The Ivanhoe can't be beat for the location, and an inexpensive place to stay in Rome. The Front desk staff is extremely nice and very helpful. However, the rooms are tiny and cramped. After a long day of walking around Rome, the rock hard bed left a lot to be desired and walking into walls in the middle of the night is to be expected since there is little room around the bed. Taking a shower is a challenge due to the fact it is built to the proportions of a lilliputian. When we arrived the whole front of the hotel was covered with scafolding, and the construction cranked up by 9 am in the morning. An excellent choice if you won't be in your room very much, otherwise you might be stressed out by the spartan quarters.

My husband and I had a mini break in Rome in time to watch the UEFA championship. Although we were greatly saddened that our team did not win, we were delighted by the fact that Rome is such a beautiful city. Very interesting. It seemed that people through the years have molded their modern lives around the ancient structures of the city- very well preserved.

Now to review Hotel Ivanhoe, I would recommend this gem of a hotel to visitors of Rome. It is very good value for money. Europe is an old civilisation and unless you are staying in the outskirts of oldie worldie city, you will not find modern building structures/ hotels anyway. What is the point of paying an arm and a leg for an old building to sleep in when you can use that money for many other holiday treats.

Hotel Ivanhoe's interiors has had a thorough re-furbed in the last 2 years. The rooms, common areas and hallway are all looking polished and new. The linens and towels still have the fresh feel to them. The room we had on the 4th floor was a good size. I like the way they have the wardrobes hanging on the wall, hence, freeing more floor space. The bathroom looked clean and modern. No moldy presence that you find in old hotels. Ok, the shower cubicle is on the small size. My husband and I are average to smallish size and we did not find it impossible to fit in the shower cubicle. However, for super size visotors, it can border challenging to maybe impossible. Hmmm, I recommend walking all around Rome to be able to fit in the shower cubicle then :).

At present the hotel is covered in scaffolding which frightened me upon our arrival. However, a lady coming out of the hotel very calmly assured me it is not bad as it looks. Indeed, once inside the hotel, there were no sign or sound of construction apart from very muttered noise mid day. But hey, we were long out and about exploring in the day time. Surely the hotel's exterior works will be done and ready by this summer time.

Location- superb. From airport, take train to Termini central station, costs 11 euros. At termini, keep underground and walk towards the bus terminal where you will find the metro line. Take line Blue line B heading towards Laurentina. Metro cost is 1 euro. Alight on the first stop- CAVOUR. When you get over ground, you'll be on Via Cavour. Look for the other Metro Sign (right in front of you - this is the opposite Metro direction) and cross the road. Down the steps into Via Urbana. turn right and 30 m to your left is Hotel Ivanhoe. it has a caffe with outdoor seatings on a platform atatched right outside the hotel's foyer.

The reception staff we have met were all friendly and spoke many languages. Eleonor from the reception gave us a perfect instruction to get to the Vatican on the day of our arrival and stored our suitcases for us (as we have arrived early before check-in time).

We have found Al fresco restaurants and cafe/bars close by. Explore and you'll be pleasantly surprised by what is around the hotels. We were fascinated by the LIbrerias everywhere that doubles up as drinking bars/clubs at night.

You can walk the whole of Rome and find a historical site at every turn. Close to the hotel is the Colosseum, Forum, Campidoglio, Vittorio Emmanuelle Mounument. Just across Cavour is the San Pitro in Vincoli which has the shackles of St. Peter and the marble statue of Moses. Of course, walk towards Termini and you'll find Santa maria de Maggiore.

A must to Rome visitor, take the Metro to the Spanish Steps, enjoy the scenery. We found a bar on the left hand side of the steps (as you go up) with spectacular view. Down at the bottom of the steps, walk via Condotti and enjoy the posh designers name, even if you only do window shopping. Walk along Via Corsa to Trevi Fountain and then head to the Panteon. This shuts at 5 pm. The Panteon faces a lovely quaint Piazza with lots of al fresco restaurants. You must dine here and take a photo with the Pantheon behind you. Tables are lit with candles by 8 pm and buskers of world class talent performs in the Piazza. Food and wine is good and what more, the atmosphere will make your dining experience magical. No one is in a hurry dining in Rome. Take your time, stay as long as you please.

The vatican tour is a whole day affair. It only costs 8 euros to get in Vatican Museum and free to go in St. Peter's Basilica, but missing the queue is worth the 40 euros you pay the tour guide touted just as you alight the Metro at Ottaviano. The guides are well informed and makes your appreciation of the art work and history present more enjoyable.

That's all for now.

Arriverdeci!

PADK

This is a lovely little hotel located in a cobble street in a nice, buzzy area with lots of bars and restaurants nearby where you'll find mostly locals and therefore, amazing food.. The rooms are neat and pretty and big enough for comfort. A perfect continental breakfast is served downstairs with juices and fruits, cereals and pastries. Staff are Italian and extremely friendly. Really nice hotel for a budget trip to Rome in a good location.

Rome was the last segment of our European trip and we wanted it to be perfect so we booked at another hotel called la Picola Maison and it was disaster :( it was so noisy and hot. They did not allow us to turn on the AC. At least they were nice to let us move to another hotel.
I went to an internet cafe and selected Ivanhoe, it did not have great comments on TA but it had great reviews on Venere. I followed my instints. What could be worst at this time? I called them and they had a room for us. We walked from Via Veneto to the Ivanhoe.
It was almost half the money of what we were paying at the other one, it was safe, quiet, and beautiful. Now I underestand why most people call it a little gem. The location is excellent, at walking distance to everything in the ancient city. We took a taxi to the vatican and it was only 7 euros. With the money we saved we were able to get a taxi to the airport (40 euros)

They have a full time staff that made us feel at home. Yes, the shower was small but I was ok with it. The room was extremely clean and decorated with good taste and everythink looked new. The breakfast was the best that we had in the whole european trip. The girls up front were so nice and informative. The romms are not extremely big but this is standard in europe. The rooms had every thing you need.

I highly recommend this hotel and feel free to contact me with questions.
The highlights of our trip: getting the air tickets at Expedia, flying Paris to Venize on easyjet and finding Ivanhoe hotel.
Ivanhoe saved our Rome stay and this is another hotel that should be in the top ten Rome hotels. Great value for the price.