Hostel/Hotel Recommendations in Rome

[Ignas]

Hi,
I will be in Rome May 29th - June 1st (3 nights) this summer along with two other friends. I booked 3 nights at Hostel Beautiful 2 via Hostels.com, but upon looking at more reviews on TripAdvisor and the like it seems like people are saying it's extremely shabby and one girl even had her bags stolenl. I'm especially concerned about the fact that they don't have lockers, which was not stated at the time of booking. They had a bullet about luggage storage but I guess this is false advertising. This really has me somewhat concerned. I am considering either keeping my luggage at the railroad station next to the hostel (if that's any safer) or forfeiting the 10% booking reservation and just going with a better recommended hotel or hostel. I will be bringing my camera and also a video camera, but will not want to lug them around all day and now I'm scared of leaving it at the hostel. Since there are 3 of us, I guess hotel room costs will be lower per person? Any recommendations? I would like not to exceed $150 a night for 3 people, and be reasonably close to the action, since I am only staying in Rome for 2.5 days and don't want to waste time riding back and forth from some suburbs. Thanks so much for any advice!

[Eagle]

Ignas,

I'm not familiar with Hostel Beautiful, so can't offer any opinions on it. I had a look at the ratings on TripAdvisor and the opinions seemed to be somewhat "mixed". Some of the reviewers seemed to highly recommend it, and others gave it a very poor rating; there was no "in between".

If you do decide to switch Hostels, you might also have a look at www.hostelsalessandro.com/, www.fawltytowers.org/ or www.the-beehive.com/. They are all in the Termini area as well.

I've stayed at Alessandro Palace and would certainly recommend it, although there were no Lockers in the rooms there either. They did have small steel Lockers down by the Desk, but they weren't really big enough to store a Laptop or anything of that size. Of course, you'll have to provide your own Padlock so you might want to add that to your packing list.

If you were to book a four-bed Dorm at Alessandro Palace for three people you may be lucky and not have anyone occupying the fourth bed, so the room would be locked. However, no guarantees.

Good luck!

[Ignas]

Thanks for the tips, Eagle. I also went with your recommendation for Hotel Uhland for Munchen.
I did book a 3 bed "ensuite" at Hostel Beautiful. Does that mean we will get to lock the door? I was somehow under the impression that even if we are the only ones occupying the room there are no locks and anyone can go in? Is that not the case? That would be great news and give me more peace of mind.

[WillTravel]

There's also the possibility of paying for a fourth bed, if you are absolutely certain you will all be given one room.

I have to say I'd be reluctant to store my laptop at any hostel. But even with a hotel, particularly budget hotels, they often just put the luggage in an open area.

Given that May is high season, this option may not be a good choice, but it might be worth a try:
www.domusjulia.it/en-pricelist

If you do use the Termini lockers, keep in mind that it can take up to two hours to retrieve your luggage, based on reports I have read. I'm not sure if that is still the case, but that can obviously slow you down at a point when time is crucial.

Another option would be to get a 4-day rental at an apartment, and just keep your stuff there until you are ready to leave. With three people, and the right apartment, it could be cost-effective.