The Hostelz.com Review
One of the best things about the Pop Inn hostel is the location. It's directly opposite Termini, the hub for getting around Rome. If you don't have a car (and you'd have to be pretty nuts to want to drive around Rome or anyway) then to get around you either walk or take the buses or Metro which all leave from Termini. However, being opposite the Termini does mean there is a fair amount of noise during the night especially if you have a room facing the road, so if you have trouble sleeping with noise bring ear plugs in the summer when it is way too hot to close the shutters!
The Pop Inn is very clean, they even provide you with sheets and make the beds every day. The bathrooms are new and kept very clean. The showers are great, although more bathrooms would be handy. The common room is very small, but it does have a reasonable library of tourist-type books and two computers that you can use for free internet. The atmosphere is reasonably social, particularly around reception and the common room, but it is nice and quiet in the dorm room areas (apart from the continual traffic and outside noise if you have the shutters open).
There is a big sign outside, so you won't have any problems finding the place, use the buzzer at the door, then head up to reception on the second floor. The staff have to buzz you in to the main door downstairs and you also have to get them to open the doors for the individual floors every time you come in, but this is a good thing for security and there is someone there 24 hours so it isn't a problem.
Breakfast is included. It's a croissant and drink from a cafe just down the street, not a big meal but very nice, if you can handle sweet stuff for breakfast go for the chocolate croissant, it is filled to the brim with chocolate and very tasty!
The Pop Inn is very clean, they even provide you with sheets and make the beds every day. The bathrooms are new and kept very clean. The showers are great, although more bathrooms would be handy. The common room is very small, but it does have a reasonable library of tourist-type books and two computers that you can use for free internet. The atmosphere is reasonably social, particularly around reception and the common room, but it is nice and quiet in the dorm room areas (apart from the continual traffic and outside noise if you have the shutters open).
There is a big sign outside, so you won't have any problems finding the place, use the buzzer at the door, then head up to reception on the second floor. The staff have to buzz you in to the main door downstairs and you also have to get them to open the doors for the individual floors every time you come in, but this is a good thing for security and there is someone there 24 hours so it isn't a problem.
Breakfast is included. It's a croissant and drink from a cafe just down the street, not a big meal but very nice, if you can handle sweet stuff for breakfast go for the chocolate croissant, it is filled to the brim with chocolate and very tasty!
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
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Terrible experience -- 2011. Dont stay here. Staff were unfriendly, and we got kicked out at 7:30am one morning without warning or a refund due to bathroom issues. Location is good but I would not recommend. My friend stayed in a hostel down the road which was cheaper than this one and tons better. — Anonymous , Australia (2011-04-27) Near the station This hostel is really near the Termini Station and has a fine market in front of it. But the bathrooms are shared among four rooms (about twenty people) and the neighborhood isn't so good to see. — Snake , Brasil (2009-07-17) Needs sorting out I stayed here recently for three nights and it really was very poorly run. A lot of people share one bathroom. There was only one bathroom in the whole hostel with hot water. The toilet on our floor did not work though staff insisted it did, though it clearly didn't. The sinks in most bathrooms were cracked. The "cheap" laundry down the road is very expensive and the men in there are rude. The room we were staying in was very hot and the fan on the ceiling did not go fast enough to have any effect. When we saw other rooms were been given standing fans and we asked for one the staff refused as we already had a fan in our room. The rooms are also very noisy. Only good point is that it is right next to the station. — emma , england (2007-07-28) Great location, clean I really liked this hostel. We were only there for one night, but the staff was really friendly and the place was clean. The give you a voucher for breakfast just down the street, which is nice. — Arielle (2007-06-24) As a grad schooler trying to see Rome on a budget, I decided to give hosteling a try. I was a bit nervous, but even before I got there, the staff was excellent, answering all my questions and concerns right away. The hostel was clean and conveniently located. The staff, for the most part, was friendly and knowledgeable (except for the night guy who didn't really know what was going on and was pretty unaccommodating). And I made friends there to go exploring Rome with -- probably wouldn't have happened had I stayed in a hotel. Granted, it's the one and only hostel I've stayed at, but I recommend it. — Nihal , United States (2007-04-16) I stayed here twice when I was going to school in Italy. The first time they screwed up our bills and charged me too much and when I tried to reason with them they wouldn't listen. The staff was completely rude. Also my room was disgusting and dirty. There was a pizza box in there that had been left my others that must have been there for a week. The shower wouldn't work properly either. After I was done school I had to get back to Rome to fly home and I decided to give them another chance because they were so close to Termini and I was getting into Rome late and leaving again early. This time it was worse. It was so loud, but that's the least of it. The bathrooms were disgusting. I tried to shower at the one on my floor at 4 a.m. and it was still clogged with water from the day before, so it was like walking into a dirty lake. You could tell the bathroom hadn't been cleaned in forever. Then I