Description: Bellaroma is a small hostel located North of the Vatican City and St. Peter's Square. There are dorm rooms of four and six beds as well as a private room available. Common facilities include a small kitchen, dining / lounge area, and a computer with free Internet. The night in the hostel as of 2007 costs between 10 euros per night (booked online) to 16 euros for a walk-in and 25 euros for a private (per person, per night).
That's the official, simply stated info about the hostel. So what's the dirt on it? Well, the hostel's a good value for Rome, although YHA hostels are cheaper. The hostel is very secure (there are lockers in the room you can use with your own padlock), and it's inside of a secured building. The location isn't great: the hostel's quite far away from everything including the Vatican (about 20 minutes on foot), although there is a bus station two minutes on foot on Piazza Clodio. There are few amenities: there is free Internet available, but only from 4pm everyday (and since the staff use it as well, there is usually a queue for it). There is no breakfast, laundry service or any of those other perks you might be used to in a fancy hostels. And important to mention: there is a daily lockout between 11:30am and 2pm (for cleaning) and the hostel has an age limit of 40 (not applicable if you're booking a private room). Check out at 10am.
Hostels biggest drawback: lack of common spaces. The kitchen is absolutely tiny. There is hardly enough space for two people to fit in there. There is little shelf and fridge space as well. The other common area consists of a narrow corridor with two small tables and four chairs, in which the guests: use the Internet, eat dinner, watch TV, read, and socialize. As you can imagine, space is at a premium here, so you end up spending most of your hostel time inside of your rooms (in case of a dorm this can be a pain if you happen to have bad roommates).
Cost: $$ (10-16 euros for dorm bed)
Pros: great staff, decent price, security
Cons: lack of common areas, location
For more information check out their
website.
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