Do yourself a favor, and stay away from the Hotel Clarin.
We had to lug our luggage up 3 levels (It seems in Rome that "level 2" is always level 3, because the reception area is considered "level 0." ) When you walk in, the first thing you notice is the overwhelming smell of sewage. Very damp, and you had to plug your nose to actually get through the smell.
I did not trust the elavator to bring you up to the floor - it appeared to be as old as the Coliseum.
Reception area: We checked in with a white haired fella named Marco (I believe that was his name) and he was the only helpful receptionist - every other receptionist was not pleasant. I felt like I was a burden to them. We booked this place because it was moderately cheap (90 Euro) but when we got in and checked in, suddenly it was 100 Euro. We stayed in the Hotel Clarin for 3 nights, before taking off for Florence, Tuscany, etc - our plan was to stay in this place the night before our flight - we cancelled that last night after they tried to charge us 120 Euro for the last night.
Rooms: When we booked, we thought "We are going to be out sightseeing, so all we need is a place to sleep, so let's go cheap, we will never be there anyway." - NEVER AGAIN, and I highly suggest that you don't think that way, either. (Pay the extra bucks to get a 3 star, so you can get a moderately good nights' sleep, so you can enjoy the next day) The rooms were appalling - I can't describe how uncomfortable the beds were - I could feel every spring in my back, and every morning I woke up sore, after a sleepless night, whether it was from the "bed" or from the 24-7 traffic right outside your window, or the crazies aimlessly wandering around at 3 in the morning making noise, or my personal favorite - every morning about 2 am, a business establishment in the area would decide to throw its day's worth of bottles into the metal garbage can, making a thunderous clatter that woke us up every night.
Bathroom: I can sum this up very easy with my shower experience. First off, the shower is something that I could barely fit in, let alone shower adequately. The shower was seriously 24" x 24" - and after the first morning, my wife showered, and noticed that the bottom of the shower was filling up, and not draining properly - the next morning, I experienced the same thing, so upon further examination, I took a Q Tip, pried open the drain to expose about 200 years of old nasty hairball that just about made me gag.
Summary: This is very easy - STAY AWAY. I have stayed in a lot of hotels, and this place was right at the top as being the worst. Between the nasty smell when you walk in, the unpleasant receptionists, the terrible beds, getting waked up at 3 in the morning by loud clatter and traffic, and then getting our pricing mysteriously increased - Just stay away. What a terrible experience.
