Budget Rome - Great Location
By A Yahoo! Contributor, 8/31/07
We've been to Rome before on business (so we know what to look for when travelling here) and stayed at a 5 star world class hotel so this was a big change up for us.... but, for amodest family trip, we were very happy here.
Don't want to pay up to be in Rome, stay here. It's 1 block from the Republica Subway station and 2 blocks from the main Termini Railroad Station. For those that don't know, this is also the subway transfer point between the north south (Blue) and east west (Red) subway lines. This also helps if you take the direct train from the DaVinci Airport (only 14 Euros one way). Also buy the Passa DiRoma museum/subway pass (3 days unlimited subway use plus 2 historical sites like the Colesseum and the Roman Old Forum) for 16 Euros, another great deal since the sites alone are 14 Euros each and you stand in long lines at the sites to buy tickets - with Passa DiRoma, you go to the front of the lines) The subways go everywhere from the Vatican, the Colesseum, Spanish Steps, etc. on a low cost budget.
The hotel is in downtown Rome - there are a bunch of different reasonable eateries including a McDonalds 1/2 a block away. It's a commercial area since you are near the train station but for convenience, you can't beat it. They don't do currency exchange officially in the hotel, but a bank ia next door and the rates were competitive although you are subject to their business hours. It's safe at night to walk around the area (our family came back late several nights) and you can also catch the buses easily around the train station. One nice thing, you can do a day trip to Florence on the train without a lot of effort. The trains are decently on schedule and the Florence train station is 1-2 blocks from the key sites in downtown Florence.
The hotel is modest according to Best Western stds. The rooms are furnished basically and are tidy and equipped with the things you need. Private baths, wired (no wireless) internet service (for fee in the room, 1 free internet workstation in the lobby), European cable TV, air conditioning (adjustable in each room), and a room safe. Decor is modest but the staff was diligent about daily service. If you need dry cleaning, concierge services, etc., this is not the hotel for you. If you want a budget breakfast in the morning (early service started at 6:30AM), a modest place to sleep and a very sedate bar to catch a quick drink if you need one, this hotel has what you need.
One quick but very interesting fact - I made my reservations on Expedia and got a fixed rate US Dollar quote at a very modest $115-130 per room which is VERY reasonable in Europe at the moment.
One downside, the rooms, while decent sized, are typical single beds so when they say "double" it means 2 single twin beds, not "US full or double sized beds". This is the standard in Europe for those that don't know the difference in terminology. "Triple" means 3 single twin beds. The only hotels that US american standards are indeed, the American Hotel chains like Hyatt and Hilton, etc. If in doubt, call up the hotel before you book.
For those that want a predictable, low cost, easy to travel to and from place, this was great. We had 6 people in my group, from 13 years old to 79 and we all thought that we would return. We had an unexpected travel problem while staying here and the staff went out of their way to help us resolve the problem. They were busy all the time since this is a small hotel, but when treated decently, they were very attentive and polite.