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Mona Lisa Hostel

Rome

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Address
Via Palermo 13, Rome Lazio, Italy   Map
Price
Dorm beds from US$22.00. Private rooms from US$35.00/person. Price may vary by season - Check Current Prices by Date Here
Location/Contact
Details
Mona Lisa Hostel Online Booking
Arrival Date:   Nights:  People: 
Their Description

Features

  • Free Breakfast
  • Kitchen
  • Lounge / Common space
  • Elevator/Lift
  • 24 Hour Free Hot Showers
  • Air Conditioning
 
The Hostelz.com Review
Mona Lisa Hostel is an apartment turned into a hostel. There are only two bathrooms for at least four rooms consisting of about eight beds each. You do the math! The wait to use the bathroom depends on the time of the morning. The earlier that you wake up, the better your chance to get into the bathroom and get dressed by the time you want. The bathroom was the bathtub has a small problem, the floor get soaked with water. The tiles absorb the water, but it is a slip hazard. The trash cans in the bathroom as well as the rooms are very small. They tend to overflow with garbage and are only emptied once a day.

Some of the rooms are small while others are big. There is one small room that has too beds on a loft, which is neat. The linens are provided and the cost is included. The only downside is the cleanliness of the covers. There is no washing machine that we could see. Our beds looked as if someone had at least laid on them before we arrived. When asked, the staff person assured us no one slept on that bed. There are very few outlets in the room to plug in cell phones and chargers. It can make something as simple as doing your hair difficult since you may not want to hog one of the two bathrooms form other travelers. In addition, there are no mirrors in the hostel except for the bathrooms and the dining room, right above the table.

The hostel is on the second floor (third floor for Americans) of the apartment building. There is a tiny elevator that you may use if you do not have too much luggage. The staff is very friendly and helpful -- they can provide free maps and directions. However, they are not available from 3 to 7 a.m. daily. Make sure you pay before or after these hours. There is technically no lock-out, however, since the staff is not available from 3 to 7, there is no one to let you in the hostel during those hours. The hostel is about six minutes from the nearest metro and ten minutes from Termini Station, therefore the location is good.

The kitchen, dining room, living room, and reception area are all the same room. Due to the small social area, one would probably not want to hang around long. It can get very congested at times. This area can get very messy with people trying to wash their own dishes, cook, eat, and hang out due to the constraints of the area. The kitchen is tiny but offers free breakfast. Breakfast consists of cereal, breads, and cheeses. The dining room consists of a small table and several chairs. One couch makes up the living room. The guest computer is right next to the staff computer, therefore, no privacy. There are no lockers. No keys or key cards to the bedrooms door either. Make sure you secure all of your belongings. On the positive side, this hostel is cheap.

— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
December 2006


Ratings & Comments

4.3 Average from 8 Ratings

This is an open forum, and unlike other hostel guide websites we don't censor out the negative comments.
We can't validate the legitimacy of comments posted on this site—so take what you read here with a grain of salt.
Comment by Natalie, New Zealand
March 2009
1 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.
Comment by Andy, USA
July 2007
5 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.
Comment by Sam, USA
May 2007
5 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.
Comment by Erin from Boston Ma
December 2006
4 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!
Comment by Minnie
November 2006
4 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.
Comment by Jemmy
June 2006
5 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.
Comment by jenna
January 2006
5 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.
Comment by Eric Lamontagne
November 2005
5 Fantastic, and thank you again guys.
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