All in all, an ok place, though the kitchen and internet facilities didn't seem to be enough for everyone, and my bed squeaked terrrribly! Room was spacious. The elevator didn't work and it's up a couple flights of stairs.

Stayed for 4 nights in a mixed 8-bed dorm. Paid €17 per night, which was very cheap.

Hostel is located in a relatively dodgy area very close to Termini, along with a lot of other low-cost accommodation. While the feeling of personal safety was a bit low when wandering back to the hostel late at night, there was never any real cause for concern (note there is a police station about a block away).

Dorm itself was big and airy. Window could be opened to allow fresh air. Beds had thin mattresses and pillows. Those I can live with, but a problem was the doona which was thin (perfect for summer) but being a Roman winter (just above zero) it was inadequate.

Shared unisex bathroom facilities were okay, with separate shower cubicles and toilet cubicles. Both were adequately clean at all times, excepting for the toilet floors in the evenings which were sometimes a bit messy from all the traffic.

Problems here were:
- The hot water in the showers, which sometimes petered out (2 of 4 nights) during a shower, leaving you to finish with tepid water.
- Shower cubicles don't have any benches for you to put your stuff, only a couple of hooks on the wall. As another review suggested, it's not a huge problem as you can hang everything off these two hooks and cover it all with your towel, which might get a few spashes of water.
- Shower cubicles are small. You can either get dressed inside the cubicle with a wet floor or wrap a towel around and dash back to the dorm.

The reception is located on level 2, and the lift doesn't work, so you will need to lug your bags up a couple of flights of stairs. Staff at reception speak excellent English (I think they're all native speakers) and while at times a bit curt, they will help you with whatever you need. Also on level 2 is the internet room / locker room, and kitchen, dining, and lounge. The internet room has 4 computers, but I never got to test out the ease of connection as their registration system had problems while I was there. I got the impression that the internet setup is a bit flaky overall but the prices were close to the cheapest in Rome that I saw. No wireless. Kitchen, dining room, and lounge all seemed adequate, and provides nice spaces to break out into.

Apparently there's also free breakfast (hard bread rolls with spreads and butter), and free pasta in the evenings (didn't try).

Overall, pretty good for the low price, but those requiring a decent internet connection, travelling in winter, or requiring perfect bathroom facilities will need to compromise or look elsewhere.

I stayed in the Alessandro Hostel from sept 5th to sept 9th 2007. This was the first hostel I had ever stayed in because this was my first trip to Europe. I didn't know what to expect. When I arrived at the Termini, I searched for the hostel, but couldn't find it immediately. But when I found it, I was greeted by two great people at the front desk that made everything clear and were very nice. The hostel has a great communal room to watch movies and chat. It has internet access, although only 2 out of the three computers were working. And it has very clean rooms that are spacious. I staying in a mixed dorm with about 8 beds.

The best thing about this hostel is the location next to the termini, and the free food. We had free breakfast, which consists of unlimited juice, cereal, and bread. Not the most amazing breakfast, but it was free. The other thing that it offered was free pasta at night. To get the pasta you just sign your name on a list before 6pm so they know how many plates to make, then you come back at 7 and eat. Pretty good too. It saved me a lot of money.

Overall this hostel was great. I later staying in over 20 other hostels on my trip and remember the alesssandro as one of the best.

I stayed here for 3 nights in the beginning of october and i had a great experence. The hostel is about a 2 minute walk from Roma Termini, which is good since my train arived at 11:30pm the walk there looks like a dodgy neighborhood there was grafiti on the walls and it was real dark but i never felt threatened or scared walking around. Its also nice to be by the train station, i bought a 3 day metro pass for 11 euro and from the Termini you can take the metro and be anywhere in the city within minutes. The only thing that was bad was they advertise an elevator but when i got there there was a sign on there that said, " lift is faulty use at your own risk" i was on the 4th floor so it was a little bit oh a hike but it didnt bother me too much. they have 24 hour reception, the staff was nice and spoke english, they have a big common room with big couches a tv/dvd and they have a list of about 20 dvd's they loan to you. i was in an 8 person dorm and it was suprisingly big and had a desk with a chair to write. they have cabnets to put your luggage but you have to bring your own pad lock. sheets were changed daily and bathrooms were always clean. one of the best things was the pasta party you have to sign up by 6pm and the pasta is at 7pm. it was actually good pasta cooked by this little italian mama lady, and the pasta party was a great chance to meet other people from the hostel. the free breakfast was not so good though, the first day i had a bowl of cereal with what i found out to be warm milk gross... but other than that it was just rolls with butter or jam and juce. but if i went to rome again i would definatly stay here again nice place.