Recommended Rome hotels and hostels that offer good value

Rome is a huge city, with over 1,200 hotels not including small B&Bs and pensions. It’s also very spread out, with hotels located in almost every district, so finding an ideal location in a reasonably priced accommodation can be very tricky to say the least.

This is part of our Recommended Hotels and Hostels series, where we try to save you time by giving you the choice of 5 great hotels (each in a different price range) and 2 great hostels. As frequent visitors to Rome we know which neighborhoods and best and which are best to avoid, even for those on the lowest of budgets. Prices in Rome are generally quite high, but fortunately some of the finest hotels offer very good rates at times.

If you are touring Europe you might also be interested in our recommended Paris hotelsrecommended Amsterdam hotels, and recommended London hotels. Each list will provide a short list of hotels and hostels where you can’t go wrong.

Basically, these hotels and hostels all…

  • Are well located
  • Are very good value in their category
  • Receive among the best reviews in their category

We’ve spent many hours going through all the factors to choose the places we’d try to book on our own next trip.

2 Highly recommended Rome hostels

TwinCities Hostel

–The best cheap beds in Rome–

If you are a backpacker trying to keep his or her expenses to a minimum then the TwinCities Hostel is a perfect choice. It’s a small hostel with a shared living room, shared kitchen, free coffee & tea all day, and free wi-fi. The location may not be the most convenient in all of Rome, but at this price it’s better than you might expect.

Most past guests are quite happy with their stay at the TwinCities, and by far the best feature seems to be Francesco, the owner, who really looks after guests in a friendly and helpful way. At some larger hostels it can be difficult to get useful advice from a staff member, but at the TwinCities it seems to come easy.

Beds starting at €18
Book TwinCities Hostel

Rome Accommodation Hostel

–The city’s highest rated hostel offers great value–

Located in a historic building very near Rome’s Termini (main) train station, the Rome Accommodation Hostel offers very reasonably priced beds considering that it’s the city’s highest-rated hostel by past guests. This is another smaller hostel in a mostly-unmarked building, but once inside you’ll find everything you need in a spotless and comfortable setting.

There’s a common living room and kitchen, plus a rather large breakfast and wi-fi available. The staff here get very high marks from nearly all past guests, which is certainly not true in many Rome hostels. The location in the budget-travelers neighborohood near the train station means that cheap food and drinks are nearby and it’s fast and easy to get in and out of the city as well.

Beds starting at €18, including breakfast
Book Rome Accommodation Hostel

5 Highly recommended Rome hotels

Note: Hotel “starting at” prices listed below were the cheapest I could find for each hotel, usually for a single room. It’s likely your dates will show higher prices, especially for a double room, but this doesn’t mean it’s not a great deal. Please compare prices you are quoted to prices of similar hotels and you’ll usually find that these are bargains.

Auditorium di Mecenate – 2*

–Amazing value at small and popular hotel–

In this price category there’s no way to beat the Auditorium di Mecenate. It’s basic, but it has a great location near the Termini Station, and the staff routinely get rave reviews from previous guests. There’s only 10 total rooms, which helps with personalized service and recommendations that flow freely from the owner and others.

A short walk from the Vittorio Emanuele Metro Station, which is one quick stop from the Termini Station puts the Auditorium di Mecenate in a friendly and authentic neighborhood that is more pleasant than the streets immediately around Termini. A free breakfast is brought to your room each morning, and free wi-fi is available as well.

Rooms starting at €81 per night, including breakfast
Click to find best rates for the Auditorium di Mecenate

Hotel Golden Rome – 2*

–Spotless family-run hotel in the center–

Located just at the edge of the Borghese Gardens, the Hotel Golden Rome has an ideal location a short walk from this historic park, but also an easy walk to the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain. This is a small, family-run hotel where the service is as friendly as it gets for non-Italian speakers in Rome.

The included breakfast is cooked by the matriarch each morning, and it gets very high marks from guests. There’s also free wi-fi in the hotel, though rooms are a bit on the small side, which is typical of all Rome hotels, especially anything in this price range. If you want a very well run and comfortable budget hotel then the Golden Rome is an ideal choice.

Rooms starting at €95 per night, including breakfast
Click to find best rates for the Hotel Golden

IQ Hotel Roma – 4*

–Modern 4-star with great specials at times–

Located near the Termini Train station, the IQ Hotel Roma is a new and modern hotel that is quite popular and very unusual in Rome. Room rates are justifiably high much of the time, but they have online specials that bring it down below the price of most 3-star hotels with far fewer features.

There’s a breakfast buffet available, but the most interesting hook is that they have a small army of vending machines, where snacks, drinks (including wine), and other small items are available at very reasonable prices. There’s free wi-fi and a large flatscreen TV in each room, plus the staff get very high marks for service and English-language ability. You also get free access to their gym and sauna, and there’s a self-service laundry. If you are lucky enough to see their low room rates on your preferred dates, the IQ Hotel Roma is a great bargain.

Rooms starting at €175 per night
Click to find best rates for the iQ Hotel Roma

Deko Rome Guest House – 4*

–Rome’s top-ranked hotel is surprisingly cheap–

Out of more than 1,200 hotels in Rome, the Deko Rome Guest House is rated number one on TripAdvisor, with excellent ratings from nearly every guest. This is truly a special place, partly because prices are quite reasonable as well. It’s on the second floor of a historic building in the heart of Rome, with a very upscale shopping district just steps away.

