamming doors and noise in general. The hotel did not seem to be concerned about this, and the impression we got was that they did not care an awful lot once they had your money.

Overall, the hotel was OK but it was too far out of the way for a long stay. Ideal if you are on a budget but not if you are looking for some luxury or a romantic break in rome.

We have just returned from our trip to Rome and we found this hotel extremely unnerving. It spoilt our trip as apart from it we loved our visit. Most of the locals were ok. We nearly decided to cut our holiday short and come back early as we were so distressed at one stage. There were damp patches on the walls which we noticed straight away but we were willing to make the best of it. Directions for travel into Rome were placed at the reception and a paid-for photocopy would have helped but you didn't like to ask because they didn't appear that helpful. We struggled to get into Rome and we have travelled all over the world and never had such trouble getting into the centre before. We had to take a taxi to the hotel the first night as we found it extremely difficult to reach by ourselves and the locals didn't seem to know it's location either. We were quite shocked when we arrived at the entrance that the taxi driver took us to as the sign was broken and it didn't look like a proper hotel entrance. I, being a female, was quite frightened! Once inside the hotel grounds we found that you had to press a buzzer to be allowed outside. We found that a bit unnerving at first as no one told you anything about the procedure. The other entrance was on to a dual carriage-way which was inconvenient. The Number 31 bus that they suggested from this stop took ages the first morning and we didn't use it again. It took us until the fourth night of our stay for us to get used to getting into and out of Rome in a reasonable amount of time. We even went into a tourist information bureau in Rome and asked their assistance and they suggested using three buses and changing twice! However the best way we found eventually was to take the No 8 tram to Travestevere Station and then a 786 bus and get off at the bus stop just after the sign for the European Hospital. Beware though that the Tram No 8 doesn't announce stops inside as usual and there are no notices for stops even if you try to look through the tram windows. Counting the number of stops from the centre was the only way that we coped. We had one dreadful night due to this problem and our determination not to take another taxi. Also as a result you had to leave Rome fairly early at night. If only we had known this at the beginning! My husband had bites on his legs but we found the breakfast OK although there were lots of chinese coach groups and it was best to get up early or supplies of food decreased. The decor was mainly shades of antique gold but quite clean apart from the damp patches on the walls. The shower worked quite well and the maid cleaned and supplied free toiletries regularly. Their electrical sockets only had a shaver socket if you wish to use a mobile phone charger. We had one that we had used before in Italy but had to get an extra attachment from an electrical shop near St. Peter's. You had to go through the entrance with a broken sign and pass the abandoned car down to a tobacconist on the left in a group of shops to get a bus ticket for the centre. The best one was a daily one which allowed you to use all the forms of transport for a day. However there was a special bus one that you could use for 75minutes. The dual carriage way was unnerving for a few days as you felt cut off until you realised that there was normal town life a little further down on the left under the bridge and past the garage.

Before I went to Rome with 24 other student I read these reviews and was kinda shocked. Will this be the place I have to spend a whole week?!

So I spoke to someone who organised the trip and she told me everything was ok. So still sceptical we went...

Now I'm a back home and first thing I have to say that's there was nothing wrong with the hotel. Although it is far from the centre of Rome (first bus and then with the metro -> +/- 30-45 minutes total) and at night you have to go back with a taxi (+/- 20 euro's), the hotel itself isn't bad at all. It's not the most luxurious hotel you have been probably, but there are no bugs in the bed, didn't have a problem with the staff and for breakfast there was bread (globules?), croissants, cereal, yoghurt etc.

If you want a cheap hotel, and you don't mind the distance, it's ok to stay here! (just go around 9 till 2 o'clock at night to Rome, centre; there's enough to see!)

this hotel was the worst hotel i have ver been too. The staff were rude and stole things from rooms. One person on my trip got 80 euro stolen form them the other got a whole bag of clothes stolen. the rooms were smelly and mold on the walls, bugs in the beds, you would wake up and have bites on your legs. It got to the point where you couldnt even sleep in the bed. The staff at the fornt desk are sooo rude. if your not wearing shoes in the lobby they yell at you in italian, and if u lock your self out of your room they yell at you. we went with a group of 30 students and they said they would call the police if we were loud again. it is in a residential area so you have ot take a bus and two subways to get into downtown rome.its an experience to stay in the residential area, kinda a problem to get into the nice parts. dont stay here if you wnat a really good hotel. Oh and the food sucked! breakfest is bread that is left out the nite before. there are some good pizzareias near buy though and cheap stores