The Church Village

The front desk staff were friendly and helpful, and did what they could to accommodate us. Breakfast was included, with a very nice selection. They had barley coffee, which is apparently the latest trend, but I didn't enjoy it much; they also have regular coffee machines. The hotel is a long way from the city center. It used to be a convent nursing home, and the rooms still feel like a nursing home from two centuries ago. There are no window nets, and mosquitos swarm everywhere.

The hotel was being refurbished while we were there, but it didn't affect our stay. Our room was clean and a decent size, the staff were friendly, and the buffet breakfast kept us full. It took 10 minutes by bus to reach the Vatican. I booked at short notice for a few days in Rome with my wife, and can't understand the negative feedback. You get what you pay for, and for what we paid, I couldn't fault it.

Breakfast was really good, and the lobby and bar were very clean. Our room was another story: there were cobwebs and spiders in the corners, plus a couple of mosquitos when we arrived. The shower had a tiled step inside that you had to use to get out, and it was slippery. I slipped once and came away with a couple of bruises that lasted a week.

The food was good, and the bus stop is only 100m down the road. Some of the rooms were okay, though not especially good. But our bigger group had a lot of problems across the building. Our toilet wouldn't flush on arrival, and the carpets in the room and hallway were covered in oddly colored spots. When my friend showered, brown liquid came out. Elsewhere in our group, one room had no electricity, another had no AC, a fridge was so filthy you couldn't put food in it despite us telling staff several times, and another room had ants everywhere. The TVs throughout our whole building, one of four, didn't work. Reception already knew and did nothing.