I was there 3 years ago. My initial idea was to find a hotel which
is located somewhere near the Colosseum area and, in the same
time, to be not too far from the Rome's main train station Termini.
And, actually, Adas is really only 'one street' from the station and
only 'one corner' to Colosseum: the street Via Cavour, where Adas
Hotel is in, starts some dozens of meters from the door of the
Termini train station. If I remember properly, after you leave
the station at the 'front doors', some 50 meters in front of you,
on your left side - is Via Cavour. Nevertheless, the hotel is at the
street number 233, which means you have to go down the street
almost the whole length of it in order to reach the other end. Though
it might be an interesting walk for a first-time visitor to Rome,
it is not much fun in case you carry a heavy suitcase. Of course, you
can always consider a taxi solution for that, but my
short budget didn't allow me such a 'luxurious' city trip :-)
Hotel Adas is incorporated within an old 6-so-floor building, but the
building itself is not the hotel alone. I am not so sure now, but I
remember that some two floors - somewhere in the middle of the
building - belong to the hotel (what is bellow and above, only God
knows, but it looked to me as private apartments or something like
that). In addition, at the most upper floor or something, is the hotel's
restaurant. I remember that I found a web site when I planned to
book a room at Adas and there was relatively nice picture of a table
in the hotel's restaurant. As usual, this was completely 'over colored'
scene of the restaurant, because it appeared that the 'restaurant'
was a large, simple room, equipped with several tables and seats.
On the web site, they have claimed the major credit card brands were
accepted, but soon I realized some problems. You'd better carry
some cash with you when you are about to check-out the room.
What should be the 'breakfast included' - was a simplified version
of a butter/jam combination which is hardly found in poor schools'
cantine nowadays. In addition, there was a guy having a cigarette
in his mouth and who looked rather as a person who delivers stuff
from a fishing or vegetable market(s). And, obviously, the guy was
the main 'cook', i.e. responsible for making you a coffee on request.
And yes, I didn't expect some luxurious breakfast from such a 2-star
facility, but I did expect that any 'normal' 21-century hotel had to
offer a continental buffet breakfast.
I spent two nights there, the first one was before my 6-hour train
trip to the southern Italian province of Calabria, and a week later when
I returned back to Rome, an another night - before my flight back
home. My luck was the second night, because the two student-girls
who accompanied me on the way back, were on a diet, so I had a nice
option to get some gifts from them: to eat their butter and jam!
What a lucky man I was ...
The price was 62 Eur per single bed room per night, so now when I can
compare that to some other European accommodation at the similar price
- I find Adas Hotel as the very bad price/quality value. Ok, I know that is
Rome and that city is one of the most special venues on Earth you can
imagine to be in, but ...
I think there was no option to ask for a room with 'a view' to something
and, yes, both times I had rooms looking to the windows of the other
guests' rooms or to some unknown roofs of nearby houses, various
TV antennas on those roofs, pigeons on them etc.
Ok, indeed my plan was not to waste my time in the (rather small) rooms
in Adas Hotel, equipped with some pre-historic furniture but - instead of
that - to try to see as much as possible from the old Rome. And yes, some
2-3 minute of walk down the road, there is the 'lower' end of Via Cavour.
At the crossing with Via dei Fori Imperiali, you just turn your head to your
left and you will see the magnificent Colosseum some 100 meters or so,
in front of you. In opposite, should you move your head on your right, you
can see several other historical sights from the ancient Roman empire. The
good thing is that the hotel Adas area belongs to one of the Rome's
'city centers', which means it is close to many interesting places. In turn,
that means you can stay longer out on the lively city streets and as soon
as you feel tired, you have only a couple of minutes to walk to your
hotel room.
After a busy day of surfing around the locations, there is a relatively
good pizzeria some 20-30 meters far from Adas, where you can have
your dinner, as well as a couple of ice cream outlets.
I can say, Adas Hotel has probably found its high position on the hotel lists
thankfully to its smart name: You bet, when the name starts with an 'A',
followed by a 'D', which is followed by another 'A' - there is for sure a
very good 'starting position' on the hotel lists :-) Think about that!
Ok, and one of the few good things I can remember from my stay at Adas,
were two middle-aged reception ladies who seemed experienced and
friendly. Thankfully to their suggestions, I tried some good food in a
restaurant called L 'Archetto di Cavour, which was located some 10 min
walk up the Via Cavour street (heading to Termini station direction) on
the same street side as the hotel. Also, thankfully to those ladies, me
and the two students had an option to order a (rather non-registered)
cab who drove us to the airport. Although it costs us a bit more than an
airport train ride to the Rome's Fiumicino airport (btw, the train line from
Termini station to the airport was called Leonardo Express, and the ticket
price was app. 9 Eur) - it saved us some 1.5 hour free time for shopping
in Rome.
And I just scrolled trough the other reviews, some bad - some not, and
the only thing I can say is: If Adas is still there and you are on a budget
and without much luxurious requirements, then book a room in it, take a
sleep and run out to see the city as early in the morning as possible.
Spend your precious time around and not waste a minute in the room.
Btw, in Adas' bathrooms you will not find a shampoo and/or a soap,
so keep that in mind too (Maybe they've managed to improve those
little things in those 3 years, but I didn't have possibilities to check).
You can ask for a free city map at the reception. Adas Hotel is circled in
the map so you can help yourself and find your way back to the hotel. If
you happen to be in Rome at Sundays, the entrance to Colosseum is free.
On a late-September Sunday I was there, some few minutes from Adas
hotel, there was a street violin ensemble concert which I really enjoyed.
