When it comes to accommodation, me and my husband have several aspects in consideration:
- location: preferred in city center, easy access to all tourist attraction, close to public transportation (train station, bus stop, etc).
- cleanliness
- price: middle-average price
While we were younger (oh no! we are currently approaching 30-ish), we put the price as our highest priority (college student, thin money a.k.a broke). As long as it was cheap, we were happy with it! However, it is different now. We feel proper rest is the key for our great holiday time. We need a proper rest to recharging our energy and woke up freshly for another adventure day.
We usually booked chained-hotel like Ibis or Mercure. It is because their has standardized facility all over the world. It also matched all priority we have been set beforehand. Ibis nearby Southern Cross Station Melbourne and Ibis Paris Tour Eiffel are great deals for your holiday. We can easily went to tourist attraction and less commute time (it means more rest time!).
However, different story happened when we try to find accommodation in Rome. I think because Rome is an ancient city, has been built since hundred years ago. Therefore it is difficult to find vacant area to build a new hotel. All the chained-hotel are located outside the city center. It took more than 30 minutes commute time to reach city center from the hotel.
We then try to find nice inn in the city center, near the Termini Station. I look out review for each inn carefully. Especially because the building around the city center is an old-fashioned style. I have concerned with the cleanliness especially. After hours of search, I finally decided to book 3 night stay at Rome Point Inn. Their homepage stated that it has been newly renovated and the photos look convincing (crossed my fingers when I hit the booking button).
First step in the inn building, we already feel the ancient Rome vibes. The hotel is in the 5th floor of the building. The elevator is an old-century one. The one that might be you have seen in 60’s or 70’s movie. It has manual door which should be closed properly in order to made this elevator functioning. We are really excited every time we have to used the elevator. Luckily there is a friendly neighbor (yes! this building is also functioning as common residence) whose kindly teach us how to use this elevator properly. You can only push the floor button once. Therefore if you want to go to 5th floor, you have to push the button later if there are somebody want to go to lower floor.
Luckily the inn exceed our expectations. The real condition of the inn is exactly the same like in their photos. The inn is clean and well-furnished. They clean up our room everyday. Even we get our own balcony. The ceiling is very high, you can feel how exactly a real residence inside an historic building in Rome by staying in this inn. I really recommended Rome Point Inn if you need accommodation in Rome.
Other side story from this Inn, the owner is Moslem brother from Bangladesh. He gave us free breakfast coupon for three days. A very friendly owner and also gave us some suggestions for Halal restaurants nearby.