The Hostelz.com Review
Mona Lisa Hostel is for those looking for a cheap place to keep their bags and sleep at night. There isn't much of a common area for hanging out and socializing. The hostel is small and crowded and is not a place in which to spend more time than is absolutely needed.
The Location
This hostel is a ten-minute walk from Rome termini train station. It is located on a quiet road, a block from the main road. It is easy to find the building, but there is no sign for the hostel outside the building. There is a metro stop within a ten-minute walk and the rest of Rome is accessible from there.
Rooms and Bathrooms
There are four bedrooms -- the largest has ten beds in it. None of the room doors lock and there are lockers in the room, but not enough for every guest to have one. The rooms are large and there is plenty of space to get around the beds. The bedrooms each have one window and no fan or air conditioning, so the window needs to be open at night for the room to cool down in the summer. Due to this, there are mosquitoes in the room attacking at night.
There are two bathrooms for the entire hostel and in the morning there is often a line to use them. The bathrooms are old and feel dirty, especially the showers. There is a shelf window in each shower and counters next to the sink for clothes and towels but there's not much space to change in.
Common Spaces
There is one common area, which has a kitchen, couch, reception, and two communal computers. The kitchen has a sink and a stove plus two refrigerators and dishes. The owner makes dinner at the hostel every night for free for the guests. Since there is a lockout from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., anyone checking in between these times just leaves their luggage in the common area. With such scant common area, there is not much socializing between guests except in the rooms.
Summary
This hostel is small. There are not enough bathrooms for a full hostel and a very little common area. The hostel is in an old building and feels dirty and overcrowded.
The Location
This hostel is a ten-minute walk from Rome termini train station. It is located on a quiet road, a block from the main road. It is easy to find the building, but there is no sign for the hostel outside the building. There is a metro stop within a ten-minute walk and the rest of Rome is accessible from there.
Rooms and Bathrooms
There are four bedrooms -- the largest has ten beds in it. None of the room doors lock and there are lockers in the room, but not enough for every guest to have one. The rooms are large and there is plenty of space to get around the beds. The bedrooms each have one window and no fan or air conditioning, so the window needs to be open at night for the room to cool down in the summer. Due to this, there are mosquitoes in the room attacking at night.
There are two bathrooms for the entire hostel and in the morning there is often a line to use them. The bathrooms are old and feel dirty, especially the showers. There is a shelf window in each shower and counters next to the sink for clothes and towels but there's not much space to change in.
Common Spaces
There is one common area, which has a kitchen, couch, reception, and two communal computers. The kitchen has a sink and a stove plus two refrigerators and dishes. The owner makes dinner at the hostel every night for free for the guests. Since there is a lockout from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., anyone checking in between these times just leaves their luggage in the common area. With such scant common area, there is not much socializing between guests except in the rooms.
Summary
This hostel is small. There are not enough bathrooms for a full hostel and a very little common area. The hostel is in an old building and feels dirty and overcrowded.
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
October 2011
Their Description
Mona Lisa Hostel Details
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Mona Lisa Hostel Reviews on Other WebsitesHostelz.com Guest Reviews
Good Good according to price. Very good position - the centre of Rome. You can go everything by foot even to Vatican - going through the historic centre. The staff is very nice and friendly. Surprise was tasty dinner. Nice. Thanks Ideal place for young people, who is looking for cheap place very to stay and meet with other people. — Liga , Latvia (2011-02-10) Dont go there, we all get scrabies!!! We all (7 of us) got scrabies and we had bug bites there. We were placed in another building because a hostel was full but the area is still their and they have 10 beds there also. We are treating ourself for scrabies for about 2 months already! — Gregor , Slovenia (2009-12-21) Bad experience! I was totally unimpressed with the hostel. Unprofessional, bad service, and not genuine people. At the time I arrived to check in (evening because of their lock-out hours) they gave me the there's been a mistake on the computer system with your booking story they seem to have given to other people in the past. When I asked why I hadn't been contact earlier they said they had just found out about the problem that day. I can't believe that considering I booked months in advance. They then said they could put me up at another hostel they were associated with, which they promised offered the same facilities they did. As it was late and I was alone in the city I went to the other hostel, which did not offer the same facilities (towel hire, safety deposit, internet) at all! It was also much closer to the train station, one street away to be exact. As a solo female traveler one of the reasons I had specifically booked a hostel away from the station, because I didn't feel it would be safe for me returning by foot alone at night. The cost for the night was the same as for the original booking. I was totally unimpressed with the lack of apology from the hostel and the fact they had obviously bumped my booking without telling me for whatever reason. I stayed one night only in the other hostel as I was rather stuck, it being later in the evening. I promptly booked the rest of my stay in another hostel in a nicer part of town, though for a higher price. I would not recommend this hostel at all, and if you do book it anyway have a few other hostels contact details as a back-up in case they do the same thing to you they did to me. Absolutely disgusted with their customer service. — Natalie , New Zealand (2009-03-05) Best hostel! This place was fantastic. So cozy and welcoming, it definitely felt like living in a house with a bunch of super nice people. The small size of the hostel makes it really easy to meet people and the living room/kitchen/internet area is always full of people looking to chill. When I was there the electricity went out for the evening, and everyone staying there just sat around talking and playing guitar by candlelight. A really great experience and the best hostel I've stayed at. — Andy , USA (2007-07-08) The hostel is in an amazing location, within walking distance to almost all the sights in Rome (which is pretty hard to find!). The people working there are really nice and helpful. The breakfast is free and pretty good and the kitchen facilities are also good. The bathroom often did have a line but I can't think of any other bad parts. — Sam , USA (2007-05-23) Mona Lisa was an amazing hostel to stay in. We arrived and were exhausted from traveling and we were offered an amazing dinner and lots of laughs. I will be returning there in the near future! — Erin from Boston Ma (2006-12-26) This hostel was very warm and welcoming to walk into. It's basically like an apartment, where about thirty hostelers all live together. The bathrooms are real bathrooms with showers and bathtubs and everything. The internet is free and staff is super friendly. I hung out with them most nights actually. It's basically like a twenty-four-hour episode of Real World but in a good way. Cozy is really the best word to describe it. The free breakfast is really nice too. At times, it can almost be a little too personal, as in the staff might try to be a little more than just your friend, but it was nothing offensive. I just wasn't interested. Other than that little mishap, I would say an all-around great place. The only genre of people who wouldn't like it, is if you don't like intimate settings, because like I said you are basically sharing an apartment with the people who stay there, and the staff. — Minnie (2006-11-23) My daughter stayed at the Mona Lisa and the day she checked out realized after arriving at the airport that she had left her cell phone on the bed. I called and spoke with Martin who not only located the phone, but was so courteous and helped me to arrange getting it sent to my daughter. For anyone wishing to stay in a hostel in Rome, I would highly recommend the Mona Lisa. My daughter said the rooms were very nice, the location was great, and this review is a testimony to the outstanding staff. — Jemmy (2006-06-21) it is such a nice hostel with a great family feel, you are right at home with kiko and tomo they are so friendly it was great to have found the place. — jenna (2006-01-13) Fantastic, and thank you again guys. — Eric Lamontagne (2005-11-15)