Arthur Hostel

I woke up exhausted after barely sleeping, with itchy, swollen bites, and couldn't enjoy my day in Rome properly. I would never stay here again. I'm asking for a refund for the trouble, and after the stress and harm to my body and health, I feel they should be paying me instead. Within half an hour of trying to sleep in the filthy bed, I felt itchy and restless, turned on the light, and found 10 bedbugs, mostly on the pillowcases. When I killed them they were bright red with my blood, while some were brownish, which suggested they'd bitten someone earlier. There were so many, and one was about half an inch long. The host didn't seem surprised. He didn't even apologize when I showed him the large, swollen red bites on my arms and back, though he changed my room straight away. He said people from Mexico had rented the room the night before and the maid would clean tomorrow. Washing sheets alone won't get rid of bedbugs, since they move into cracks and mattresses. You'd have to replace the furniture and bed and exterminate, or risk the other rooms getting infested. Sheets need a long wash at boiling temperature to kill them, and washing them with other sheets risks spreading the bugs. That's why I believe the whole hostel could be infested within days. There was hair in the bed too, so I have no confidence the place was cleaned before we arrived. I tried to hang my empty purse on a rack, but it came right out of the wall and fell, leaving nowhere to hang anything. The bathroom smelled strongly of sewage, the shower floor was dirty, and the towels reeked of cigarette smoke. Looking out the window, you could see the back of the kitchen refrigerator, so there was hardly any privacy. There were no-smoking signs everywhere, yet the whole hostel smelled of cigarettes. The host smelled of smoke and alcohol. I had told him our arrival time and he said okay, but when I rang the bell several times there was no answer, so I had to spend money calling him. Breakfast was cheap stuff: white bread, dried bread, butter, cookies, and milk left out all night. The location is very close to the main station, but felt sketchy, with lots of drug deals and dark streets. All in all, it wasn't worth it.

I'd definitely stay again, but I'd ask for Napoleone. The first area looked rough, and it wasn't clear which floor the hostel was on, so I climbed five flights of stairs. I arrived 3-4 hours early, hot, smelly, and tired after traveling overnight. The gentleman let me sit in the lounge, then the manager came in and said the hostel was full and sent me to another Napoleone III. I was so glad when I got there. It was only three streets away but such a difference, a lovely hostel with keys for the courtyard and door, so I felt very safe. The manager was hardly around, but the staff were lovely and welcoming. It was clean. I didn't get bedbugs, though another person was bitten. I got bitten on my arse when I stayed in Verona, so I think bugs are everywhere.

I don't recommend this hostel or the area. There are drug-addicted people everywhere, and you can easily get robbed. I paid online, but they charged me again. Even after I showed them last month's credit card statement, they said they hadn't received the money. I'd already paid for the stay.

The building smelled, and the manager was never there. There were no locks on the bedrooms, luggage, or bathroom, so we weren't given keys and I felt exposed and unsafe. It was uncomfortable and the surroundings didn't feel safe either. The place was difficult to find.