Roma Palace Inn

The staff's behavior puzzled me. They were impolite and hostile, and I'd suggest they listen to guests' polite feedback instead of angrily denying what's happening. Still, for the price, it's not bad at all. Room 303 was much better than I expected after reading the scary reviews before check-in. It was spacious, sunny, and clean, with a desk for my laptop. The Wi-Fi was weak but enough for what I needed, and I had no trouble with hot water. The window faces a busy street and doesn't close very well, so it can be noisy at night. Its shutter was stuck too, leaving people in the next building able to see inside. There's no one at reception, so you need to be able to contact the staff when you arrive. The main door barely works: its handle is almost falling off, and you have to turn the key while pulling at the small gap between the two door halves.

CAUTION. The location is exceptionally good, on a traffic-calmed street right by Roma Termini, and the room was clean and perfectly acceptable for a one-star hotel. The price is reasonable for Rome. I initially wanted to give three out of five stars, taking off two for the hassle of collecting keys from the shop opposite because there is no reception, the broken lock that makes the door from the stairwell to the hotel area hard to open, and the early 9:30 checkout. Those were meant as helpful suggestions. But on departure day, when I tried to leave my luggage, I was told I had to give a “good review” before I could get it back. I thought I'd write one on the train home, but when I came to collect my bags, they said they hadn't seen a review from me and demanded that I write a “good review” first. That's not how it works, my dears! Forcing “good reviews” like that is an absolute NO-GO, so I'm giving one star.

The location is walkable, felt safe to me even though I'd been advised not to stay in the area, and is only a three-minute walk from the train station. There are various restaurants nearby, and I'd return. The place seemed clean and was better than I expected after reading the reviews. Check-in took 20 minutes, even though we'd been told it would take five. You check in at a supermarket across the street, and it felt like we were interrupting them. They told us to wait outside. The shower water never got hot, but it was otherwise fine and seemed clean, which was enough for me. The vibe is definitely more like a youth hostel.

The water wasn't warm at all, so we couldn't shower. When we complained, all they said was, “just wait for a few minutes!” Unbelievable. The place isn't worth it, and we were very disappointed. Around 2am while we were asleep, other guests put their key in our door and unlocked it. All the doors have the same keys, so be careful about what you leave in the room. The walls have notices asking guests to keep quiet, yet on three out of four nights people played music loudly and talked loudly. Nobody did anything about it. It seems anyone can do whatever they want. 🙄