Alea Home Roma

We paid 130 euros, which seemed relatively cheap for Rome, and the place was near the Vatican museums we planned to visit. Still, the stay was a real letdown, and I’m glad it was just one night. The residence itself looks pretty nice, but after the Alea door the corridor feels like a shady office, and our bedroom was really raggedy. The bathroom was dirty, too. The online pictures on hotels.com and googlemaps gave us the wrong impression. I won’t be back.

We were due to stay here on an upcoming trip, but scammers tried to take €500 from my credit card, apparently after the booking system was compromised. My bank blocked it, thankfully. I’m disappointed the process wasn’t secure, and wish the owners well going forward.

The one thing this hotel has going for it is being close to the Vatican. The bathroom photos don’t match what we found: it’s old, cramped enough for just one person to wash, and the door is hard to open from inside. The toilet is worn from long use, and the bathroom never feels clean. It looked new and roomy in the pictures, which I think were photoshopped. Don’t be fooled. There’s no elevator, and the stairs are very narrow, so handling luggage is difficult. The street is noisy at night with lots of cars. There weren’t any quilts, just sheets. The landlord said Rome was 40 degrees in summer, so they only provided sheets, but with the air conditioning on, is it really 40 degrees on a summer night? That’s ridiculous. We refused to let the male cleaners in for safety reasons, not because we didn’t want the toilet cleaned. The landlord seemed to think that was why. The staff’s supposed enthusiasm feels exaggerated to me, at least I wasn’t happy with it.

It was spotless and close to the Vatican, with other Rome sights not too far away either. Metro and Eurobus connections were good. A nice place to stay.