Comfort Inn Roma Termini

The room didn’t have a key, so anyone could get in. There’s also no luggage storage, and the front desk isn’t open 24 hours as advertised. You have to climb six flights of stairs to reach the third floor, with no elevator. The building is old and carries sound everywhere: two kids upstairs were running around loudly at 1 a.m., and nobody could sleep. The place was dirty, the Wi-Fi didn’t work despite there being few guests, and the towels smelled like feet and had blood stains.

The location worked well for me: Termini was at most a 10-minute walk, and the center was reachable in 20-30 minutes on foot or 5-10 minutes by metro, depending on where you’re going. The Vatican was about 20 minutes away. I stayed four nights. The place was clean and maintained, with one or two toilets, a shower, and rooms for four. The kitchen had a fridge, stove, microwave, and plenty of utensils. It’s described as a women-only hostel, but the person at reception was a man, which felt odd to me. I also felt he didn’t want travelers around during the day. He commented on that, on me getting up earlier than the others, and on my using the kitchen and even the toilet. I started feeling patronized and worried about doing anything there. He was always smiling and spoke politely and respectfully, but something about the situation still felt strange. Maybe it was just my different habits, who knows. Apart from that, it was a good stay, and I’d recommend it.

Men, be careful: you can book here, but he doesn’t check your gender when you make the reservation, then turns away any men who arrive, saying it’s a women-only hostel. Nothing specifically bad happened during my stay, and things went smoothly, but the place felt gross and strange. I noticed a lot of red flags, and I trust my no-nonsense instincts. Cleanliness and basic hygiene were awful. There was one shower for everyone, and the bathrooms were filthy, with dirt and hair all over the floors. They weren’t cleaned often enough, and there was rust and mold everywhere. The shower drained slowly, had very weak pressure, and its fixed holder was broken, so only the detachable head worked and had to be draped over the rail. I had to hold it the whole time. The toilets barely flushed and were hard to use. Dirty towels were left on the bathroom floor, and the bath towels were so small they wouldn’t wrap around a slim person. The floors throughout were dirty, too. There were no spare hand towels in the bathrooms or kitchen. The owner also lives there, in homemade hall cupboards, and uses the facilities like they’re his own home. There were always beard trimmings in the sinks. The kitchen was old and filthy; he was the only one cooking there and didn’t clean up after himself. Only two stove knobs worked. The room I stayed in had no working doors, so curtains were hung in their place. The owner himself was the only one who ignored the “no noise after 10pm” rule he had written. He was blunt, condescending, and not friendly, and he doesn’t speak Italian.

The hostel is for women only, and its location is very convenient. Termini train and metro station is a five-minute walk away. There are restaurants all around, open until 11 or 11:30 at night, so it’s easy to walk back to the hostel after dinner. I requested a single bed when I booked and got one in a four-person room. Rooms sleep four or six, and each person has a small locker with a free lock. Our room had air conditioning, a private bathroom, a desk, a chair, an extension plug, and a TV. The beds were comfortable. Sheets, pillowcases, thin duvets, and face towels were provided free. Both rooms have their own toilet and bathroom, plus there are two more in the hall. They supply soap, toilet paper, and a hair dryer. There’s no breakfast, but the kitchen is available around the clock, with tea, coffee, a kettle, stove, cooking gear, fridge, and microwave. You can store groceries there, cook, or heat food. Tap water is drinkable. The beds and rooms were clean, though the bathrooms got dirty quickly and could do with regular cleaning. The hostel is on the third floor with no elevator.