Ombelico Del Mondo

Although hard to locate from the street, this was a cheap and easy spot. The neighbourhood is quiet with some cheap restaurants around and a short walk to lots of attractions. Rooms are large clean with the owner extremely helpful with everything. Breakfast gets served in the rooms. No air-cob but the nights were cool enough

The rooms are huge, have their own bathrooms, a tv, wi-fi, and are very clean. BUT it's so hot in Rome in summer and I was absolutely dying. There's a fan, but it still feels like the Sahara and I come from 100 degree weather and I still couldnt stand it. If I wasn't on such a budget, it would have been enough to leave. Speaking of a budget, the rooms are expensive...and more expensive than the website (which is pretty misleading in general) suggests. But what really would convince me to never come back is the location. The closest subway stop is a 15-20 minute walk (Manzini) and walking into downtown takes forever. Around the hostel is very little (porta maggiore, santa croce di gerusalemme, and minor ruins, all of which can be seen in an hour). The hostel is on a busy traffic street (my room had a freeway view), and I didn't feel very safe about coming back alone after dark. In the hostel's defense, they really are trying to do a lot with the place and the rooms are lovely looking. It's just a lot to pay to stay in a sauna in the middle of no where.

While I booked Lombeliocdelmondo on Venere, I did not actually get to stay there. 2 days before I left I recieved a voicemail from the owner (who seems very friendly to be fair) saying they were having problems with the toilets and that he was going to find me somewhere else to stay. I ended up not getting this message until a few hours before I left so didn't have much in the way of options for booking something else. He paid for an airport pick up and we ended up staying in his friends apartment (who I have suspicions just moved out for the duration of our stay) for a little cheaper then what the B&B would be. While it was a nice apartment it was way out of the city, so I was really disapointed. I'm not sure, I wouldn't reccommend this place as I had serious suspicions that more lucrative customers came along (it was May bank holiday after all!) and we were gazzumped. We had booked 2 rooms (for 3 of us) for a cheaper price far in advance. My suspcions were raised when I saw rooms advertised on another website (not Venere) for a lot more then we paid for them just before we left. (Note: A similar search on Venere a few weeks earlier stated the property was booked out) So altogether a dodgy experience. However the apartment we got was nice, the owner couldn't be more helpful and the aiport pick up was appreciated - just not good enough to make up for the 1 hour journey each way on public transport.