Hotel Sol Levante

We were two people but got a room with three beds, even though we asked not to use the extra bed. A bit weird, but okay. Otherwise, the hotel was surprisingly good. The room was cleaned daily, and this was the best breakfast of my entire trip in Italy. The Italian lady makes great coffee in the morning.

Hotel Sol Levante is very basic, with few services and only the essentials. There's no room service, though they do offer continental breakfast, which we didn't use. Staff come into the room to leave fresh towels. The staff spoke only Italian, while we spoke only English, so there was a language barrier. The room had just one socket above the bed and one trash can, in the bathroom. The bed was extremely uncomfortable, very hard, and made from two different types of twin mattress pushed together. The lift is extremely small, fits only two people at a time, and can only be reached after climbing about 20-25 steps. It's very old and noisy, and feels like it might break down or get stuck while you're inside. The TV is small, around 22-27 inches, and mounted by the wardrobe cabinet, so it may be hard to see for someone with impaired vision. Booking.com lists the city tax as €3 per person per night, but the property tried to charge €4 in cash per person per night, while listed as a one-star hotel. They insisted on cash unless you persisted in asking to pay by debit or credit card.

Breakfast was good Italian style each day, which isn't common at this price in Rome. We were leaving early, and they prepared breakfast for us too. Staff responded quickly and handled our questions effectively. The rooms are small but fine for a short stay, with a kettle and fridge. Sometimes noise came through the thin walls from a neighbour's bathroom or room, but it wasn't a big problem during our stay. Really good value, and I can recommend it.

Termini station is only a minute or two away on foot, with taxis, metro, buses, and trains there for getting around Rome or travelling further. The hotel is also near the centre, so the price for what you get is very good. Our room had everything we needed, including a TV, private bathroom, bidet, hairdryer, fridge, air conditioning, and WiFi. I really liked how clean the rooms were, with the cleaning lady coming by every morning. The staff were kind and welcoming, and helped with everything we needed and all the information we asked for. I liked everything and will definitely come back!