If you need to be near the train station and won’t be staying for long, this hotel will suffice. It’s a quick two blocks west of Rome Termini, on the second floor (with an elevator) of an older building in a relatively gritty neighborhood. The room was tiny but clean and fully equipped with refrigerator, safe and satellite TV. The bathroom was larger than many others, with white mosaic tiles, shower, bidet and hairdryer. Hotel staff were cordial and helpful, and there were several internet points within one block. Breakfast was about average, with salami, cheese, croissants and coffee from a machine. It’s hard to find reasonably-priced rooms in Rome, and we thought 140 euros a night was still high for what we got, but we didn’t have any real complaints about the hotel. (However, you could smell Chinese food cooking nearby.) We would recommend Hotel Serena only if you needed an inexpensive place near the train station to sleep for a night or two.

Reading the other reviews on here i thought that this place was not going to be great. I was pleasantly surprised because it was a nice hotel in a good location. There are plenty of places to eat and shop around the hotel. The people there were all friendly and because of this we came back and stayed an extra night there when we got back from Napoli.

I stayed at this hotel with my family during my half-term in late Feb 2007. The hotel has an excellent location, which is very near the Termini station and many other attractions. I could walk to the Colosseum. Another plus for the hotel is its bathroom. Water pressure was good and the bathroom was quite new.

However, the service there was really poor! All the staff I came across were rather rude, especially the female receptionist, though they spoke English quite well. Breakfast was alright. No kettles were provided in the hotel! The lift looks old but it worked perfectly.

The hotel is located just a 5 minute walk from Termini station giving easy access to buses/trains to the airports, the Metro and both sightseeing and service buses. The area has numerous cheap and cheerful Pizzerias and Trattorias. There were also a few small supermarkets where you could pick up drinks or snacks for during the day.

My boyfriend and I were on a mini-break to occupy ourselves between Christmas and New Year. We picked the Serena as it was pretty much the cheapest place we could find that hadn't been slated on Trip Advisor. We were not too sure what to expect as the hotel was very cheap and guidebooks warn that the area around the train station is a little seedy.

We were however pleasantly suprised by what was on offer. The reception staff were friendly and helpful, the rather quaint looking lift was in good working order and most importantly the room was clean, the bed comforable and we had room to swing a cat.

The decor was a little faded but we had plenty of blankets, towels and even soap and shampoo provided. The room was cleaned and the bed re-made each day and we had more than enough hot water for two long showers every morning. Given our booking website had this listed as a 2* hotel we had expected less particularly in a capital city.

We had booked bed and breakfast and were impressed with the spread on offer each morning . There was not a lot of variety (rolls with ham and cheese, croissants, cereal, yoghurt) but everything was fresh and tasty and , as you'd expect in Italy, they were serving some really nice coffee.

If I was returning to Rome on a budget I'd definately consider staying at the Serena again provided I wasn't travelling alone. While the hotel is lovely the area around the Termini has a lot of people hanging around on corners at night. I wouldn't be too keen to make my way back to the Serena at night on my own. Having said that if I was with a group or my boyfriend again it would probably be my first choice. It's not fancy but if you are a little cash strapped it offers all the basics and a few extras you wouldn't normally expect from a budget hotel.