Unlike the vast majority of hotels in Rome, rooms at the Deko Rome Guest House are actually reasonably large, and each is appointed in minimal chic furnishings. It’s all very beautiful and classy, but it’s the two hosts that get the most raves from past guests. They’ll help you find the absolute best restaurants and shops in this fantastic neighborhood, all at unusually competitive room rates.

Rooms starting at €154 per night
Click to find best rates for the Deko Rome Guest House

Artemide Hotel – 4*

–Elegant 4-star with appealing rates–

Those looking for a conveniently located and extremely reliable 4-star hotel should love the Artemide Hotel. It’s located only a 10-minute easy walk from the Termini train station, and also about the same distance from the Coliseum and Ancient Rome so most people won’t have to deal with taxis or the metro for most sightseeing and shopping. The rooms are relatively large and each includes a free minibar that is restocked daily with water, soft drinks, and snacks.

Unusually, each guest at the Artemide gets a complimentary (large) American-style breakfast as well, which is quite a money-saver for those who like more than a roll and coffee before they spend the day marching between sights. The staff gets extremely high marks as well for making guests feel at home, which is the main reason this is one of the top 10 best-reviewed hotels in Rome, at quite a reasonable rate for a luxurious 4-star.

Rooms starting at €198 per night, including full American breakfast
Click to find best rates for the Residenza Cellini

Interactive map of the above hotels and hostels

(scroll down on map to see the TwinCities Hostel)

View Recommended Rome hotels and hostels in a larger map

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All Comments

  1. Karen Bott says:

    [email protected] Hi Roger! I’m traveling with my husband and our two daughters ages 21 and 22 in June 2019. We plan to be in Cannes France for a week, taking day trips from there. Next we thought we would fly from Nice to Rome. It seems to only be $38 plus luggage fees and will take just over an hour. Next we thought we would spend two or three days in Rome. Upon looking into the Rome hotels you recommend, they are all booked! It will be a Fri and Sat night. Can you recommend any others?The ones popping up are all near the train station which I read was seedy. What do you think of Air Bnb’s? Next I thought we would head toward Florence and then Cinque Terre and again was considering air bnbs? I was hoping to see Florence but also experience the Tuscany region and visit a winery?I don’t think we have enough time for Venice and I think it will be hot. I’m concerned about my girls having fun? Should we head to Sorrento and Amalfi instead after Rome? Can you offer any suggestions for our week in Italy?

    1. Roger Wade says:

      Karen,

      Your trip sounds amazing. It’s strange that all of those hotels are sold out, but it can happen when some hotels get very good reputations and then are recommended by many other people like this. I don’t have any other specific suggestions, although it’s true that the neighborhood around and behind the main train station is kind of seedy. The area in front of the train station is fine though. Airbnbs all over Europe are great as long as you are clear of what you are getting and where. In my experience I notice that if an Airbnb has a really desirable location in or near the tourist district then it’s almost always quite a bit more expensive than nearby hotels (and usually two or three times larger than those hotel rooms, of course).

      For a group of four adults I think Airbnbs can be great value though. Pretty much all centrally located hotel rooms in European cities are very small, and that includes most of the expensive ones and even the chains. If you were to find a room for four people it would be beds taking up almost the whole room and not much room for your luggage. So getting two rooms for two would be more comfortable. and an Airbnb for four people would be even better. The tricky part is finding an available place at a good price that is also in a convenient location. A central location in these European cities can really make the trip much more enjoyable, so I’d opt for a smaller place with a good location over a larger place at the edge of town.

      I’d probably skip Cinque Terre in June if this is your first trip to Italy. In summer it has become so crowded that the locals are limiting the number of visitors each day. They are five small seaside towns and if you visited in April or October you’d probably find them charming, but in June it’ll be like being in Disneyland with the crowds. Actually, all of these places will be pretty crowded in June, but at least the major tourist cities are built for it. Sorrento and Amalfi are great, but if this is your first trip to Italy I’d probably save them for your next trip. Rome, Florence and Venice are the “Big 3” for a reason and each is really pretty outstanding. You could visit a winery outside of Florence on a day-trip as part of a bus tour. It won’t be too cheap, but it would be much easier than renting a car or getting there on your own by train or bus.

      I wrote an article recently with my best Italy itinerary advice and I think it’ll be helpful. Let me know if you have any other questions. -Roger

  2. Jeffrey Williams says:

    Roger; I think that you are a really great person to help so many others! You do an incredible job and it is easy to see that you do so because of your joy in helping other. You should be highly commended. I for one that you for all that you do for so many.
    Cheers,
    jeff

    1. Roger Wade says:

      Jeff,

      I really appreciate you taking the time to say that. -Roger

  3. Ryan says:

    I was looking at the prices on hostelbookers.com for the two hostels listed and the prices are much more different than the prices listed on this page is off by a lot.

    1. Roger Wade says:

      Ryan,

      Thanks for mentioning this. I’ll check the prices again and if they have raised them that much I will select others that are better value. Sorry about the hassle. -Roger