Casa Olmata

Casa Olmata is a six-story house near Santa Maria Maggiore church in Rome (about a five to ten minute walk from Termini). Though close to the station, it is on a safe street. From Casa Olmata it is only about a ten to fifteen minute walk to the colosseum and palatine hill. This is a social hostel full of mostly young travelers.

If you arrive during lockout hours, there is usually someone at reception who can check you in and store your bags until you can access your room. The hostel offers one half hour of free internet access per day (just sign up for a time on the sheet by the computer). There is a kitchen with a gas stove (bring matches) and sink, but no cups or cutlery. They sell one-liter beers for 1 euro (and it's actually good beer). The rooftop terrace is a fun gathering place, with tables, chairs, and a TV and VCR. They have movies (and books) for rent at the reception desk. From the rooftop terrace you can see much of Rome, including the Colosseum.

Every other night there are free pasta parties on the rooftop terrace, the only cost is 1 euro for paper plate, plastic cup and cutlery. They also offers a free "travel pack" breakfast that includes croissant, juice, fruit, and a candy treat. Just pick it up in the morning from the reception desk.

Linens are provided, though you will need your own towel. There are rooms with both private and shared baths. This hostel offers dorms that sleep up to six people, as well as private rooms. The shared rooms with private WCs have very nice bathrooms, with self-cleaning toilets, hot showers (usually), and marble accents. The building is old but in reasonably good condition. There is a lockout for a few hours in the afternoon for cleaning, but they offer free luggage storage in a secure room if you don't want to take your bags with you.

Be advised, there are a LOT of stairs in this place. There are six floors, with two flights of stairs to each floor. Everything of interest is on a different floor (internet, kitchen, terrace, reception).

Note: This hostel has a history of scamming backpackers by accepting far more reservations than they actually have beds for, and then when people arrive and find out they don't have a bed, the hostel has a van that they use to shuttle them to less appealing accommodations in other locations. The owners claim that this is no longer happening, but we don't know for sure. Comments are welcome.

-- Exclusive Hostelz.com Review