Friends Hostel

Good location with lots of character
Bit of a strange one. Meeting up with someone somewhere in the rough looking back streets behind the station, then following him to a pretty stark looking front of a building. But it's an impressive big door -- the elevator up was something in itself. The twin beds we had were a bit of the made-for-children-type feel but the kitchen and bathroom were pretty good. It's on the top floor so the view is of endless rooftops and aerials. Different from your normal hostel -- only really one other couple to talk to -- more a B&B feel. But it's centrally located, cheap, and clean. There are some good restaurants around and it's pretty easy to walk to most places.

This hostel was definitely one of the best we stayed in on our whole trip to Europe. It's really more of a friendly personal B&B than a hostel, the owners Letzia and Georgio are amazingly friendly and make your stay a great experience. It is very safe with only three different rooms and many locks to get into the room and perfect location right near the train station and a short walk from the colloseum. I would definitely advise you make your stay in Rome at the friends hostel.

I stayed here May 2006 and was happy with my experience. We showed up on time and we were greeted by a nice helpful lady who gave us keys. Although no one stayed at reception we never had any problems and found the hostel to be very clean, quite, and spacious. We were able to freely use the kitchen and were given free vouchers for the internet. The only bad thing is there was no phone and we were instructed to use the one outside of the hostel which did not work, luckily Termini is just around the corner with lots of phone access. Definetly worth the price!

Overall I thought this was a very good hostel. There is a courtyard outside (it's in a kind of apartment complex) so I'm assuming it's the same place. Be careful — the buzzer name for the hostel is "Lilliput & Friends," which was rather confusing! We did have a bit of trouble on that account, since we had to find a pay phone to call the woman working there. (Thankfully there was one on the street that took change but about 95% only take cards). We'd arrived outside of our specified "time" of 9 p.m. by a few hours. However, apparently lots of other people ended up waiting for more than an hour to get in because she wasn't around when you ring the buzzer. It worked out just fine for us in the end, but it's something to be wary about. Umm, the rooms were clean, but it's true there is only really one bathroom for a bunch of people. We left early the next morning and there was no trouble, but it wasn't uber-clean I guess. There was water on the floor, etc. The kitchen has no stove/hot plates, just a microwave, sink, and fridge (with freezer, yay cold alcohol!) Overall I would definitely recommend this place, despite our slight trouble getting in touch with staff. It's close to Termini Station (we had to buy a map to find it, but you might be able to ask someone for directions instead?). The woman working there was really friendly and helpful, and was puttering around in the kitchen area sometimes. :) It's safe too (there are like 4 keys to get in past different doors and gates).

This is a tiny hostel with just a few rooms located 3 blocks from the train station. There is little kitchen with a fridge and a little gas burner to use as a stove. The bathroom is nice and clean and the rest of the hostel is about average.

We didn't have a problem with the staff here; we found them very helpful (although it was a friend of the owner when we were there), but we weren't in the hostel during the day at all. We didn't have a problem with the bathroom although it is shared between about 10 people. The kitchen is just a microwave, camping stove, and fridge (which was useful). There were no pans although there were plates, etc. The breakfast was a disappointment - just a packaged pastry-thing and filter coffee.

Although this hostel was clean, and neat, IT SUCKED! There was one bathroom for ten people, and the staff were unjustifiably mean. They don't allow drinking in the hostel, but there is a garden and terrace outside that you can't so much as whisper in. They don't let you sit in it at all. The woman who ran the place wouldn't leave the room we were staying in the whole time. It was the staff who made this hostel horrible. If you aren't hard-core straight-edge, don't stay here!