Pop Inn Hostel, Rome

Not worth it

This place had bed bugs and the bathrooms smelled horribly. There is also only one bathroom per floor and it was always occupied. No wifi in the rooms and breakfast is tiny.

Pop Inn Hostel is located right by the train/bus station!

The Location

The hostel is located about a two-minute walk from the train station and bus station and it is very easy to find. There are lots of restaurants, bars, grocery stores, and shops nearby and the Colosseum is about a twenty-minute walk away. There is also a metro station in the train station and getting around by metro is very easy and the city is well connected by the metro. Even though the hostel is located on a busy street, it is still pretty quiet at night and there is a twenty-four-hour reception and guests must be buzzed in to enter, so safety is not a big concern. Also, there is parking nearby.

Rooms and Bathrooms

There are a variety of room types ranging from privates to dorms. The rooms could definitely be cleaner. The bathrooms are also dirty and smell of a horrible mixture of mildew and pee. Also, there is only one toilet and shower per floor, so it is always busy and difficult to find a time when it is not being used by someone. It is possible to go to another floor to try to use their bathroom, but still it is difficult to find a time when it is not in use. Also there are no outlets in the bathroom, so if you wanted to do your hair, forget about it. Some of the rooms do have sinks and mirrors in them and some of the rooms also have a table and chairs.

The rooms also have lockers in them. To get to the rooms you have to pass through two locked doors (plus be buzzed in by hostel staff), so it seems to be a safe place once inside. The rooms also have a fan in them, which is great to use when it is hot.

Common Spaces

There is one large common area in front of the reception area; here you'll find a computer with internet access. There is also free Wi-Fi, but it is only available in the common area and is not accessible in the rooms. There is also a TV, some tables and chairs, a book exchange, free city maps, and a pool table. Typically the common area has lots of people in it so it is a good place to meet new people. The overall atmosphere of the hostel is pretty relaxed and laid back.

Summary

Overall, this hostel has a good atmosphere and it is possible to meet people. It is also right by the train station, but it is not the cleanest.

Rooms fine, bathrooms dirty

The staff was friendly and helpful, especially when one night we accidentally left our key in our room. The rooms were clean and supplied with make-shift lockers, but the bathroom was dirty and always wet, I was nervous to touch the walls since they looked like they've never been wiped down! The decorations are a little cheesy ... Mickey mouse?? Otherwise, it's in a great location by Termini station so you can take a metro or bus anywhere.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.