At the recommendation of an employee of the nearby overbooked Hotel Italia, we booked this b & b for us and other friends sight unseen. I have to say I am a very open-minded traveler but this b & b was truly misrepresented to us. And at 110 Euros per night double and 70 Euros single, La Plata is truly over-priced and reminds me of places I tolerated in my youthful backpacking days.

Granted the owner Ricardo tries his best to be hospitable in his 4-room property. But the paper-thin walls and night noise, dust and piles of wood/beams, etc. and other construction which hit you when you walk into the entrance hall to the building, the dog camped out on a less than clean sofa (alas, the only piece of real furniture in the reception area), the mold smell in the bathroom, etc. were very disconcerting to say the least.

We could hear the dog's scratching, licking, and occasional yelping noises through our wall during the night. Even as pet lovers, we think that the owner's dog should be mentioned upfront for any potential guests who are light sleepers or who have allergies. When we brought up this topic with the Hotel Italia clerk who highly recommended the b & b, he shrugged his shoulders and said "you should have asked if the owner had any pets in the b & b before booking the rooms." Of course we were required to pay before coming to Rome, and now have had to dispute our payments.

The only thing we can guess is that maybe the front desk clerk at the Hotel Italia, whose wife is a housekeeper at the La Plata, receives some sort of kickback for recommending this b & b to guests who can't be accommodated in the Italia.

Honestly, there are far better, quieter, more welcoming, cleaner, and more fairly-priced places to stay in Rome in the same general area (try the Hotel Nizza, for example). Only those who are heavy sleepers and comfortable with dog noises, bathroom mold smells, etc. should even consider booking this place. We are very very disappointed at our experiences at La Plata and can not ever recommend this b & b to anyone else....Stay tuned for photos which I will post on this site soon....

La Plata is in a good location close to Termini train station -- convenient when you arrive in Rome but not a very scenic neighborhood (next time I will stay in Trastevere). Rooms are comfortable and spacious, with a nice bathroom off through a separate door to create a little suite -- overall a very good value. Breakfast was good -- fresh cappucino, rolls, croissants. Owner is very nice and friendly but does not speak English. This wasn't really a problem but if you don't speak Italian you won't be able to ask for directions, etc. There is air conditioning but it is a separate 5 euro per night price (though he actually didn't charge us for it in the end). Only slight complaints is that it is a little smokey (rooms are non-smoking but there is smoking in the lobby and it's a small place) and the breakfast does not necessarily come at the time you request it (this is not a huge deal but can be a problem if you have museum reservations and need to be out the door at a certain time).

This little Bed and Breakfast off the Piazza del Viminale was a little hard to find but once we did we were very happy! It sits on the 4th floor and the spacious room with the oh so comfortable beds, looks out over the Piazza. It had a very Itaian feel and was close to everything. The room was very clean and airy. There was no air conditioning, but it was not needed with the huge window open during the night which allowed the sound of the fountain to help you fall asleep. The owner was very generous and understanding of the lack of Italian we meant to learn. The bathroom was very nice. The water pressure wasn't bad, but it was a nice hot shower. We had breakfast in our room every morning and was included in the price.