Location wasn't bad, but not great; rooms were clean; breakfast was lousy, and the coffee undrinkable; some of the family was very polite, but the male night clerk was as rude as they get; there's a 10-10 limit on using the internet which is just stupid when you want to find things out in the early morning; I always had the feeling that I was being ripped off;

Great service from the staff. Everyone was courteous and helpful. It was 38 degrees C in Rome and our room air conditioning was defective. The staff found us another room for 4 the next morning with excellent air conditioning. Breakfast is basic but good. Hotel is clean, quiet. Perfectly situated in a nice and safe area. We were able to walk to all major sites without using public transportation, except for the Vatican. We would go back in a heartbeat. Only issue was with plumbing in the bathrooms, but nothing dramatic.

I was really excited about this hotel...thought I found an inexpensive gem...wow, how was I wrong. First and foremost, the air conditioner barely even worked while we were there...and we went in July. We mentioned it to the owners/staff and they stated that a worker was coming out the next day to fix the ac...but we had a portable fan and so we grinned and bared it. The next day, after coming back from touring, we found that we lost our portable fan and no technician had come and fixed our ac. We were basically told we had to suffer. The rooms were also very cramped with little room to maneuver. My girlfriend and I had stayed 2 nights at another hotel, Hotel Angel, which was awesome and so we were used to the rooms in Rome...but Hotel Ercoli was ridiculous.

The bathroom was sketchy as well. No water pressure. A ceiling that was nothing more than a grate and a dark, recessed upper ceiling that could have housed who knows what was what we got to look up into! The water glass in the room was dirty and there was note on the wall asking us not to flush any toilet paper in the toilet and to throw any soiled toilet paper in the trash.

Most shocking and a fact I didn't mention to my girlfriend was that when I used the community computer, I found bookmarks for pornographic sites...who knows who put them there...but nevertheless, they were there.

And finally, in the morning when we checked out, I asked one the staff members if he could mail my postcards with his mail. Needless to say, none of my family members received their mail.

All in all, a dump!

I stayed at Hotel Ercoli on my first (and only trip until now) to Italy back in April 2007. This is a great budget hotel. The price was very decent. The hotel is a 15 minutes walk from the Termini (main train station) in a very nice (upscale) neighborhood and completely safe (compared to the hotels right beside the Termini). The room was normal size (for a hotel room in Europe - they are generally smaller than in North America), clean and comfortable. The service from the staff was good, they were very helpful. The breakfast was the American style, there was plenty of food: eggs, cereals and milk, croissants, brioches, cheese and cold cuts, toast, etc.
It is a very good option if you are on a budget and would like to stay in a safe area that is not too touristy but close to everything if you don't mind 15-20 min walks.
And do not forget to try the pizzeria that is on the same street!! We ate there twice in 4 days, it was so, soo good!