The first thing to consider about staying at the Arcadia is whether you really need to be there at all. The hotel is convenient only for the enormous Ericsson factory and the large ploughed field that are immediately adjacent. It's a very long way from anywhere else, along one of those streets that lack footpaths [sidewalks] for much of its length. In particular, it's quite unsuitable for those making early morning flight connections from Ciampino airport. Though one can take the 507 'bus to Anagnina station and connect to the AT.RA.L. shuttle to the airport, the latter doesn't start running until 06:00, too late for the first departures. The only alternative is a taxi that will set you back about Eur. 30: and for that money you could go from the airport practically all the way to the Aurelian Walls and stay in a hotel much closer to the centre of Rome.
(It is--theoretically--possible to walk from the hotel to the airport, but I emphatically do *not* recommend it for the casual visitor. The route is complicated, requiring an intimate knowledge of the geography of the southeastern district; about half its distance is along deserted, unilluminated and unpaved country lanes; there are two busy divided highways to be traversed somehow; and if you're doing it in the hours of darkness, as you probably will be (otherwise you'd be on the 'bus), you'll need either moonlight or your own flashlight to find your way. I've done it twice--there and back--and though I'm a fast walker and was unencumbered by much baggage, it took me a hair under two hours each time.)
So far as the hotel itself is concerned, I'm a little surprised that it rated three stars from the tourist board: the inspector must have been in a generous mood that day. It's not the worst place in the world, but it does have a tired 1970s appearance throughout. I found the management polite and helpful, although--as always--speaking Italian helps. (There were quite a few hand-written signs in English tacked up at various points, though, so somebody there clearly has some knowledge of foreign languages.) The room in which I stayed was furnished sparsely, and painted in a depressing shade of green. The TV had one viewable channel--RAI Tre--with all the others being so static-filled as to defy watching. Most of the surprises, though, came in the bathroom. The handles of fittings had an unhappy habit of coming off in one's hand, although in fairness it proved pretty easy to put them back on again. There was no shower curtain, though there were mysterious holes on the inside of the bathroom door and the tile wall near the floor that could only have been caused by someone putting his fist and boot through them respectively. The toilet had not been flushed by the previous inhabitant of the room, nor by the housekeeping staff: otherwise the place was clean enough. I left too early for breakfast, so can say nothing about that except that the dining room is capacious and the hours are between 07:00 and 10:00.
Bottom line: the Arcadia is the cure to no known disease. If you've already booked and prepaid a couple of nights here, I shouldn't despair. It's certainly not a bug ranch: if sleeping and nothing else is all you have in mind you'll find it quite adequate for that purpose. But I can't imagine why anyone would seek it out, either. Unless you're getting it at a jaw-droppingly generous rate (i.e., free, as near as dammit), its many inconveniences make it not worth the effort of getting there and staying there.