went to another floor and tried to use their shower (which was the same one I used last time I was here) and it was still broken, but it managed to dribble out a bit that I could have a cold shower. I would never make the mistake of going here again. I work at a low-rate hotel and know that sometimes there are bad stays, but possible they can be better on another try, but that's not the case for the Pop Inn. It failed both rounds. — Amber , Canada (2007-03-31) Many people mention the location by the Roma Termini station. This is great if you have an early train to catch, or don't want to walk across the city lugging your backpack. This is not a good location if you get nervous about being amongst crackheads, bums, and general scumbags, as Termini tends to be their choice hangout. After my long flight back from Argentina, I was made to feel very welcome here and the hostel had a friendly and sociable feel. Plus points must certainly go to the owner (sorry I forgot her name!) for helping me out when my jacket went missing off my bed. She had a fair idea who it was and did a lot of detective work on my behalf, culminating in such offender returning in the evening, being made to empty her bag and lo and behold, there was my jacket. Most hostels would simply shrug and say I should have locked it away, but this hostel went all the way to help me, so gets a special five stars from me. — Jim H (2007-02-18) I would probably give this hostel a three or even four-star rating if I had chosen to stay in a dorm room with a shared bathroom, but I got a private room instead. I could also choose between a private bathroom, a shared bathroom and a bathroom that would be shared with only one other room. I thought this last one would be great, because it was a little cheaper than the one with the private bathroom, and a few people would actually use it. Big mistake. In fact, since my room and the bathroom (which I was supposed to share only with some guys staying in the room next door) were located next to the common room and the front desk, all the people who were hanging out in the common room, plus the staff who worked on the front desk, used the bathroom when they felt like it. So, if you're planning on staying there and take advantage of the great location, make sure not to book the room which "shares a bathroom with another room only." They will be ripping you off. — Joo (2007-01-27) Good choice, very close to Termini, easy to find. Room was clean, bathrooms clean, booking employee very pleasant and helpful. A bit pricey but we had no reservations and we had checked five hostels before this which were all full. I suggest reservations when in Rome. — Bodner, OHIO, USA (2006-10-26) I am staying in this hostel right now. The staff is really helpful, I arrived earlier in Rome due to a problem with my hostel in Florence and they helped me to find a room in another hostel (as they didnt have any room free).
Breakfast ist very good, just a croissant and a capuccino as the others said, but very good ones (much better as other hostels in Italy). But the rooms are really very noisy. It is hard to sleep. The fact that there are not many bathrooms didnt bother me that much, you just have to avoid specific times.
The hostel is very colorful and clean. Very clean. I liked it and would stay there again. — Ana Luiza (2006-05-31) For a hostel I have to say it was moderately comfortable for one night. I was with my girlfriend, we went to Rome to film a lesbian movie for a company there. The next day our producer moved us to more luxurious accommodations. I was grateful. — Michelle Michini (2006-05-11) I stayed at the Pop Inn Hostel over the Christmas holidays. Great location, friendly staff, clean, well organized, nice rooms and common room. While I was there internet was not available for legal reasons having to do with Italian terrorism laws or something like that, though they did offer free internet down the street. I had a great stay there and would recommend it to anyone. — Brian (2006-01-01) We stayed in Rome for five days (mid-June 05), two nights of which were in another hostel. And compared to that hostel this is a 5-star luxury hotel. There was no kitchen but the rooms were exceptionally clean. And there is a tiny cafe next door so breakfast was really good there. We got a room with three beds so no worries about anyone getting into our stuff. Great staff, super helpful. Had we known this place would be so much better than the other hostel we would have stayed here all four nights.
Pros: clean, super helpful and friendly staff, secure (staff has to let you in), cameras everywhere.
Cons: no kitchen, directly across from Termini (noisy), cost slightly more than other hostels.
Verdict: I would definitely stay here again. — Mike, Caroline, Kuba (2005-09-15) The location is really good!! But the room is really noisy. Because it is near the main road, it was really loud during the night, and I couldn't sleep!!! And the room was really small!! The beds were not good, not comfortable at all, and made noise, disturbing others and myself!! — Tai Tai Le (2005-06-04) I stayed at this hostel for 2 weeks and it was great! First of all, the staff are extremely friendly and helpful. The first night, I had a problem with my credit card and they helped me work it out (rather than kicking me out on the street!). The location is perfect for those coming to Rome for the first time. All you have to do is walk out of the train station to the right, take a right on that street and you'll see the sign. Buses from the airport also stop right down the street. It's right next to the student district of St. Lorenzo and it's a quick walk down to the Coloseo. It does get a little noisy in the morning if you're sleeping on the side next to the street — but you've got to get up and get out there anyway! (Otherwise bring earplugs or just shut the window.) The only real drawback was that there was one bathroom between a whole bunch of people on one of the floors — so you have to wait a long time to get in there (or go downstairs). However, when I moved to another floor, there wasn't really that problem there. Stay at this place! It's clean, friendly and stress-free. (And they got a new flat-screen TV!) — Owen (2005-06-02)