We used the Palacavicchi for an o'night stay, to catch an early flight from Ciampino. On a quick phone call we were picked up within 5 minutes by the hotel's minibus and its cheerful driver. The reception staff were friendly and welcoming. The hotel itself looked like an enormous single-storey motel, with rooms on very long, straight corridors. It wasn't noisy, despite being close to the airport. Our room was quite spacious, and clean, although the decor was a little "tired", and some chunks of plaster had come off the wall in the shower-room. However, the accommodation was acceptable, and there was plenty of hot water. The nicest surprise, especially for late arrivals, was the big restaurant, open till 10pm. It had a good selection of reasonably priced dishes, and quick service by a friendly team of waiters. The buffet breakfast was plentiful, with a good choice. Our checkout was efficiently handled, and the minibus appeared right on call to take us to the airport.

I had read one or two mixed reviews on this and other sites so I am delighted to have the opportunity to contribute.

Eight of us (4 Couples) have just spent a five day holiday staying at the Hotel Palacavicchi at Ciampino, Rome.

Location about 3/4 Mile from Ciampino and about the same distance from the airport. Regular Public Buses each way mean easy transfers for only 1 Euro , in addition the hotel has a Shuttlebus. To acess Rome take a train from Ciampino Station to the Termini (only 1.30 Euro) which means you can travel from a low price hotel to the Centre of Rome for only 2.30 Euro.

Accomodation (We paid 340 Euro's for 4 Nights B & B per couple) :- Excellent Quality and Very Clean , Fresh Towells Daily and rooms cleaned meticulously. (When you arrive the lavatory has a seal on it.) Room is freshened up and cleaned daily as well. Decor is good. (Small problem arose with one of the groups bedrooms having plumbing difficulties , Hotel acted immediately and re allocated them another room. ) Room had air conditioing and double glazing. We all agreed aircraft noise WASNT a problem and we all slept well (Probably due to the Red Wine - but hey - we were on holiday!)

Facilities , Bar, Restaurant, Computer Section & Function Room, all tastefully decorated. Bar Prices were Great !!! Bottle of House wine only 7 euros' , Large Peroni Beers 660ml only 3 Euros and Pizza's started at 3.50 Euro. Menu had a large choice of Meat Poultry and Fish.
(The best barometer was the large number of locals eating and entertaining here - obviously they had identified great quality and value.)

Staff
Staff were polite courteous and responsive to any problems. The restaurant manager appeared to be quite strict with his staff, but his priority was the customer and he pushed them to meet customers expectations. He himself did the rounds checking repeatedly with guests to see that everything was OK, again very reasponsive when minor hic-cups did occur. The reception staff were Polite and Helpful.

Closing Comments : We had a great time and really enjoyed our stay , We would have no hesitation in recommending it to other travellers. I was worried about staying outwith the city centre but in reality this was a blessing, and it was so nice to escape to the calm of the coutryside in the evenings after being in the hussle and bustle all day. And the reasonably priced Bar and Restaurant meant we could really enjoy ourselves without facing bankrupcy .

Well Done Hotel Palacvicchi

My husband and I stayed at this hotel for one night last week. We were travelling from Romania to Ireland via Rome and missed our first connecting flight, so we had to find somewhere to stay overnight in Rome. So we purely needed a place to sleep for that one night, we weren't looking for anything too fancy and couldn't have afforded it anyway.

We booked a room at the Palacavicchi through the hotel reservations desk at Ciampino airport. We just told the clerk that we wanted to stay somewhere close by, that was cheap, secure and reasonably clean. She recommended the Palacavicchi, so we ended up there.

It was about two minutes away from the airport and the taxi driver knew it by name, so we didn't have to worry about giving directions.

The reception staff were polite and after checking in, we went to our room. It was very basic, as we'd expected it to be, but was clean and comfortable enough. The bathroom was ok, pretty clean apart from the shower which wasn't that nice - discoloured and old looking, also smelled a bit mouldy. But it wasn't dirty as such, everything had obviously been recently cleaned, just needed refitting perhaps.

We had dinner in the restaurant downstairs. The restaurant was much better than we were expecting it to be. We only ate there because it was late at night and we were too tired to go anywhere else. But we were surprised by how elegant and comfortable it was, we'd been expecting it to be somewhat dingy and depressing on account of it's being in a cheap airport hotel. But no, it was actually very relaxed and pleasant and it felt more like a being in a real restaurant than a hotel dining room. The waiters were helpful and friendly and there was a lot of choice on the menu. Prices very reasonable and the food was good. The house wine was lovely, which was a nice suprise too.

Breakfast in the restaurant next morning was continental buffet. Nothing very special at all but the croissants were nice enough. We were in a hurry anyway and only wanted to grab a coffee and something to eat quickly before catching our plane home, so it was more than adequate for us.

Anyway, I'd be happy to stay there again if I was in Rome for one night and just needed a place to sleep. It's basic but cheap, clean and secure and it's efficiently run. Some reviews have complained about the staff being rude but I really didn't find that at all - they weren't effusive but they were perfectly polite and helpful, or perhaps my husband and I were just lucky!

But I wouldn't choose the Palacavicchi as somewhere to stay for a real holiday or city break, it's just too basic, even if you're not looking for somewhere luxurious and romantic. But for business travel or for emergencies, you could do a lot worse.

After looking at many sites recommending hotels in / or near Rome Ciampino airport we decided to go for this hotel due to our early morning flight. We are happy to say that our room was clean, comfortable and air conditioned ! - which in a 35 degree heat was most welcome. Although it could be noisy (all floors are tiled and corridors long) it did not pose a problem. The restaurant was adequate and given what we had read - we were prepared for. We can't complain about the service or accommodation, - given that we paid £38 for 3 people (2 adults and a child in a family room). We would have no hesitation in staying here again if it was an early / late flight and we needed some where to put our heads down. Staff were pleasant enough, although we felt like 'just another tourist' . The hotel is not the easiest to find (signs were overgrown) but look for the Alto Q restaurant - opposite the garage. Getting to the airport was fine and hire car bays easy to locate. It would never, ever be in our world leading hotels - but we have stayed in significantly worse !