small family run hotel in great location. no lift so be careful with lots of baggage! We paid for the previous night as we arrived on a very early flight only to find the room had been sold. We did get to check in about 9am [without charge] but we had two e-mails confirming the arrnagement. The lady on the desk was agrump but we found all the other reception staff to be great.. Breakfast was great, rooms simple and tidy. Very quiet location for centre of room, trams run nearby but just a distant rumble. bathroom small but OK. I'd score it 6.5 out of 10. We paid Euro95

We just got back from a 4 night stay at Hotel Arenula.

Location was great. Largo Argentina a two minute walk away, from there a short walk to Piazza Navona for dinner and Campo de´Fiori for drinks afterwards. From there Pantheon and the Trevi is in walking distance.
In the other direction from the hotel is Colloseo, approx. a 20 min. walk. If you don´t wanna walk you can catch the bus at Largo Argentina.

Staff was very friendly and helpful with tips about where to go, distances etc. We found both the receptionists, breakfast staff and the maid very friendly. Breakfast was good.

The room was ok. Small and in no way extravagant. But it was clean and effective. The bed was very good. However, the room was not cleaned even once during our stay. We got new towels, the garbage was taken out and the room were tidyed - but not cleaned. I found this kinda odd, bot not a problem. I don´t wash my bathroom and bedroom at home every day, so why should I need this done when I´m at a hotel?

The only really downside I can think of is the stairs. There is no lift in this building, and the stairs were unnormally heavy to walk in. No problem for us, we´re joung and healty, but if you´re elderly or in bad shape I would remomend to request a room on the first floor.

All in all, not a luxurious stay, but a great city hotel.

As in previous reviews i can confirm cleanliness, excellent continental breakfast, especially the bread rolls, very convenient location for all the major attractions.
Two slight downsides, the stairs (no lift) and the early morning traffic noise especially from the trams.
Very reasonable cost, we were there for the Italy v Wales rugby match for 3 nights and paid about £250

My husband and I stayed at Hotel Arenula for 3 nights in October. The location was ideal as others have mentioned and the price was reasonable. The breakfast each morning was good - cereal, crossants, yogurt, juice, coffee, fruit, crakers, etc.

The hotel itself smelled clean. The bathroom and the room itself appeared clean. The room itself was pretty basic but we knew that when we booked and that's what we paid for.

Things were great until we went to bed for the first time and realized that our bed reeked of urine! The sheets looked very fresh and clean - it must have been in the mattress. My husband expressed our dissatisfaction to the housekeeping woman on his was down to the desk and after several minutes of going back and forth she explained that the smell that we were smelling was not infact urine but rather perfume that must have soaked into the mattress from the last guest. What an insult! We know the difference between the smell of ammonia and perfume! When we told her this and asked for a new mattress she said that she would communicate to the manager but that she is not allowed to rotate mattresses between rooms.

Sure enough, this was ultimately the final response that came from the front desk. The additional "help" that we got in solving this matter was the advice to open the windows and air it out.

Had we not had the poor experience with the urine soaked mattress, I would recommend this hotel as an average place to stay. Nothing overly impressive but a perfect spot to sleep and shower while touring Rome. Even if the staff would have just addressed our problem, we would have been comfortable recommending this hotel but since they didn't all we can say is that we hope you don't get the same room we did.